7. FILM AND AUDIOVISUAL PRODUCTION

B. Bilateral Sectoral Agreements

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1. Acuerdo de Coproducción Audiovisual (Agreement on Audiovisual Co-Production between the Government of the Republic of Venezuela and the Government of Canada)

DATE: February 15, 1996

MEMBERS: Venezuela and Canada

Summary of Provisions

Definition:
Article I: 

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, an “audiovisual co-production” is a project, independently of its duration and which includes animated and documentary productions, produced in film, videotape or videodisc, or in any other format which is not known until now, to be used in theater, television, videocassette, videodisc or any other form of distribution.

The new forms of production and distribution will be included in this Agreement through the exchange of notes.

Competent Authorities:
Article I:

2. The co-productions carried under this Agreement shall be approved by the following authorities, named from now on as “competent authorities”;

• In Venezuela: The National Autonomous Center of Cinematography (CNAC).
• In Canada: The Canadian Ministry of Patrimony.

National Treatment:
Article I:

3. All co-productions proposed under this Agreement will be produced and distributed in conformity with the current national regulations and legislation in Venezuela and Canada.

4. All co-productions produced under this Agreement will be considered for all purposes a national production in and by each of the countries. Consequently, such co-productions will receive all the available benefits for the movie and video industries, as well as the benefits which maybe subsequently established by decree in each country. Such benefits will correspond only to the producer of the country which grants them.

Proportion:
Article III: 

1. The proportion of the respective contributions by the Parties’ co-producers may vary from twenty per cent (20%) to eighty per cent (80%) of the budget for each co-production.

2. It will be required a real technical and creative contribution from each co-producer. In principle this contribution will be proportional to its investment.

Article IV: The producers, writers and directors of the co-productions, as well as the technicians, actors and other production’s personnel participating in the co-production, shall be citizens or permanent residents of Venezuela or Canada.

Annex:
Article XVI: The competent authorities of both countries have established together the procedure standards for co-productions, taking into account the current legislation and regulations in Venezuela and Canada. These standards of procedure are annexed to this Agreement.

No Restrictions:
Article XVII: There will be no restrictions to the import, distribution and exhibition of Venezuelan productions of films, television and video in Canada, and of Canadian productions of films, television and video in Venezuela, except for the one contained in the current regulations and legislation in each country.

General Equilibrium:
Article XVIII:

1. While the Agreement is in force the Parties will seek a general equilibrium regarding both the financial participation and the participation of creative personnel, technicians, actors and of infrastructure (studios and laboratories), taking into account the respective characteristics of each country.

Dispute Settlement and Amendments:
Article XVIII:

2. The competent authorities of both countries will examine the conditions for the application of this Agreement in case it is necessary to resolve any difficulty arising with its application. They will also recommend the possible amendments which may be necessary to adopt in order to develop a cooperation in the field of films and video, adjusted to the best interest for both countries.

Composite Commission:
Article XVIII:

3. A Composite Commission is established to observe the application of this Agreement. The Composite Commission will examine if the general equilibrium has been achieved, and in case it has not, the Commission will determine the measures required to achieve it.

Entry into Force, Duration and Denouncement:
Article XIX: 

1. This Agreement will enter into force when each Party has informed the other that the internal ratification process has been accomplished.

2. This Agreement will be valid for a period of five (5) years from the moment when it enters into force and may be automatically renewed for equal periods unless any of the Parties notifies in writing its intention of not renewing it with six (6) months of anticipation.

3. The co-productions which have been approved by the competent authorities and are in process of production at the moment of the notification about the culmination of this Agreement by any of the Parties, will continue to benefit from the stipulations of this Agreement until the conclusion of its production. After the expiration or culmination of this Agreement, its conditions will still be applied to all that is related to the distribution of profits of the finished co-productions.

