Year book of motion pictures (1951)

considerable agitation to reserve playing time lor Mexican films and in May 1960 the Mexican Directorate General of Motion Pictures established screen Qoutas for towns, cities, and villages having not more than one motion picture theater. The Quota provided that in every center of population where there is only one theater, a minimum of six Sunday programs of Mexican origin were to be shown in every tliirteen weeks. In October 1950 this screen quota was invalidated. In August 1950, a draft of proposed new regulations for the Mexican motion picture industry was submitted to the National Council of Cinematographic Art and the Council appointed a committee to study the draft which will eventually be presented to the Mexican Congress for enactment into law. Distributors of United States films in Mexico have expressed concern over several articles of the draft law. Among these are a provision by which the Directorate General is granted the power to deny authorization for the exhibition of foreign films when reasons of reciprocity or the public interest make such action necessary; articles of the law that grant the Directorate General the power to require theaters and theater chains to devote up to 50 per cent of their total exhibition time to Mexican films; and an article which states that no motion picture, domestic or foreign, produced for exhibition in theaters may be publicly exhibited without the authorization of the Ministry of the Interior through the Directorate General of Motion Pictui'es. As of the close of 1950 these regulations had not been enacted into law. The trade agreement between the United States and Mexico expired at the end of 1950 and new tariff rates were established effective January 18, 1951. Duties for 35-mm. positive developed motion picturs which were included in the trade agreement at a rate of 22 pesos per legal kilogram are now subject to duties assessed at the rate of 25 pesos per legal kilogram plus 10 per cent of the value of the film. The value of the film is the declared value or an official value calculated at 90.65 pesos per kilogram, depending on which is higher. (In January 1950 the Mexican peso equaled about 11.5 cents in U. S. currency.) C0ST.4 KIC.\ — No quota or contingent measures are in effect in Costa Rica that might interfere with the showing of United States films. On the contrary, over 85 per cent of the films shown in Costa Rica are distributed by U. S. film companies. Import permits are not required. On October 1, 1949, exhibitors in Costa Rica were notified by the Board of Exchange Control that as of that date no further allocations for dollar exchange at the official rate of 5.67 oolones to the dollar would be made for the importation of motion pictures. The fixed monthly quota of $7,000, which was estimated to cover onl.v 35 per cent of requirements, was discontinued. In April 1950 the Costa Rican Congress promulgated a new foreign exchange control law. This law provides for the classification of imports into five categories. As no specific classification has been made concerning entertainment motion pictures, a new agreement has been arrived at between the Central Bank of Costa Rica and the Costa Rican exhibitors. In accordance with this new agreement, films are subject to the regular customs chai'ges and. in addition, a 5 per cent income ta.v and a 10 per cent exchange surtax are deducted from the gross amounts remittable to the foreign producers as rental of the films. All foreign exchange required for payment of rental on motion pictures must be obtained from the "free official market" at rates which in December 1950 fluctuated between 8.50 and 9.05 colones to the dollar. EL S.\L.VAUOK — There are no trade restrictions designed to reduce or prevent the distribution of United States films in El Salvador. Import permits are not required and no dilliculty has been encountered in the transfer of foreign exchange. All distribution of films is handled by the Cireuito de Teairos Nacionales, a government monopoly. The budget of the Circuito for the year 1950 provided for payment of 504,000 colones (U. S. $201,600) rental on films released in El Salvador during the year. Gt'ATEM.\L.4 — Import permits are not required and there are no foreign exchange restrictions in Guatemala. HONDURAS — Import permits are not required, and while foreign exchange for films, as well as all other foreign exchange transactions, must be cleared by the Foreign Exchange Control Commission, no difficulty has been encountered, XIC.\K.\GUA — Importation of motion picture fi'.ms into Nicaragua has remained unrestricted and import permits are not required. The banks, however, do not authorize foreign exchange at the official rate of 5 cordobas to the dollar for the importation of motion pictures. Distributors are forced to procure necessary dollars from the street exchange at the unofficial rate, which in September 1950 was about 7.15 cordboas to the dollar. No changes are anticipated in this respect. PAN.AM.A — Import permits are not required. United States currency is the medium of exchange in Panama and there are no restrictions prohibiting or limiting the transfer of funds. CUB.A — There are no laws in effect in Cuba that restrict the importation or exhibition of U. S. motion pictures; neither are there any exchange controls or quota restrictions which might hamper the marketing of pictures. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC — No restrictions on importation of films or transfer of foreign exchange. H.AITl — No restrictions on importation of films or transfer of foreign exchange. AFRICA ALGERI.A — Regulations continue in effect which stipulate a reservation of four out of each thirteen weeks for the showing of French films. The direct importation of films from foreign countries has practically ceased and normally all films are sent to Paris for dubbing and then brought into Algeria from France. Film earnings are either deposited locally or remitted to Paris. BELGIAN CONGO — Import permits are not required for motion pictures and although licenses are required for the transfer of foreign exchange, no difficulties have been experienced in securing dollars to pay for U. S. films. BRITISH EAST AFRICA — All imports into British East Africa are licensed. Despite the fact that British East Africa lies within the sterling area and suffers from an acute shortage of dollars, U. S. films continue to dominate the market and it seems unlikely that any measures are contemplated to reduce the number of films imported. EGYPT — United States film companies in Egypt are currently operating under a provisional agreement whereby only 35 per cent of film earnings are eligible for remittance in dollars. Earnings in excess of 35 per cent have been blocked since July 1947. The ban on dubbing remains in effect and not more than 3 pictures can be dubbed annually. There are no quantitative restrictions on the imports of films, although import licenses are required. ETHOPI.V — Practically all U. S. films shown in Ethiopia are obtained through the distributors in Cairo and payment is made in sterling or Egyptian pounds. During 1950 the inability of theater operators to obtain foreign exchange forced them to accept second-rate films. Two of the four theaters operating in Addis Ababa were forced to stop importing films from Egypt and elsewhere because of the rigid exchange control enforced by the State Bank of Ethiopia. 727