November 5 2025

At the eighth edition of the Euro Balkan Film Festival, held in Rome, leading representatives of the European and Balkan audiovisual sector gathered to discuss the future of authors’ rights in the era of streaming platforms and artificial intelligence. Among the key participants were The Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) and collective management organizations (CMOs) such as AIPA (Slovenia), DHFA (Croatia), VAPIK (Kosovo) and several others from the region – joined by AZAS (North Macedonia), represented by its Secretary General, Mr. Kiril Gjozev. Their joint participation underscored the shared regional commitment to strengthening collective rights protection and promoting a fair creative ecosystem across Southeast Europe.

The event culminated in the adoption of a regional declaration calling for stronger recognition of authors’ and producers’ rights in the digital age, particularly within the rapidly expanding platform economy. It was the result of three high-level workshops addressing authors’ protection in the age of streaming, new distribution models, and AI-driven creative processes.

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Key Matters Addressed at the Festival

• Participants stressed that the current platform-driven marketplace and emerging AI technologies are redefining how audiovisual works are created, distributed and monetized – making the protection of authors’ creative rights more urgent than ever.

• The declaration reaffirmed that audiovisual authors and producers must be treated as central contributors to Europe’s cultural identity, and called on public policy to reinforce investment obligations for platforms and broadcasters, uphold the cultural exception and safeguard independent production.

• The event also highlighted the region’s potential as a laboratory of creative diversity and cultural resilience, and emphasized the need for collective rights organizations like AZAS to be fully operational in order to represent authors and producers effectively.

AZAS’s Focus and Message

For AZAS, participation in the Euro Balkan Film Festival represents more than a networking opportunity – it is an affirmation of its strategic vision: to protect the full chain of audiovisual creativity in North Macedonia, from script-writer to screen, from performer to producer. Through its presence, AZAS reaffirmed:

• Its commitment to aligning national practices with European standards on collective rights management.
• Its resolve to ensure that authors, producers and performers in North Macedonia receive just remuneration for the use of their works, be it on traditional broadcast, streaming platforms or in retransmissions.
• Its aim to contribute to policy dialogues on how platformisation and AI must not weaken cultural diversity or erode authors’ rights in the region.

Mr. Gjozev stated:

“In a time when algorithms and platforms threaten to reshape creative expression, it is essential that authors, producers and all right-holders stand together. AZAS is determined to ensure that North Macedonia’s creative professionals are not left behind. Our participation here signals a unified regional voice in defence of culture, rights and fair remuneration.”

Moving Forward

The declaration adopted at the festival serves as a call to action for institutions, platforms and rights organisations alike. For AZAS, it sets a clear agenda: to accelerate the development of a rights-management infrastructure in North Macedonia that both protects creators and enables robust regional cooperation.

By engaging directly with regional workshops, international policy forums and key stakeholders, AZAS continues to build the institutional capacity needed to represent audiovisual authors, producers and performers in a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.