2. Acuerdo Complementario al Convenio Básico de Cooperación Técnica y Científica en el área de la Coproducción de Obras Cinematográficas (Complementing Agreement to the Basic Agreement of Technical and Scientific Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Venezuela and the Government of the Republic of Chile in the area of Co-Production of Cinematography Work)

DATE: April 2, 1993

MEMBERS: Venezuela and Chile

Summary of Provisions

Definition: 
Article 1: The parties, for the purposes of this agreement, understand by work of cinematography any visual or audiovisual message composed by images in diachronic lapse of time, with the possibility of exhibition through mass means.

National Treatment:
Article 2: The works of cinematography carried in co-production by Venezuela and Chile will be regulated by this Agreement and will be considered national works of cinematography by the authorities of each of the Parties, according to the juridic standards applied to them. They will also benefit from the right to the advantages established by the current legal provisions for the national works of cinematography and to the advantages to be announced in each of the Parties.

Competent Authorities:
Article 3: The realization of works of cinematography by the two Parties in co-production must be previously approved by the national competent authorities of both Parties: the Office of Cinematography Industry of the Ministry of Development in Venezuela, and the Ministry of Education in Chile.

Proportions:
Article 7: The production of works of cinematography must be carried under the following conditions: 

a) the proportion of the respective contributions of the producers of both Parties may vary, by cinematography work, from 20 to 80 per cent. The smaller participation may go to 10 percent, given previous agreement between the two Parties; 

b) the technical and artistic participation must have the same proportions as the financial contributions.

General Equilibrium:
Article 11: Whenever possible, the Parties must seek a general equilibrium at the artistic level, as well as in the utilization of the technical means of the two Parties.

The competent authorities of both Parties will periodically check if this equilibrium has been reached in accordance to the existing possibilities in each case, and will adopt the necessary measures when it has not been reached.

Transparency:
Article 24: The competent authorities of both Parties will give all information of a technical and financial nature relating to the co-productions, the exchange of cinematography works, and, in general, to any antecedent of common interest regarding the cinematography relations between both Parties.

Working Group:
Article 25: The Parties agree to create a Working Group to meet alternatively in Caracas and Santiago of Chile, in any opportunity decided by the Parties. The Group will be in charge of evaluating the application and execution of this Agreement, as well as of establishing plans, programs and projects of binational interest in the area of cinematography, specially regarding its development and national and international projection.

The Group will consist of the competent authorities of both Parties, and the Parties may also invite, when there is common agreement, members of the national private sector which are, or may be, linked to the development of the Venezuelan and Chilean cinematography.

Entry into Force, Duration and Denouncement:
Article 26: This Agreement will enter into force at the moment of its signature and will have a duration of ten years, automatically renewable for equal periods.

It may however be denounced at any moment by any of the Parties, through a written notification sent to the other Party through a diplomatic channel, with an anticipation of at least six months. With no harm to what has been said, the activities, programs and projects which have been formulated while the Agreement was valid and which are being executed at the moment when the denouncement becomes effective, may continue until their termination, unless the Parties decide to act in a different way.

3. Acuerdo de Coproducción Cinematográfica (Agreement on Cinematography Co-Production between the Government of the Republic of Venezuela and the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil)

DATE: May 17, 1988

MEMBERS: Venezuela and Brazil

Summary of Provisions

Definitions and Competent Authorities:
Article I: For the purposes of this Agreement, the Parties understand by “Film of Venezuela-Brazilian Co-Production” a film with a duration of no less than 70 minutes for feature films, and no less than 4 minutes for short films, in any formats or means, undertaken by one or more Brazilian producers jointly with one or more Venezuelan producers, in conformity with the provisions established in this Agreement, based on a contract determined by the co-producer enterprises and properly approved by the competent authorities of both countries, which are: the Office of Cinematography Industry of the Ministry of Development in Venezuela, and the National Council of Cinema (CONCINE) of the Ministry of Culture in Brazil.

National Treatment:
Article II: The films made in co-production by both Parties will be considered as national films by the competent authorities of both countries, always and when made in conformity with the current legal provisions in each country. Such films will benefit from the advantages for national movies anticipated by the current law, or by laws to be approved in the future, in each co-producer country.

