“It is outrageous that large platforms should not meet the 6% quota”

Despite its own misgivings of the lack of information on the final text of the law, the Catalan audiovisual sector had shown in recent days its confidence that the 6% quota of production in Catalan, Basque or Gallician for the big streaming platforms it could be a good thing both for the industry and for the language. However, the news that finally international corporations (Netflix, HBO Max or Amazon Prime Video) will not be affected by this quota, and that only those based in Spain (Filmin or Movistar +) will fall like a bomb, which caused a reaction of bewilderment, stupor and indignation. “It is amazing. It seems outrageous to me. I would not want to rush into my judgment, but I think it is a real disaster & rdquor ;, he told this newspaper the director Judith Colell, president of the Catalan Film Academy. “We find it unfortunate, because many jobs, families and companies are at stake & rdquor ;, added Jordi Oliva, president of PROA (Federated Audiovisual Producers), practically throwing his hands to his head.

The 6% share of production in co-official languages ​​for streaming platforms was one of the key points of the Pact that ERC had reached with the Executive in exchange for its support to the General State Budgets for 2022. After the approval of the General Law of Audiovisual Communication this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers, prior referral to the Courts, the Government finally clarified that it is not possible to oblige multinationals such as Netflix, HBO o Amazon Prime Video, because that is what the European Commission imposes. In this way, only national operators will have the obligation to create works in Catalan, Galician or Basque, such as Movistar+, Filmin, FlixOlé, MiTele or Atresplayer.

Disaster for the tongue

“Forcing only the platforms here to apply the quota is not much use, because they were already doing it. The co-official languages ​​were already present in Filmin or Movistar +. What they had sold us, and that was really good for the industry and for the language, is that international platforms were going to be forced to meet that quota. Both the new production of these platforms and the dubbing and subtitling into Catalan were something really positive, an incentive& rdquor ;, Colell lamented, who warned that the great victim of this measure, more than the industry itself, will be the Catalan language: “Netflix will continue to work with Catalan production companies, that is evident, but what is mortally wounded is the language : if everything is done in Spanish, as up to now, it will be an absolute disaster for the tongue& rdquor ;. Currently, Catalan has a very limited, if not testimonial, presence in the vast audiovisual universe, something truly alarming if one takes into account that the social use of the language is subject to an accelerated process of regression.

Jordi Oliva, for his part, was suspicious of this hidden letter or fine print of the law. “It is unfortunate. The information is absolutely contradictory & rdquor ;, affirmed the president of PROA, whose feeling is that “the political class is passing from the Catalan audiovisual situation in an olympic way despite the fact that many jobs are at stake & rdquor ;. For Oliva, the language question should not, of course, be the only one that prevails, and there is considerable fear that it is all about a “political strategy & rdquor; between PSOE and ERC to sign the General State Budgets.

“This Wednesday we are summoned by ERC to discuss the issue& rdquor ;, Oliva recalls, but the appointment, he observes, was made a day before the appearance of Gabriel Rufián announcing the pact that had been reached with the Spanish Government. The Catalan independent producers’ body is in talks with the different political parties “to be able to access the final draft of the text and make decisions based on that & rdquor ;, since today it continues to be a great (and unnecessary) unknown.

Be careful with Spanish

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Other representatives of the Catalan audiovisual contacted by this newspaper, such as producers Tono Folguera and Lluís Miñarro, they show their discrepancy or their doubts with the turn of events. Folguera, president of the company Lastor Media, responsible for titles such as ‘Mediterráneo’, by Marcel Barrena, warns that if the European directive prevents national legislation from being applied to international platforms, “Movies and series may not be produced in Spanish either& rdquor ;, although for the moment he prefers not to give a concrete opinion on the subject, since everything is still quite confusing, but he ventures to say that “the cultural diversity of the Spanish state is at risk & rdquor ;.

For Miñarro, founder of the Eddie Saeta production company, it is something that was seen coming and also thinks that you can “load the Castilian & rdquor; as for new productions, although it is a language that “will affect less & rdquor ;. The feeling that both have is that either one party has deceived the other or that they are rather little interested in what may happen to the Catalan, Basque and Galician audiovisual industry.