The Supreme Court recognized the current composition of the Film Support Council as illegitimate. Now Goskino must hold a competition to elect a new council.
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Lawyer Denisyuk reported this to Public.
In March 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers extended the powers of the council based on a statement from Goskino, which states that they cannot hold a competition due to martial law.
The National Union of Cinematographers appealed this decision – at first the court confirmed the claim and declared the activities of the council illegal. However, later the Supreme Court suspended this decision, and Goskino held a pitching exercise, after which a record almost 590 million UAH were to be distributed.
According to Denisyuk, Goskino must now announce a new competition for the distribution of budget funds, and the money that the institute is now trying to divide “will not be used by an unauthorized body.”
Previously, the film community was outraged that almost 590 million UAH from the state budget were planned to be spent on “documenting war crimes.”
Now the second stage of the 19th competitive selection of film projects that will receive funding from Goskino this year is underway. According to the state budget plan for 2024, the State Film Agency of Ukraine should receive UAH 618.3 million, of which UAH 589.6 million is for state support of cinematography.
The Ukrainian film community responded to this news back in January with an open letter to the authorities, in which they called for the current Goskino budget to be redirected to the needs of the Armed Forces. Representatives of the industry expressed no confidence in the leadership of Goskino, “due to systemic lack of professionalism, dishonesty and failed work with international partners.” The letter collected more than 700 signatures, but this appeal was ignored.
In addition, the distribution of funds and restrictions on financing for the 19th Goskino competition were established by the illegitimate Council for State Support of Cinematography.
The current composition of the Council was supposed to resign in March 2023, however, the Cabinet of Ministers extended the tenure of the current composition until the end of martial law and three months after it.
The National Union of Cinematographers filed a lawsuit against this decision, and in April 2024 the appeal court confirmed that the extension of the powers of the Film Support Council was illegal.
Another important nuance: among the areas of competitive selection of film projects this year was “documenting war crimes.” However, there is a difference between documentaries and “documenting war crimes” – the latter is not carried out by filmmakers, but by the Office of the Attorney General and human rights organizations.
Let’s be honest – this is a problem for all of us. Because we have been watching for quite some time how Goskino is destroying cinema instead of supporting it. And all these premieres that you now see on the screen are the last. Literally,” communications expert Maria Kravchenko wrote earlier.
Read more about the situation with Goskino (https://x.com/sea_inside3/status/1799126527751365074) on the expert’s Twitter.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.