City police were accused of taking a heavy handed approach on Thursday as protests against cutbacks to Argentina's cinema industry turned violent.
Hundreds of people demonstrated on Thursday in Buenos Aires against cutbacks introduced by President Javier Milei at the INCAA National Cinema and Audiovisual Arts Institute, considered an iconic part of the country’s culture.
“They’re letting an industry that works very well and is highly respected and loved worldwide die,” said famed actor Leonardo Sbaraglia, awarded a Goya for best male newcomer in 2002 for Intacto and the star of such hits as Oscar nominee Dolor y gloria ("Pain and glory") (2019), by Pedro Almodóvar.
“I defend a type of cinema which with all cutbacks will not be able to exist anymore," declared the actor. “I’m here as just another citizens so that movies continue to exist."
On Tuesday, the Milei government confirmed fierce cutbacks at INCAA, suspending support programmes, choosing not to renew expiring employment contracts and eliminating overtime for the entire entity’s staff.
Last week, through a resolution published on the Official Gazette named “Suspension of Disbursements within the streamlining of resources,” the government disclosed the termination of 138 contracts and the Government’s announcements to “drastically reduce the expenses” of INCAA.
The cutbacks are taking place in the context of the drastic austerity measures carried out by this Government since it was inaugurated three months ago to contain runaway inflation and achieve the goal of “zero deficit” this year.
With depictions of clapperboards and the slogan: “This movie is just getting started; it’s in our hands,” the demonstrators gathered opposite the iconic Gaumont Cinema, a few metres away from Congress.
Demonstrators clashed with the police, who dispersed the crowd with teargas as part of the new government's new policing protocol which bans any protest blocking roads.
After more than an hour of demonstrating opposite the Plaza de los Dos Congresos, a police cordon advanced on Avenida Rivadavia with gas and pushing with their shields to clear the road and the protest with artists, workers, students, social organisations and left-wing parties.
After the incidents with the police, the protest moved on. There was a later press conference held inside the cinema, attended by renowned actress Mirta Busnelli.
Police said they had arrested at least one person, identified as Nicolás Carnevale. Local press counted three detainees and two wounded police officers.
Film student Candela Soto reminded that ENERC, where she is doing her dissertation, “is considered one of the best film schools in Latin America and now it’s in a tight spot with all this budget cutting."
“I spent three years trying to get into that institution because it means so much to me. And now, all of a sudden, it may all disappear,” she said.
The INCAA is a non-governmental public entity aimed at fostering audiovisual productions in Argentina. It falls under the Culture Secretariat within the orbit of the Ministry of Human Capital, with 645 employees, some 500 of them permanent staff.
Among the films that have benefitted from its support are eight Oscar nominees, including Best International Feature winners El Secreto de Sus Ojos ("The Secret in Their Eyes," 2009) and La Historia Oficial ("The Official Story," 1985).
“The INCAA, the Gaumont, Télam (...) those places have to exist, they get to places where the market does not arrive and they defend things the market won’t defend,” Sbaraglia stated.
“The president should be proud of the cinema in this country. It’s a thriving, powerful industry that is respected around the world. Here the discussion is not even cultural, they’re letting an industry that works very well die. It’s beloved and we should be proud because it’s our flag."
“These are all people protesting in defence of Argentine cinema opposite an iconic place, where movies you can’t see anywhere else premiere, where they defend films the distributors’ market won’t defend”, he said regarding the Gaumont cinema.
– TIMES/AFP/PERFIL
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