Within the context of the Agora Talks of the 65th Thessaloniki Film Festival, the discussion titled “Meet the Film Commissions: By your side before and after the production, from the North to the South of Europe” was held on Monday November 4th at MOMus-Thessaloniki Museum of Photography, in collaboration with the Region of Central Macedonia (Film Office-Central Macedonia, Greece), the Hellenic Film Commission and the European Film Commissions Network (EUFCN). The panelists were: Martina Lovascio (Apulia Film Commission, Film Fund Manager, Italy), Adrian A. Mitchell (Head of Oslo Film Commission and EUFCN Co-President, Norway), Lina Milonaki (Head of Film Office – Central Macedonia, Greece) and Neoklis Mantas (Director of the Hellenic Film Commission - Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center - Creative Greece, Greece).
The moderator of the discussion was Venia Vergou (Manager of the EUFCN – European Film Commissions Network, Greece). The discussion was prefaced by Angeliki Vergou, head of Agora, while Vicky Hatzivasiliou, Vice-Governor of Tourism - Region of Central Macedonia and Leonidas Christopoulos, Chief Executive Officer of the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center - Creative Greece extended their greetings.
Martina Lovesco made mention of the successful development of Apulia Film Commission, which is responsible for the surge of productions in the area since its establishment in 2007 to date. She then made reference to the network of international collaborations and partnerships, and briefly explained the selection and funding process of the projects, emphasizing the high reciprocity of disbursed funds. The conversation continued with Neoklis Mantas, who referred to the new body which emerged from the merger of the Greek Film Centre and the National Centre for Audiovisual Media and Communication. He made a special mention on two programs: “Location Scouting Support Program”, which supports the preliminary location scouting of international film and TV projects interested in shooting in Greece, and also the program “Minority Coproduction”, in which feature films, documentaries and animation films longer than 70 minutes are integrated.
Then, Lina Milonaki took the floor, stating that the synergy between film industry and tourism fuels the local economy and inspires local creatives to shoot their films in Greece. Looking back at the actions and the initiatives of the Film Office of Central Macedonia, she mentioned a masterclass with William Simpson, the storyboard artist of Game of Thrones, and also the Film Office’s participation at the Venice Film Festival. Finally, Adrian A. Mitchell underlined Oslo Film Commission’s effort to make the most of Norway’s benefits, while taking into account the particular needs of each project and blending it with the local culture.
