What´s FILMAD?

Despite the multiplication of film festivals in the Autonomous region of Madrid, thus far it didn´t exist any association or coordinating committee which would join together their interests and it would turn into in a festivals forum and in a point where to join efforts together and to deal with common topics. With this aim Filmad came to light, a coordinating committee which, taking as reference others already existing (the most clear and ambitious prototype is the one of the European Film Festivals Coordinating Committee), will try to become the voice of all the region festivals.

The field of action, the interests, the organisation ways and the objectives of the Madrid Film Festivals are very different, but it has been reached in a consensus an ethical code in which it´s gathered a list of fundamental guidelines all the festivals have considered them as ours to keep. As well as drawing a declaration of intentions up, all the FILMAD festivals have undertaken some obligations which they are for, among others, to protect and to preserve the integrity of the screened pieces, to obtain the exhibition rights of the films, to fight against the piracy, to insure the copies, etc. Among its aims, Filmad will always try to promote and defend the cinema in Madrid, developing a real cooperation among the member festivals and taking always into account the special characteristics of each of them.

Apart from fulfilling these obligations, the Festivals which belong to the Coordinating committee will share ideas and will try to collaborate in commun activities, spreading from every festival the activities both the ones of the coordinating committee and the ones of each member festival. Filmad will try to design, with a consensus of its members, a calendar of festivals in which the dates of the different festivals won´t coincide as it has happened in the last years. The exchanges will be fomented also as for programming. To longer term, among its purposes it figures the formation aimed at the organizers of the festivals members and the joint of measures focus to improve the communication, promotion, diffusion and audience´s loyalty. Also agreements will be looked fo by providing companies of services, in order to fix more beneficial conditions for the associate festivals.

With these approaches like basis there is born the Madrid Film Festival Coordinating Committee, an association opened to all the festivals of the area of Madrid and who desires to take part of this common project.

ETHICAL CODE OF MADRID FILM FESTIVALS COORDINATING COMMITTEE*

Declaration of intentions:

• A Festival considers the cinema as art.
• A Festival has as aim to present films don´t have room in the commercial field, unknown in the geographical field of the festival, as well as homages, retrospectives, specific programmes and/or films of cinematographies little widespreed.
• The competitive festival´s programme are composed of recent pieces.
• A Festival defines an artistic precise and original line, shows an identity, a coherence and explores a concrete domain, a trend or an own topic.
• A Festival has the duty and the responsibility of knowing the panorama of the Festivals in order to join the network with harmony, complementarity and efficiency.
• A Festival has for vocation to provoke the curiosity of the public, contemplating the necessary resources to favor its information.
• A Festival has for vocation to improve edition after edition.

A Festival has the obligation of:

• To obtain, with its legal detainers, the rights of exhibition of the works, previous negotiation of the conditions of participation, specially the conditions, format and the number of screenings.
• To respect the integrity of the work projecting it: in original subtitled version, in its original format, in its original support and speed.
• To fight against the piracy.
• To have a structure of suitable management that allows an attention to filmmakers and public.
• To establish a policy of attention to the mass media promoting the right of information of the audience.
• To possess a printed edition of a catalogue and / or program of the Festival.
• In benefit of the audience and filmmakers, to expose to the Coordinating committee conflicts on the dates of the celebration of the member festivals in the national coordinating commettee and to respect the resolution of the coordinating committee.
• To respect the obligations with regard to the payment of the author's copyright inherent in the quotas agreed for the rent of the copies.
• The information of the technical and artistic entry form has to be real and has to consist obligatorily: the original format of the work, as well as the format in the one that is projected (if it was a different, and previous written authorization of the author or of the producer) and the information of the distribution contacts and / or production.
• To serve to the diffusion of the activity of FILMAD and communication among the members of the coordinating committee.
• We will not accept festivals that, inside its programme, offers films that commit an outrage against the dignity and the human rights.
• A Festival has the duty and the responsibility of assuring the copies with the necessary coverage.

* This ethical code is inspired in the Ethical Code of the European Film Festivals Coordinating Committee, adopted in Amiens November, the 4th 1995, which it gathers more than 250 film festivals of all Europe.