DISCUSSION: «GREEK CINEMA NOW»
Prevailing conditions in the Greek cinema industry, the systems of state funding in other European countries and the limitations scheduled to be imposed in 2012 stemming from E.U. competition laws, were among the topics examined during the discussion “Greek cinema now”, that took place on Tuesday, November 17, at Port Warehouse 13, in the framework of TIFF’s Agora.
In a heated discussion that lasted for more than two hours, producers, filmmakers, people of the industry and moviegoers - all anxiously expecting the new legal framework for Greek cinema - expressed their agony on a series of issues such as: the limited financial resources of filmmakers, the problematic distribution of independently produced films, the state of cinema education and the lack of job opportunities for young people in the industry.
Opening the event, TIFF’s artistic director Despina Mouzaki welcomed the participants ”to a discussion aimed at contributing to the debate on Greek cinema”, underlining “that the Festival can contribute in this debate the international aspect - the views ands experiences of cinema people from every corner of the planet”.
The first part of the discussion was focused on cinema’s state - funding regimes in France, Germany, Britain and Greece. Toulouse University professor Serge Regoud, who is an expert on the legal aspects of the motion picture industry, noted that the French system is based on agreements made in 1948, under the perceived threat of American productions “flooding” the French market. The state plays a crucial role in the French system. The filmmaker’s nationality and the language of the film are major prerequisites of funding. “In France, each year 200 films are produced and, according to a study, only 12% of these cover their production costs. A great number of these movies make no profit. The French Film Center is funded by a special 11% tax on theater tickets. There are other income sources as well, from TV channels, advertisers and taxes paid by publishers. TV stations are obliged by law to invest a specific percentage of their turnover (around 3%) in French cinema productions, while subscription channel Canal Plus is obliged to channel 20% of its turnover in the French motion picture industry, buying the rights of films or producing them. The French system also provides for certain tax exemptions for specific companies and for capital invested in the national cinema. There are also other financial support mechanisms, depending on the area of France a movie is filmed”, said Mr. Regoud, adding: “French cinema managed to resist, thanks to the state intervention system. This is clearly a political issue and explains things not only in the case of France, but also in any comparison between the European and American systems. It is no coincidence that cinema became a source of national cohesion for Americans. A case in point is the fact that the first American feature film in the early 20th century was called Birth of a Nation”. In his closing remarks, Serge Regoud underlined that the state support system will change in 2012 in France. The European Commission has extended the validity of state aid assessment criteria for the production of films and audiovisual works until 31 December 2012. “For the time being, the Commission accepts the rule that 80% of state support goes to national productions, however one of the pillars of the EU is undistorted market competition. Therefore no one actually knows whether the state funding systems that now follow the national production rule will be allowed to continue or not after 2012”.
The French philosophy is adopted by the Gherman system as well, according to producer Christoph Thoke. “More than 100 million euros in state funding is channeled each year to German cinema. This is why German filmmakers and producers do not complain. Indeed, the combination of national and European funding has given birth to many success stories. In the co-production field, there are even broader limits. If I spot a good opportunity for a co-production, it is important for me to know whether the other country has a stable legal framework and whether its TV stations are supportive», he stressed.
If France and Germany are “paradise countries” for the movie industry, the picture is quite different in Britain, according to producer Peter Carlton. “Producers starve to death and there are huge obstacles in co-productions. There is no clear legal framework and each successive government changes things for the worse. For example, in the past, if a movie was filmed in Greece but a British actor was in the cast, it was eligible for funding. Now, filming has to take place in Britain and the cast must be entirely British. The UK Film Centre grants 15 million euros a year. Another fund grants 8 million euros to sponsor new talents and promote cultural diversity projects. State TV networks BBC and Channel 4 grant 15 and 10 million euros a year respectively, without any legal obligation. Furthermore, for the present government culture is an alien concept. I am afraid that in the near future all state funding will be a thing of the past, and a flood of American products will overwhelm Britain. The British public is turning its back on culture. Theater attendance is dropping, British productions are box office failures and the lion’s share goes to American films. On top of that, cinema owners withhold a large piece of box office revenues. We also have the highest projection costs in Europe, and since there is not tax on ticket prices, producers end up with minimal compensation. More state funding is needed to bolster filmmaking”.
“I felt a little better after hearing about the situation in Britain” remarked the president of the Greek Film Center Giorgos Papalios. “For Greece, I would wish for the implementation of the laws already in force, I would wish that the so called ‘1.5%’ from TV stations would finally reach the GFC, I would wish for the cinema committee to become active, and I would further wish for a tax exemption system. In Greece we don’t even have a cinema Academy, but we are hopeful that we will have one in the future. I do not disagree with Britain’s approach, that films should reflect the culture of a country. Perhaps EURIMAGES should be more helpful to smaller countries, because it is hard for us to find partners. We believe in co-productions, we make a lot of movies with Turkey and the Balkan countries, but the big countries are not interested in producing common projects with Greece. Most of our movies are handmade, only a few are expensive productions. The annual budget of GFC is very small. We don’t have the means to produce blockbusters like “Harry Potter”. We must support the new generation of filmmakers and not abandon them till they are 50 years old”. He then mentioned a characteristic example from the area of distribution. “We cover 30%-40% of a film’s budget. Once the film is made, we have the obligation to ensure its screening, so we either sponsor the distribution or screen it in our own theaters. So, a movie with an attendance of 40-50 people may have been subsidized with 40.000 euros. This is something that we must look into, and a problem that needs to be solved by the new legal framework”.
Crossroads’ artistic director Marie Pierre Macia commented that four years ago “Greek filmmakers didn’t even want to hear of the word co-production. Today they are interested, and it is movies like that, that manage to reach an international audience. In 2008, at the Rotterdam Festival, we had the participation of Alexis Alexiou, while in 2009 Anestis Charalabidis, Panos Koutras and Filipos Tsitos were also among the participants. Greek cinema is coming out of obscurity after a very long time. However, there is a problem concerning the legal framework, which has not kept up with the needs of new filmmakers”.
Filmmaker Perikles Hoursoglou, a professor at Aristotle University’s Film School, talked about the difficulties that exist in the field of education. “After the idea was revived for the first time since the 1960s, the school was instituted. But this happened without any prior planning and with lots of problems. We need more equipment, teachers, cameras. The Ministry of Education must realize that our needs are different compared to other university schools. Cinema is absent from the 12 - year school curriculum, and prospective students are not examined in any special entry course. Many of those who enroll haven’t the slightest idea about cinema. At the same time, there are many qualified people who could teach, but are not allowed to because they don’t hold university degrees”, explained Mr. Hoursoglou.
Greek Film Center vice-president Demetris Sophianopoulos commented that France has a cinema budget of 700 million euros to Greece’s 7 million and stressed that producers in Greece have no motives to invest.
TIFF’s president Georges Corraface touched on the issue of co-productions. “I was recently involved in a co-production project involving Belgium, France and Greece, starring Greek and French actors, and with filming scheduled to take place in both countries. However, the presence of actors who couldn’t speak French made funding from France impossible, and the same happened with French actors and Greek funding. Inevitably, the project was dropped”.
