Cinema as (Tangible and Intangible) Cultural Heritage A Need for Legal Adaptation of International Humanitarian Law?
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Abstract
This research paper will put forward innovative solutions to strengthen the protection of cinema during armed conflicts, in particular by contending that cinema could be qualified as cultural heritage, thereby falling under the protection of the relevant international Conventions.
A special testimony made by artist Sergio Iovino will be first proposed, with a view to highlighting the importance to safeguard cinema and – broadly speaking – every kind of art in wartime. Moving from the current armed conflict in Ukraine, the paper will underline the need for a reassessment of the relevant international regulations. In particular, after having secured a comprehensive definition of cinema, still lacking in international law, it will propose an evolutionary interpretation of the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005).
The paper will then analyze the legal relations between International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and filmmaking, which remain nebulous. The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict never refers to cinema, but simply mentions “objects of artistic interest” (art. 1), and already such a definition fails to accommodate cinema’s mongrel nature and complex production process. An adaption of IHL, starting from the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, will be therefore put forward in order to ensure that the art of filmmaking can enjoy legal protection in all phases of an armed conflict.
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References
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The EFP (European Film Promotion) promotes European films and talent around the world. With Film Sales Support (FSS), it backs marketing campaigns of European world sales companies targeting countries outside of Europe. Public calls invite sales companies who have registered in the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal of the European Commission and have been approved by the national film promotion institutes to submit applications by set deadlines. Film Sales Support is funded by the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme of the European Union. For more information: <https://www.efp-online.com/en/>.
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More than 50 historic centers are currently included in the World Heritage List, see list online: <https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/>.
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According to the Convention “this intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity.” UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, 17 October 2003, online <https://ich.unesco.org/en/convention>.
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The project aims to support the development of the film industry in Madagascar by raising awareness and developing the skills of young people. You can read the full project (“Encourage the use of cinema as a means of expression among youth with a view to developing a film industry”) here: UNESCO’ “IFCD Projects”, online: UNESCO <https://en.unesco.org/creativity/ifcd/projects/encourage-use-cinema-means-expression-among-youth-view>.
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The blue shield is a shield consisting of a royal-blue square, one of the angles of which forms the point of the shield, and of a royal-blue triangle above the square, the space on either side being taken up by a white triangle.
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“International law on the conduct of hostilities: overview” (2010), online: International Committee of the Red Cross <https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/war-and-law/conduct-hostilities/overview-conduct-of-hostilities.htm>. The protection of civilians during armed conflict, indeed, is a cornerstone of international humanitarian law Civilians protected under international humanitarian law both by the 1949 Geneva Convention and by their Optional Protocols, (Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977, and Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 8 June 1977.
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