A press release from the Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival from the last days of the LEFF ’11 event i the capital of Portugal reads;

What if file‐sharing was legalized and access to culture on the Internet set free? Would the copyright disappear? Would it cause the downfall of creation or on the contrary foster it? What mechanisms should be instituted to funds authors and artists while fostering cultural diversity?

These are some of the main questions that were raised by international artists, academics, economic agents and institutional decision‐makers during a two-day multi-disciplinary Symposium held in the Estoril Congress Center.

“It has been an amazing opportunity to confront academic, artistic and economical perspectives” stated Jim Griffin. “The digital era offers a great visibility and fantastic opportunities for artists: the Web has become nowadays an indicator of their success”, as underlined Frederic Junqua, founder of Kitsune and the electronic musicians LOGO and PARA‐ONE. It also brings some difficulties that are not yet fully addressed.

The specificity of a cultural good is that it can be shared by an infinite number of people. This is the reason why some artists, like Yasmina Reza, have expressed their concern about economical and artistic dispossession of their work with P2P systems on the Internet. Whilst agreeing, filmmaker Bertrand Bonello insisted that it should not be forgotten that the new usages of accessing and sharing digital media can be a wonderful tool to enhance cultural diversity and the relationship between the artist and its audience.

The debates on cinema, an industry with numerous actors and high financial investments, focused on the new experience of the cinema for the audience. If the financing of cinema is still in mutation, nowadays filmmakers can find advantages in the multiplicity of the distribution methods, whether they are legal or illegal.

If Jean‐Marie Compte, Director of the Literature Department at the French National Library, considers the libraries as essential elements of the access to literature, he joined Aurélie Filippetti in saying that digital media could be an extension to this public activity. Eventually, the authors of the table agreed that finding new ways of retribution for authors to strengthen their Copyright remains a strategic issue for the future.

Whatsoever the artistic medium, “finding new paradigms for the future that go beyond repression is not synonym of sacrificing culture and creators“ concluded Paulo Branco, director of the Festival.

The symposium has been organized during the Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival by the European think tank Jeune Republique in collaboration with the French platform on cultural policies Creation Public Internet.

Image Courtesy: http://www.leffest.com/en/fotos_ano

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The Lisbon and Estoril Film Festival (LEFF), formerly known as Estoril Film Festival, is making a name for itself as one of Europe’s leading film festivals. As a newcomer, the festival has been able to bring big names from the film industry since its debut in 2007. Some who have taken part in the event have included Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, Oscar-winning actor John Malkovich, Catherine Deneuve, and Kathryn Bigelow.

The festival takes pride in awarding the best of the best in the movie industry while creating a meeting point for artists and performers of the trade in the capital of Portugal.

The best distinguishing feature is the fact that there is no red carpet at most of the screenings, even at the premieres. One could simply stand in line waiting to get inside and Paul Giamatti or David Cronenberg could walk by you and even stop by for a chat.

Movies competing in the official selection are mostly European films, and some of the movies shown are already generating Oscar buzz. The festival will premiere “A Dangerous Method” (David Cronenberg),” The Ides of March” (George Clooney), “Melancholia” (Lars von Trier), “Restless” (Gus van Sant). “Faust,” directed by Alexander Sokurov and the winner of the Berlinare and the Venice Festival’s Golden Lion, will also premiere at the festival.

This is undoubtedly LEFF’s best edition to date. It hosts a jury panel of world-renowned authors, such as Paul Auster and J.M. Coetzee, and will showcase the first images of Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis,” starring Robert Pattinson. In addition, LEFF will also host several events simultaneously in some of Lisbon’s most iconic venues. The festival proves its versatility while dabbling in other areas, holding events specially aimed at college students, classes with Giamatti and Cronenberg, musical concerts, an international symposium on the future of the culture industries, ateliers, and several other exhibitions.

One of the main attractions of the festival is an exhibit on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which portrays the everyday life of a Palestinian village. The work is by photographer Kai Wiedenhöfer, winner of the first Carmignac Gestion Foundation Photojournalism Award.

If you happen to be in Lisbon in November 3 to November 14, be sure to check out LEFF. It is an event you don’t want to miss.

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