Global reach, local constraints: senior professionals on the streamers’ impact on creative power, autonomy, and authorship in the Flemish audiovisual industry

Streaming platforms have transformed opportunities for European filmmakers, providing global reach and essential additional funding. However, these platforms also challenge notions of creative autonomy and authorship. Insights derived from thirteen in-depth interviews with senior industry professionals from the Flemish film and audiovisual market – primarily filmmakers, producers, and other professional stakeholders – reveal the complexities of this evolving creative landscape. This offers deeper insights into the interrelated challenges of creative freedom and collaboration with streamers. Three key perspectives emerge. First, almost all interviewed professionals acknowledge streaming platforms’ importance regarding additional financing. Over the last decade, these have increasingly become important as additional investors in an ecosystem increasingly challenged by a strained economic environment. Second, stakeholders highlight concerns over creative control when working with streamers. Although these platforms offer vital resources, they often impose rigid guidelines to cater to algorithm-driven global audiences, limiting filmmakers’ autonomy and control over final cuts. The third perspective suggests a convergence of cinema, streaming formats, and creative practices. Many directors are drawn to the series format for its potential for extended storytelling and its capability to sustain audiences’ attention for longer periods. This interplay creates new creative opportunities but also blurs the lines between traditional cinematic and serialized narratives and content, while simultaneously fostering homogenization processes.