Ukrainian filmmakers expressed distrust of the State Cinema and called for redirecting its record budget to the needs of the AFU

Nearly 200 Ukrainian filmmakers wrote an open letter to the President of Ukraine, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, and the Prime Minister of Ukraine, expressing their distrust of the leadership of the Ukrainian State Film Agency . In particular, representatives of the national film community called on the responsible authorities to redirect this year's budget of the agency, which reached a record high of UAH 589.6 million, to the needs of the Defense Forces.

This amount of money was allocated from the state budget to "support cinematography, including the documentation of war crimes." Meanwhile, in the letter, the filmmakers stated that the State Film Agency is "systematically unprofessional, dishonest in its work and fails to work with international partners ."

"Undoubtedly, Ukrainian cinema, like all culture in general, requires a lot of attention and budget support for the development and representation of Ukraine in the world, and is a powerful element of cultural diplomacy. Unfortunately, the years of incompetent and dishonest work of the State Film Agency leadership convince us that the allocated funds will be used inefficiently and with numerous violations," the letter says.

The filmmakers also clarified that the agency has no right or authority to document war crimes. The signatories believe that the record 589.6 million hryvnias allocated to the State Film Agency would be better spent on the needs of Ukraine's defenders.

"At a time when many filmmakers have become military personnel and need adequate support, from foot warmers to drones, the government plans to allocate record funding to the State Film Agency, which operates without an approved strategy, is led by an incompetent head, and decisions on the effective use of funds are made by the Cinema Support Council, which was supposed to resign in March 2023," the letter said.

So far, the letter has been signed by 195 film personalities and NGOs such as the Ukrainian Film Academy, Babylon 13, Contemporary Ukrainian Cinema CUC, Ukrainian Directors Guild, Art of Cinema, 86 and UMIND. Anyone can also join the signing.

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