Letter of the President

May, 2003

To all national federations affiliated to UNICA and all UNICA friends.

Dear Film Friends,

Following an invitation extended by the German Film Federation (BDFA), the UNICA Committee met in Veitshöchheim (near Würzburg DEU) from 01 to 04 May.
I would like to share with you some information about the proceedings of this meeting and the decisions that were made, considering that they concern the life and activities of national federations, clubs and their members. We are also very pleased whenever we see that this information is then circulated via your magazines and news bulletins.

-    The UNICA Committee is always pleased to have information but also asks federations to bear in mind that only information of common interest for UNICA and all members can be accepted and publicized. Please have understanding for this restriction.

-    In spite of several reminders. some countries did not pay the annual membership fees. Should the latter fail to do so before the end of the year, we have no other alternative, in accordance with the Statutes, than striking these countries off the list of members. Unfortunately, no federation thought of applying for the assistance offered (taking over 50% of the contribution in the case of “countries with limited resources”); as a matter of fact, there was no response at all.

-    The Committee examined in detail the problem of organising film discussions after the presentation of a set of films. After a long debate, we submit the following innovation - which should be regarded as an experiment.
After the presentation of a set of films, the programme will not be discussed by all members of the jury (without evaluation), but rather by only a subset of 3 members.
After each set, a member of this small committee will be replaced so that all members will eventually participate at least twice. The moderator will see to it that the time assigned for the discussion is respected. These are the arrangements made for this experiment which means that the audience will not participate in the discussion (as they did last year).

-    With a view to simplifying the translation process, Fred Graber of Switzerland will bring along specialised equipment allowing to have simultaneous translation (with headphones) from/into one language (French or English). The system has been introduced and proved successful in Switzerland so that we hope that UNICA will also find it adequate and practical. I take this opportunity to thank Fred Graber for his initiative.

-    The preparations for the UNICA Congress in Warsaw are already in full swing. It seems that the Organising Committee in Warsaw has managed once again to gain VIPs to their cause so that we can expect some pleasant surprises on the programme.

-    For the preparation of the UNICA 2003 Congress and General Meeting, two questions have to be clarified:
1.) The proposal from SWE concerning the cancellation of the Film School category for the UNICA Competition.
The Committee came to the unanimous conclusion that films made by film school students are a major asset for the UNICA Programme. All committee members are convinced that we should not leave these productions aside as they reflect new tendencies, offer new viewpoints and provide valuable opinions concerning our type of film creation. This is why the Committee recommends to the delegates to the General Meeting to turn down the proposal - as it now stands.
2.) Arie de Jong (NLD), the Secretary general of UNICA is no longer in a position to assume his office - due to private circumstances - and he will therefore not be a candidate for re-election in Warsaw . We are very pleased to see that the gap that would have appeared with Arie de Jong ’s departure will be bridged : Jan Essing , likewise from NLD, has offered to take the oftice over from Arie de Jong . This is why Jan took part in this committee meeting to collect all possible information and gain experience. He will be a candidate at the next General Meeting (as a committee member and successor to Arie de Jong ).

-    The Committee decided to submit an amendment of the Statutes to the UNICA 2004 Assembly stipulating that the candidates to become a member of the UNICA Committee should be introduced in writing 3 months ahead of the General assembly. This is the only way for the UNICA Committee to collect all necessary information about the activities of the candidate in his/her federation before the General meeting. Pending the adoption of this amendment, the current rule will continue to apply: candidates can be presented until some minutes before the poll. This mode of operation obviously does not correspond to modern practice.

-    The Committee has prepared a document stipulating which requirements are imposed on members of the UNICA Jury. This document will be oublished in the UNICA-News together with the present information letter.

-    Miette Verlinden’s demise has caused changes concerning the offices “Patronage” and “Friends of UNICA”. Wolfgang Freier will now be in charge of Patronages (formerly Miette Verlinden) and Fred Graber (CHE) will now take care of the “Amis de I’UNICA”. The change will be implemented on the occasion of the get-together of the Friends of UNICA in Warsaw (on Sunday).

-    The UNICA 2005 Congress will take place in Belgium , in Blankenberge (at the seaside....).

-    A final point: Arie de Jong will not leave us, after all. He takes over the newly created office of “Webmaster” for our Internet site, an institution which is steadily gaining in importance to create contacts with people interested in UNICA and maintain good communication with many UNICA friends.

-    Finally, I would like to ask you to start thinking about the UNICA 2006 Congress ! As you probably know, the idea is to organise it in Korea - obviously this will involve extensive preparatory work... We will keep you in the picture.

Made on behalf of the UNICA- Committee

Max Hänsli .