Director Martin Scorsese Taps for Uruguay's Continued Support in Filmmaking & Cinema

Martin Scorsese is calling for Uruguay's continued support in filmmaking and cinema.

The 72-year-old filmmaker directed a videotaped message urging the Uruguayan government's assistance in "the cinema, the authors, and their Cinematheque (Film Library)" despite the crisis the country's audiovisual sector is currently going through, Fox News Latino reported.

"A society that supports your film is a wise society. That's why I want to send this message to the Government and people of Uruguay," Scorsese said in the clip, as quoted by Fox News Latino.

The video was posted at LALA, a social networking platform for media artists, and spearheaded by Uruguayan Martin Sastre, the news outlet wrote. It is part of LALA's campaign to boost awareness for the critical financial state of the Uruguayan Film Library.

Aside from Scorsese, Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler, Argentine actress Mercedes Moran, and Spanish filmmaker Javier Rebollo also shot short videos as a contribution to the actions being made towards Uruguay's film industry.

General coordinator Maria Jose Santacreu said that the South American country's filmmaking institution is at its low point. For 63 years, the organization is responsible for Uruguay's some 20,000 movies, Fox News Latino noted.

More than 10,000 signatures were collected for a petition launched on social media platforms aimed to raise awareness for the organization's grave situation. The Uruguayan Film Library's circumstances also sparked discussions about "local media, the political realm, and within the Uruguayan government itself," Fox News Latino added.

Film Producers Association (ASOPROD) representative Esteban Schroeder said in August that the downfall of Uruguay's film industry should be blamed to the government's little support for local movies. Domestic funding is allocated for 30% of production money and Uruguayan producers have to go seek help abroad for the rest of the cost, according to a separate report from Fox News Latino.

"At one point, we were able to have 10 to 12 fiction movies per year and we're down to less than four, with just one screened last year," Schroeder said, as quoted by the news outlet. "If we go on like this, we might not have a single movie."

In 2008, the Uruguayan government passed a law that created funds intended for the production and distribution of movies, project development, and the training of filmmakers, Fox News Latino listed. However, the about $868,000 (25 million in Uruguayan pesos) appropriation each fiscal year was not adjusted and no modification was included in the government's 2015-2020 budget plan, Schroeder added.