Denouncing the scant presence of Euskera in cinemas and calling on the government to take action
- Only 1.99% of the premieres were in Basque in the cinemas of Hego Euskal Herria, according to the study on the offer of Basque in cinemas carried out in 2022 by Apantllas Euskaraz and the Observatory of Linguistic Rights. They say the data is "raw and troubling."
The Observatory on Linguistic Rights has analyzed the number of premieres in the commercial cinemas of the capitals of Hego Euskal Herria in 2022 and the language of the films offered. According to them, the data are "gross and troubling": "The original version in Basque, doubled to Euskera, or subtitled to Euskera, has not reached 2%. Subtitled to Spanish or Spanish, 100% of the films have been offered."
Irati, Paul Urkijo's film, comes to the movie theaters on Friday. Apantallamiento Euskaraz and the Observatory of Linguistic Rights review the offer of Basque film in 2022. They say that no fiction film has been released in Basque throughout 2022.
"Of the 751 premieres, the original version in Basque has been four films, eleven others have been offered to Basque and two other bilingual or trilingual," the two agents explain. Thus, the presence of the Basque Country in 2022 has been 1.99% in the commercial theatres of Hego Euskal Herria. In addition, they say that the number of passes the Basque films have is "much lower" than the number of Spanish films. Therefore, if we look at the number of performances, the Basque offer would be even smaller: 1%.
"It is hard to understand that in a territory with two official languages, citizens are denied the possibility of living in Basque"
In this sense, given the "systematic violation" of the linguistic rights of Euskaldunes, measures have been requested by Zutabe Euskaraz and the Observatory on Linguistic Rights: "It is hardly possible to understand that in a territory with two official languages, the possibility of living in Basque citizenship is denied, thus limiting the fundamental right of all citizens". Law 10/1982, basic for the standardization of the use of Euskera, states that "the government shall adopt measures aimed at progressively equating the use of the two official languages in film and audiovisual recordings". This law has been 40 years old and has denounced that many of the articles that are collected are not yet complied with.
Need for a law to guarantee Basque
The Observatory on Linguistic Rights and Prentsan Euskaraz consider that it is the responsibility of public institutions to adopt measures to protect the linguistic rights of all citizens in cinemas: "It is necessary to address the rules that guarantee the presence of Euskera in the Basque Autonomous Community and in the Foral Community of Navarra".
In fact, audiovisual productions see more and more leisure time, films premiered in cinemas reach streaming platforms and, therefore, that films are also in Basque is "essential" to continue "advancing" in the normalization of Basque, to "deepen equality and ensure a dignified future for Basque" among the citizens.
They also encourage Basque citizens to consume productions in Basque and doubled to Basque and to make complaints when there is no offer in Basque.
The Council of Euskalgintza is warning of the linguistic emergency we have been experiencing in recent weeks. Several years have passed since the beginning of describing the situation of the process of revitalization of the Basque country at the crossing, at the roundabout, at... [+]
Korsikako legebiltzarkideek ezin dute Korsikako Asanblean korsikeraz hitz egin, Bastiako Auzitegiaren 2023ko epai baten arabera. Ebazpen horri helegitea jarri zion Asanbleak, baina debekua berretsi du orain auzitegi berak. Epaiak tokiko beste hizkuntzei eragiten diela ohartarazi... [+]
