Alternate presentations:

Overview > MEDIA NEWS

MEDIA NEWS

(2012 2011 - 2010 - 2009 - 2008 - 2007 - 2006)

2012

Call for Proposals

• New Preparatory Action on Circulation of European films

  The European Parliament has adopted a budget of EUR 2 million for a first year of a Preparatory Action "Circulation of European films in the digital era". The Commission has published a call for proposals in the Official Journal on 30 March 2012 with a closing date for applications of 6 September 2012. The Guidelines and application file are now available.

  More information:Preparatory Action on circulation of European films

• New action on Circulation of European works

  The European Parliament has adopted a budget of EUR 2 million for a first year of a Preparatory Action "Circulation of European films in the digital era". The Commission has published a call for proposals in the Official Journal on 30 March 2012 with a closing date for applications of 6 September 2012.

  More information:Preparatory action on circulation of European works

• State aid: Commission consults on future film support rules

  The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the state aid criteria it proposes to use to assess Member States' film support schemes in future.

• 
  

  MEDIA Mundus: Commission's €5 million boost for international film projects

  Some 35 film-related projects are to receive a total of €5 million in funding from the MEDIA Mundus programme – the European Union's international cooperation and exchange programme for the audiovisual industry

  Press release (13/03/2012)

• 
  

  Open Call for Expression of Interest: Are you working on audience development with an EU grant?

  The Commission is organising a conference on audience development in autumn 2012 and is looking for good examples from projects supported by the Culture and Media programmes.

  Current and former beneficiaries who have an essential and built in audience development component in their projects and who are interested in presenting their projects are invited to fill out the project template attached and submit it by 9 March 2012

  More information

Events

• 
  

  Tribute to Claude Miller, Président d'Europa Cinémas

  Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, has paid tribute to French film director Claude Miller who died in Paris last night, aged 70. He was the President of the Europa Cinemas network, founded in 1992 with funding from the EU MEDIA programme, which promotes the screening of European films.

  Press release

• Asghar Farhadi – first winner of the EU MEDIA prize, 65th Cannes Film Festival

  Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, will award the first EU MEDIA prize to the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi on Sunday, 20 May 2012 at the Cannes Film Festival.

  Asghar Farhadi, known in Europe and throughout the world for his films “About Elly” (which won a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2009) and “A Separation” (which won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2011 and the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012), and the producer Alexandre Mallet-Guy (Memento Films Production) will be awarded the EU MEDIA prize for their new project which will be filmed in France in French next autumn.

  Read the Press Release

• 
  

  Learn about interactive webdocumentaries; experience, create and develop them

  The Belgium MEDIA desk-Vlaanderen is organising an international event : conference, exhibition and two practive labs.

  Are documentaries by definition one-way messages from screen to audience? Or can they be broader, more interactive and crossplatform? Do you have a concrete idea for an interactive webdocumentary? Do you consider collaborating in one?

  Conference – April 30, Leuven (B)
  Exhibition – April 28-May 5, Leuven (B)
  XO DOX Creative Lab – May 1, Leuven (B)
  XO DOX Development Lab – May 30-June 1, Ghent (B)

  More info + Programme
• 
  

  Europeans at Hong Kong's FILMART 2012

  23 films from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, France, Italy, Spain and Romania to be shown during the Filmart.

  For the fourth year in a row, with the financial support of the EU's MEDIA Programme, European Film Promotion (EFP) is awarding Film Sales Support (FSS) to sales agents for the marketing of European films at Hong Kong's most important film trade fair, the FILMART, which runs from 19 to 22 March. Cash incentives totalling €62,200 for promotional and marketing tools are given to 16 different sales agents who are coming to Hong Kong to meet with buyers from the region. 23 films from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Sweden, France, Italy, Spain and Romania, yet unsold to Hong Kong and many Asian countries, are benefitting from FSS.

  Most of the supported companies are registered with EFP's umbrella booth which has been in operation at the FILMART since last year. This year, 14 companies are under EFP's umbrella. Newcomers include sales outfit action concept from Germany, Film Factory Entertainment from Spain, Film Europe Media Company from the Slovak Republic, HanWay from the UK, LevelK from Denmark and m-appeal world sales from Germany.

  More info (13/03/2012)

• 
  

  European films 'The Artist' and 'The Iron Lady' scoop seven Oscars

  European Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou has welcomed the major success of European films at last night's 84th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. 'The Artist' was crowned with five Oscars and 'The Iron Lady' with two. This year, nine nominated films received support from the European Union's MEDIA programme for cinema.

  Press release

  
  
  
• 
  

  Major successes for EU-backed films at Berlinale International Film Festival

  Two films supported by the European Union's MEDIA programme have been honoured at the closing ceremony of the Berlinale International Film Festival.

  Press release

• 
  

  Read all the news about the 2012 Belinale !

