Disney, Universal and 20th Century Fox plan to boycott Britain’s biggest film festival because they claim the sale of counterfeit discs at Ingliston market is depriving them of £10m a year in lost revenue.
They claim Edinburgh has the worst track record of any local authority in Britain in tackling piracy and they hope that by targeting the film festival they will embarrass officials into action.
The withdrawal of the studios would have a huge impact on the festival. Last year they provided leading attractions including the UK premieres of In America, a Fox production directed by Jim Sheridan, and the Universal picture Ned Kelly, starring Heath Ledger.
In 2002, Disney used the festival for the European premiere of the acclaimed film Rabbit-Proof Fence, the 1930s story of three Aborigine girls who were forcibly separated from their family by the authorities in Australia.
It also staged the British premiere of One Hour Photo, a Fox production starring Robin Williams, and the world premiere of The Guru, a Universal film starring Jimi Mistry and Heather Graham.
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Senior executives from the three studios have arranged a meeting in Edinburgh next month with officials from Edinburgh council and the Federation Against Copyright Theft in an attempt to resolve the dispute ahead of the festival launch in August.
“Councils in certain areas are sitting idle and not working on behalf of local business, and that’s true of Edinburgh,” said Simon Hewlett, Fox’s UK managing director.
“It’s going on in front of them but there’s a reluctance to do anything about it. The council cannot ignore the people who put them there and if it gets to the point where a council is literally sticking two fingers up to us, we will have to consider our options.
“We are big supporters of the festival and other film-related enterprises, but why on earth should we make that kind of commitment if they’re not prepared to support us?” Mark Batey, chief executive of the Film Distributors’ Association of which Fox, Universal and Buena Vista International are members, said the international reputation of the Edinburgh Film Festival was now on the line.
“If the big film companies boycott Edinburgh, it will certainly tarnish the city’s fantastic international reputation as a focal point in the film world,” he said.
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“This is the risk that is being run. Nobody wants that, but this is a serious problem.”
Ginnie Atkinson, managing director of the Edinburgh Film Festival, said the studios’ threat was “worrying”.
Edinburgh council defended its record in tackling counterfeit gangs, saying it already uses new legislation which prevents known offenders from supplying, possessing, manufacturing or selling counterfeit goods. If someone breaks the order, they can face prison and an unlimited fine.
“Piracy is a priority for enforcement officers in Edinburgh,” said Mike Drewry, director of the council’s environmental and consumer services department.
“We are acting on intelligence and targeting manufacturers and suppliers who are putting pirated goods into the market.
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“Our actions go a long way towards actually stopping the supply of goods reaching the marketplace. We have undertaken all of this without the help of other agencies and we will continue our hard work to combat this serious crime.”
Studios say the black market in DVDs and videos costs them more than £500m last year.
In many cases latest releases are available at markets such as Ingliston and Glasgow’s Barras market even before they appear at the cinema.
Criminals involved in the illegal trade are raking in tens of thousands of pounds per day.Last year a consortium of eight Ingliston traders were raided within an hour of opening their stalls. They had already taken more than £20,000.