OPINION: Economic meltdown, the recession, film and arts

It’s been over a week since I am in New York City. I might not be directly affected by the meltdown, or maybe I am just not feeling it since I am a visitor. However, where I stay, I see many young Europeans flocking into the city, having fun, spending money as if nothing was affecting them. This makes me think that, I might also be unaffected because an African I am not much of a materialistic person. The only exception comes in because of my weaknesses for electronic gadgets! Nevertheless, my daily routine and work, has kept me busy that I do not have time for a gadget-shopping spree. As a filmmaker, I have been wondering how much the film industry and arts in general, are affected by this economic meltdown. Some say that as in any industry, this situation might encourage more creativity on the part of filmmakers and artists in general. The other day, while in the city, I had lunch with fellow filmmakers who were out of work. The first thing I realised was that everyone, was cutting down or changing the way they have been doing things for a while. For example, one of my friends, told me how he does not come in town anymore unless he really has to do something or meet some people. For New Yorkers, this is so strange because they are used to being on the run - the fast life and no second to waste. No wonder, the downturn has slowed down people’s lives a little bit and, who knows, it might be for the best. Recently, Jane Rosenthal, one of the co-founders of Tribeca, during a meeting with her, mentioned that there are still signs of hope for the film industry. She said that work was still going at all odds. She also talked about situations where film studios push producers to make more films and are at times, even booked for a date before a script is written! Meltdown or not, one fact remains - since the recession begun, people have been looking for more entertainment. This means that they have been watching more films either in their homes or theaters. According to the October 16, 2008 article in New York Times, ““Where the downturn could hurt us, however, as a worldwide industry, is if the capital flow into the expansion of exhibition dries up. If they don’t continue to build cinemas in Russia and Eastern Europe and upgrade multiplexes in India, then that growth of the market, which creates demand and ultimately production, could be in trouble. I think the success of Mamma Mia! was due to the quality of the film-making and the resonance of the story rather than the fact that we’re living in hard times.” “When times are bad you want to be out there, and, as long as we continue to offer the films, I’m not worried about the downturn at all.” This is proof enough that the economic meltdown and recession did affect the industry. Not so badly though, like some ‘unfortunate banks’ since there is still a huge interest on the market for both, the producers and consumers. A Rwandan filmmaker, Pierre Kayitana is currently at the Tribeca Film Festival in the New York.

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OPINION: Economic meltdown, the recession, film and arts