An open letter signed by more than 800 leading figures from the film and audiovisual production sectors across Ibero-America has raised an international alarm over the direction President Javier Milei’s administration is taking in Argentina’s cultural policy. The document, promoted by the Ibero-American Federation of Cinematographic and Audiovisual Producers (FIPCA), denounces the defunding of the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) and warns of a potential “audiovisual blackout” if key articles of the Film Law are repealed.

Among the signatories is Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, alongside internationally renowned producers and filmmakers. The open letter was submitted to Congress on the eve of the legislative debate scheduled for February 11, when the ruling party is expected to push forward a reform that would eliminate the institute’s historic sources of funding.

Although the bill does not formally dissolve the INCAA, the core of the complaint centers on the removal of the resources that ensure its operation. The initiative seeks to repeal the articles that allocate to the institute the 10% tax on movie tickets— in place for 60 years— as well as two other revenue streams established in the 1994 reform. If approved, the institute would be left dependent on discretionary allocations from the National Treasury.

“The future of Argentine audiovisual production is at a critical juncture. The possible loss of its historic funding sources places the industry at a crossroads that demands rigor: audiovisual production is not a decorative activity, but an industry that competes in global markets and that, in every country with significant output, operates under specific public policies,” FIPCA president Ignacio Rey told Variety.

According to the federation, the cutbacks are not a collateral consequence but a direct political decision by the government. “Within the same bill there is an article that repeals three articles of the Film Law, specifically those that provide the INCAA with its earmarked funds. This eliminates the 10% ticket tax and two other revenue sources, leaving the institute at the mercy of the Ministry of Economy to grant whatever amounts it wishes, whenever it wishes,” explained Gabriela Sandoval, FIPCA’s vice president.

For the sector, the attack on the INCAA is unprecedented in its speed and severity. Unlike previous moments of crisis, the current defunding is taking place without an alternative plan or dialogue with the industry, and under a leadership that lacks experience in the audiovisual field. The head of the institute appointed by the current administration has never worked in the sector and has no background in production, exhibition, or cultural policy— a situation the signatories describe as emblematic of what happens “when people without specific expertise make structural decisions about a complex industry.”

In the letter, FIPCA warns that “this change could significantly limit the institute’s operational capacity and jeopardize the continuity of an industry that generates employment, exports services, and contributes high value-added economic activity across the country.”

Rey also cited Brazil as a concrete example of the consequences of institutional dismantling. “Before 2019, with Brazil’s film and TV agency active, the sector was growing and internationalizing. Between 2019 and 2022, when it was defunded, production contracted and dozens of companies shut down. Since 2023, with the reactivation of incentives, the industry has recovered,” he said. “The results are measurable and compelling.”

The open letter led by Almodóvar now seeks to halt in Congress what the sector describes as a deliberate dismantling of Argentina’s audiovisual policy. For its promoters, this is not only about defending the INCAA, but about preventing one of the country’s most significant cultural industries from being dismantled through decisions taken without expertise, without experience, and without precedent in their level of aggressiveness.