DISCUSSION OF THE EUROPEAN CINEMA SUPPORT FUND ON EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTIONS
A full discussion on vital issues concerning contemporary European cinema took place at the meeting of representatives of Eurimages, the European Cinema Support Fund on co-productions support. The discussion was held on Wednesday, November 18, in Port Warehouse C in the framework of the 50th TIFF’s Agora incentive.
Eurimages was set up in 1988 and has 34 Member States. It aims to promote the European film industry by encouraging the production and distribution of films and fostering co-operation between professionals.
Alexandros Kakavas, Eurimages national representative for Greece, pointed out: “There is no doubt that we all want to watch the best films and see our names in them. I have to remark, however, that there are many new filmmakers who believe they have the best script and the best producers and that the whole world “owes” them. The world owes them nothing. Somebody should explain to this generation of new directors that the most important prerequisite to success is to have an outstanding project, not only in terms of an idea in their heads and how they visualise showing it to the public, but in terms of succeding in materializing it in the best possible way.”
Cyprus national representative in Eurimages, Diomidis Nikitas, argued that Eurimages is recently changing for the better, aiming to operate even more effectively. He added: “In the next Eurimages session with Germany presiding, we are already discussing a new method of selecting films which are to be supported, the issue will be addressed again in December. Eurimages is changing, nevertheless its main objective remains the same, namely the selection of better projects. The truth is that we have to compete with much better works from other countries, while Eurimages is generally trying to bolster its multicultural identity.” Mr Nikitas went on to say: “In Cyprus a small budget of 1,5 million euros is available, still we have managed to produce important short films, documentaries, even a couple of full-length feature films every one or two years.” He concluded that Cyprus co-operates with Germany and France, and 14 more projects are under completion.
Irena Strzalkowska, Eurimages national representative for Poland, commenting upon Eurimages operation remarked that it has completely altered the way of project selection; she encouraged those wishing to participate in the programme to constantly contact and consult their national Eurimages representative. On the issue of co-productions, Ms Strzalkowska mentioned that Poland undertakes big co-productions with other countries, e.g. Hungary, despite linguistic and cultural barriers. She went on to say that “In the past two years state television withdrew all funding. Given that Poland has three commercial TV stations, they focus on commercial films and can ensure distribution both in Poland and abroad, which is not entirely the case with artistic films. It’s true that we are struggling to find co-producers abroad due to language barriers, among other factors.”
Darko Baseski, FYROM national representative in Eurimages and president of the Macedonian Film Fund, a body that has co-produced with Greece in the past, noted that it is generally accepted that a Eurimages supported motion picture is guaranteed to succeed. He exemplified his statement by adding: “A motion picture we produced has been funded by 100,000 euros by the Macedonian Film Fund and by 250,000 euros by Eurimages. When we set up our own fund, our aim was to support co-productions with 30,000-50,000 euros, but eventually we saw that the sum was insufficient, so we considered raising it to 10% (100,000 euros), so as to reach the official European eligibility level for co-production. Each Eurimages project support usually amounts from 200,000 to 400,000 euros.
Brendan McCarthy has been a former Irish national representative in Eurimages for eight years and is currently an independent producer with Fantastic Films. In turn, he undelined the importance of good co-operation between each filmmaker and the respective national Eurimages representative. He also pointed out: “A means for the funding to develop and succeed is joint consideration with counterparts who share the same motives – for instance, if we take Germany’s regional funds, we can see that they are willing to invest money in their region. The same goes for Sweden. The case of Ireland is of high interest, because there is a strong tax motivation in the country at present.” Mr McCarthy stressed that the Irish Film Board is interested in investing in co-productions and allots small funds ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 euros for each one.
Tamas Joo, Hungarian national representative in Eurimages, said that the European Cinema Support Fund can support minority co-productions with funds amounting from 100,000 to 250,000 euros. He mentioned that Hungary’s most common co-productions are with France, Germany, Poland and Turkey, adding that he expects to see more Greek co-productions in the future. Regarding tax legislation, he noted that minority co-productions had a 20%-25% return to taxpayers, and there are still opportunities in Hungary’s regional funds taken these past few years.
Xhevdet Feri, the youngest Eurimages member, national representative for Albania and president of the Albania National Film Center, said that his country witnesses an “open system of Eurimages operation with simple demands and without many regulations.” He added: “We are a very small country, so we are bound to co-produce with others, such as Serbia, FYROM and Greece. We support Albanian directors, while at the same time leaving the doors open to foreign filmmakers. We cooperate better with Greece and FYROM, because we share common stories. A million Albanians live in Greece, so many Albanian stories are filmed there.”
Gergana Dakovska, Bulgaria’s Eurimages national representative, talked about reading groups, a tool recently adopted by Eurimages. “Producers from different countries have always urged us to read their scripts. Nevertheless, it was impossible for every representative to read all the scripts (a vast amount of projects, 50 per meeting) in five meetings bimonthly per year. This conflict called for a solution, which came with the establishment of reading groups. These do not consist of decision makers of projects selection. Decision making is the role of the board, consisting of a Eurimages representative member each year. Nevertheless, reading groups have proved to be very effective and we firmly believe that the process has been enhanced, because they include drama professionals selected from every country. The reading group, moreover, provides a written comment to the board of Eurimages representatives, thus ensuring the professional assessment of the scripts.” Ms Dakovska added that in Bulgaria most co-productions were made with Germany, followed by Greece, and mentioned that a new effective system of co-production funding has come into force in her country. Two projects with Greek majority participation are pending at present, which will be financially supported by the Bulgarian Cinema Fund.
Julien Ezanno, national Eurimages representative for France, the top film producing country, addressed participants by saying: “You should take more advantage of co-production and co-producers, so as to work more towards your project development. What is more, you should focus your attention to funding sources, so as to secure the support.” He stressed: “We have been greatly mistaken in believing that box office success would come with bigger productions. In my view, the future trend will be a better script selection and more original projects. There are ample opportunities for scriptwriters in the Balkans. I was much surprised at 50th TIFF’s Crossroads section, which showcased many high quality projects. These plans are strong candidates for Eurimages support, provided that they have worked hard on script development.”
Turkish national Eurimages representative, Mehmet Dermirhan, remarked: “European cinema is blooming, and so is Turkish cinema. This year we had 80 motion pictures distributed and screened. The Ministry gives us an annual budget of 7 million euros.” Mr Dermirhan also pointed out that co-productions are absolutely necessary, while the issue of approaching the audience is the key to profit making. “Eurimages is trying to become better and meet the needs of the cinema, but at the end of the day Eurimages is us, film professionals. Therefore, we need to adopt a different approach on co-productions,” he concluded.
