Cinema and civil society; EMPOWERING VOICES IN A GLOBALISED WORLD.
Civil society is the commons where people meet outside state power and the market to decide the terms of a shared life. The stronger civil society is, the stronger the people’s voice, and the better the conditions for peace and human development. Whilst definitions of civil society vary from Locke and Hegel to Marx and Gramsci, what remains clear is the importance of civil society as a space distinct from the political realm and, distinct from the family and, unless you are reading Marx, from the market. It is the place where ideas can ferment and meet, and where common understandings can form that benefit everyone rather than favouring certain groups.
Even with a critical Gramscian view, where civil society is at risk of becoming the realm in which hegemony can manifest, reproduce and embolden itself through the institutions that pervade our lives, civil society still stands as a crucial contemporary arena. It is the space to contest those same hegemonies that try to suppress us and reproduce existing dynamics of power. Civil society is where everyone, from the marginalised to the oppressed and other classes across our societies, has a chance to voice concerns and collaborate, and therefore challenge suppression. A strong civil society is democracy at its finest. Democracy, despite its flaws, brings both negative peace and positive peace, with representation and participation that improve life for all. Anything that emboldens civil society emboldens democracy and promises a better future for all.
We propose cinema as a true vehicle of civil society, necessary to improve our lives in an age of globalisation and mass financialisation, of growing conflict, democratic backsliding and totalitarian oppression. Cinema has always been a vessel for expression. What we see now is a counter-trend of increasing democratisation and increasing access across all levels of society. It is no longer an exclusive art form controlled by the rich, either domestically or globally. Younger people, the future generations, have more access than ever to filmmaking and distribution. Opportunities are also rising for people of the global South, the global periphery and previously marginalised communities. It is not fair and might never be fully fair, since some will always have more access to equipment than others, but time and again we see proof of this simple fact, and we hope to prove it as a platform. People from all kinds of communities across the globe who have a story to tell can create cinema that carries that story.
This matters more than ever while our generation faces conflicts around the world, seeks to confront corruption and make our voices heard, and tries to uproot the deep vestiges of power that cling to the potential of the people and convert it into private gain. Strong, fair and incorruptible institutions are the basis of successful societies and the basis of dignity for all people. The democratisation of voice is one way to hold our societies and governments to account and to press for a future that benefits all. We believe the expanded diffusion of voice through cinema can be one way to strengthen those voices around the world. After all, cinema is a clear manifestation of the communicative technologies of the 21st century, where sound and vision together can transport us close to a dreamlike state while confronting the harsh realities of conflict and the humanitarian failures that affect billions of our fellow humans today. Sound, music, visual culture and poetry can all be combined.
Cinema in this manner, as we know it today, embodies the creative power of globalisation and technological diffusion, as people from countries all over the world are making films. In a time when globalisation is facing pushback, sometimes for good reason, the democratisation of culture remains crucial. Returning to Gramsci, to offset the harmful effects of cultural hegemony we must allow people from all cultures, all traditions and all unique stories to express themselves and be platformed. This reverses monoculture and moves us toward a fairer, more representative cultural democracy, where we access and appreciate many voices instead of following one dominant narrative.
Visionova Film Festival is our way to make civil society real, on screen and in the room. Cinema here is not garnish. It is the meeting place. We work for sustainability in practice and in culture: cultural, by widening who gets seen and what counts as a story; social, by building a space where filmmakers and audiences actually meet and think together; environmental, by keeping operations lean and choosing what reduces waste where it makes sense. Selection is on the work. Choices are merit based, and we do not favour one voice, language or perspective over another. We actively avoid the same old colonial narratives of cultural superiority.
As an organisation we aim to collaborate with groups across the globe that share this direction and speak to the contemporary spirit of a generation. We want to reach far-flung voices and come together in Rome, one of the world’s historical centres of culture. In time we will take events to other global capitals where it serves the work. The goal stays constant. Keep moving toward the real democratisation of the cinematic experience and the strengthening of civil society and the global community through the expression of cinema.