Article III: To enjoy the benefits of this Agreement, the co-producers must fulfill the requirements of their own national laws and the requirements established by the Standards of Procedure described in Annex “A” to this Agreement, which are considered part of the Agreement.

Proportions:
Article IV: 

1. In the co-production of the films, the proportion of the respective contributions by co-producers of both countries may vary from 30 to 70 per cent. In the cases of co-production with third countries, the minority financial participation may be of 20% of the total cost, according the current legislation of each country.

3. The artistic and technical participation in the co-production will be ruled by the Table of Points specified in the Annex “C” to this Agreement.

Transparency:
Article XIII: The competent authorities of both Parties will give all information of a technical and financial nature relating to the co-productions, the exchange of films, and, in general, to any antecedent of common interest regarding the cinematography relations between both Parties.

Non-Fulfillment:
Article XIV: The nonfulfillment of one or more clauses of the contract celebrated by the co-producer enterprises will grant the affected or aggravated Party the right to judicially demand from the other in the jurisdiction of its choice.

Composite Commission:
Article XV: A Composite Commission will be created and will have as its attribution to observe the execution of this Agreement, as well as to examine and resolve the difficulties arising from its application. The Commission will consist of a representative of the Venezuelan Office of the Cinematography Industry and a representative elected by Venezuela’s cinematography guild, and two representatives indicated by the Coordination of Institutional Relations of the Brazilian National Council of Cinema.

Entry into Force: 
Article XVI: Each Party will notify the other of the fulfillment of the procedures required by their corresponding legislation for the approval of this Agreement, which will enter into force when the last notification is received.

Duration, Denouncement and Modifications:
Article XVII:

1. This Agreement will have a duration of five years and may be automatically renewed for equal and successive periods.

2. This Agreement may be denounced by any of the Parties with a notification through diplomatic channels, and the denouncement will be effective six months after the notification has been received.

3. The Parties may propose modifications to the Agreement through a diplomatic channel at any moment. If approved, the modifications will enter into force according to the established in Article XVI.

 

4. Acuerdo Cinematográfico (Cinematography Agreement between the Government of the United Mexican States and the Government of the Republic of Venezuela)

DATE: June 29, 1974

MEMBERS: Venezuela and Mexico

Summary of Provisions

National Treatment:
Article 1: 

a) The feature films made in co-production under the terms of this Agreement will be considered as national films of both countries and will benefit from the resulting advantages anticipated by current provisions or that may be dictated in the future in each country.

Competent Authorities:
Article 2: The films made in co-production shall be approved by the competent authorities of the two countries, given previous reciprocal consultation; in Mexico, he films shall be approved by The General Office of Cinematography; in Venezuela by the Tourism Corporation of Venezuela.

General Equilibrium:
Article 7: The Parties must seek a general equilibrium of the financial and artistic aspects as well as of the technical means (studios and laboratories) of the two countries.

The Composite Commission cited in Article 13 of this Agreement will observe if this equilibrium has been respected and, if not, it will dictate measures considered necessary to establish this equilibrium. The general equilibrium mentioned in the previous paragraph is referred to the whole set of co-productions carried during this Agreement’s duration.

Composite Commission:
Article 13: There will be a Composite Commission which will have the attribution of examining and resolving the difficulties arising with the application of the Agreement.

Transparency:
Article 12: The Parties agree to give all information concerning the exchange of films, co-productions, syndicate agreements and, in general, all that is related to the cinematography relations between the two countries.

Co-Production:
Article 14: The procedure of co-production will be subject to the standards contained in the annex to this Agreement.

Settlement of Disputes:
Article 16: All differences between the Parties arising from the interpretation or execution of this Agreement will be resolved through pacific means, recognized by the International Rights.

Entry into Force, Duration and Denouncement:
Article 17: Each of the Parties will notify the other of the fulfillment of the formalities required by their legislation for the operation of the Agreement, which will enter into force on the date of the last of such notifications.

The Agreement has a duration of two years, and will be annually renewable by implicit agreement. It may be denounced by any of the Parties at any moment, given previous written notification with three months of anticipation.