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Lack of copyright legislation highlighted in local documentary
– Education needed for change in culture
The lack of copyright legislation in Guyana was underscored through personal stories of a handful of local artists and producers. This was highlighted during a documentary last Monday evening at Moray House, Camp and Quamina Streets, Georgetown.
The documentary film was produced by Rustom Seegopaul. The project was produced over the space of about one year.
In his introduction to the film, Seegopaul said, “Copyright legislation is the keystone to developing the creative industries. I think that without it, any interventions and initiatives that are being made are futile.
Rustom Seegopaul in one of the many scenes in the documentary.
This is not about stopping pirated DVDs; this is about giving the value and opportunity to the work that artists and producers do. This is about recognizing their efforts and helping an industry to develop. This is about culture — really trying to recognize and realize what our culture, as Guyanese, is.”
He continued: “What does it mean to be Guyanese? What do we identify with? What do we have that is our own and what will the generation that is coming up now connect with, as theirs?”
The film features interviews with local artists, photographers, film makers and representatives of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Seegopaul highlighted the fact that the immediate way forward was through education, a common thread in the interviews within the film.
“I think it’s fairly obvious that a policy change will not happen too easily, or would be greeted well, even if that were to happen tomorrow,” he said. “The public needs to be made aware of value of the amendment and enforcement of the copyright law. And that is what this is, an effort at education.”
Rustom Seegopaul is a documentary film maker and photographer based in Guyana, producing work out of Wildfire Productions. Much of his current work is aimed at the conservation of the natural environment but is not limited to the natural landscape or wildlife. He seeks to, through his work within the sphere of visual media, effect a change in thought and practice that will help to encourage people to adopt a more sustainable way of living.
After getting his B.A. in Mass Communication from the Curtin University of Technology (Australia), Seegopaul returned to Guyana and began to work as a reporter/photographer with the National Media and Publishing Company Limited, the publishers of Guyana’s most widely circulated newspaper, Kaieteur News.
He pushed his energies into video after this, producing 12 documentaries for the World Wildlife Fund with Wildfire Productions. The lure of video and photography encouraged him to move into the world of multimedia, looking at the internet as a channel of distributing the stories he wanted to tell.
To these ends, he pursued his M.A. in International Multimedia Journalism from the University of Bolton (UK). Once again, he returned to Guyana, where he saw the fledgling media industry on the brink of serious change. Rather than watch the change from another continent, he decided to return and play an active role in the conversations, activities and models that will see this change unfold.
He has undertaken projects across Guyana, Malaysia, Cambodia and China. More recently, he exhibited a small section of his photography from the wilds of Guyana in Beijing, China. Shortly after that, his multimedia documentary about the looming water crisis in Beijing was featured at the Reel Water Film Festival in the United States.
Seegopaul has worked on multimedia and documentary projects for a wide variety of international donor agencies, including the World Wildlife Fund, the Canadian International Development Agency, through the Canadian Institute of Planners and UNICEF. He was also listed as a local producer, both contributing material and arranging local logistics for One Day on Earth (12.12.12), a global documentary project aimed at recording the human experience over a 24-hour period.
When he is not pursuing documentary projects, Seegopaul works with local companies and musicians, developing creative advertising campaigns and music videos.
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