  See the dedicated page

  
  
  
  
  
• 
  

  Two films supported by the European Union's MEDIA programme have been honoured at the closing ceremony of the Berlinale International Film Festival.

  See the Press release

  
  
  
  
  
• 
  

  Six European cities to participate in Young Audience Day screenings and vote

  European Film Academy turns to the Young Audience with a new award.

  To celebrate this year’s 25th European Film Awards, the European Film Academy (EFA) and EFA Productions launch a new award for a film addressed to the young audience: The European Film Academy Young Audience Award. On the Young Audience Film Day on 10 June, three films nominated by EFA will be screened to a young audience (10 – 13 year-olds) in Amsterdam, Belgrade, Copenhagen, Erfurt, Stockholm and Turin. And it is the young audience that will act as a jury and vote for the winner right after the screenings. The presentation of the award will take place on the same day in Erfurt.

  The 25th EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS



• 
  

  'Creative Europe' at Berlinale Film Festival

  Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, will present the Commission's proposal for the new 'Creative Europe' programme at the Berlinale International Film Festival on 11/12 February. The Commission has proposed a budget of €1.8 billion over the 2014-2020 period for Creative Europe; of this, more than €900 million would be allocated to its 'MEDIA' arm, which supports the European film industry and the audiovisual sector.

  See the Press release

  
  
  
• 
  

  MEDIA and the Césars awards

  More than half of the nominated films for this years ceremony has been given support by the MEDIA programme. The event will take place on Friday 24 February in Paris.

  See the list of 21 MEDIA supported films

  
  
  
• 
  

  European Film Promotion celebrates its 15th anniversary - the network unites now 33 member countries

  European Film Promotion (EFP) was founded 15 years ago. In 1997 ten European promotion and export organisations joined forces during the Berlin International Film Festival, to demonstrate the wealth of films from various individual countries and to bring them onto the screen for audiences around the globe.

  A network was built up and it has grown continuously. More and more countries from the new united Europe petitioned to join. Today, EFP has expanded to include 32 individual organisations representing 33 European countries - and EFP is still the only umbrella organisation of its kind promoting European cinema and its talent worldwide, supported right from the start by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the EFP member organisations.

  Find out more about EFP's history and European cinema in the spotlight in their book

  More information on European Film Promotion at: www.efp-online.com
  
  
• 
  

  3 Golden Globes to The Artist by Michel Hazanavicus

  The French black-and-white silent film, The Artist, by Michel Hazanavicus won 3 Golden Globes: best comedy, best actor in a comedy (Jean Dujardin) and best music.

  This is only the start and hopefully a sneak preview to new awards during the coming BAFTA and OSCAR ceremonies!

  See all nominations and winners

Funding

• 
  

  SØRFOND - Norwegian South Film Fund, targeting filmproductions from developing countries is up and running with NOK 4 million being granted for support in 2012.

  Established in a co-operation between The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Culture SØRFOND will support filmproductions from eligible countries on the OECD DAC-list. Maximum support for one project is euro 135.000. SØRFOND requires that a Norwegian co-producer is confirmed at the point of applying for support. The Norwegian Film Institute and the Oslo Films From the South Festival will jointly be in charge of the administration of SØRFOND.

  Deadline for application is February 15.

  More information www.sorfond.com
  Press release
  
  

2011

Events

• 
  

  A new online data base designed to bring closer the MEDIA Programme of the European Union to professionals and citizens offering information of the MEDIA supported movies.

  The MFDB project started in 2009 and has more than 800 movie titles. It covers more than 40 film festivals and markets, 35 national awards and offers more than 500 movie trailers and 2,500 images. Information about over 600 companies (production and distribution companies) over 32 countries is accessible.

  One step towards the European cinema data accessibility
  The information related to the results of the MEDIA Programme is publicly accessible from the existent archives of every call, published on the official MEDIA Programme website and sent to all the Antenna via EACEA.

  It is possible to look for the information in an easy and comprehensive way, and it states the talent involved, the audio visual resources of every film or even a link to the production company website.

  The MFDB is a MEDIA Antena Catalunya initiative made possible thanks to the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the Catalan Institute of the Cultural Industries of the Catalonian Government.

  MFDB is available at http://www.mfdb.eu




• 
  

  Ten actors chosen as SHOOTING STARS 2012 - Europe's best young actors

  Young, talented, European. The ten actors chosen as SHOOTING STARS 2012 - Europe's best young actors are all of this and even more: With their outstanding work in feature films they have proven themselves ready to expand their film careers beyond their home countries to the world's screens.

  SHOOTING STARS is part of EFP's annual programme that is financially supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the participating EFP member organisations.

  The SHOOTING STARS 2012 announced by European Film Promotion: France: Adèle Haenel (House of Tolerance), Germany: Anna Maria Mühe (November Child), Iceland: Hilmar Gudjónsson (Either Way), Ireland: Antonia Campbell-Hughes (The Other Side of Sleep), Italy: Isabella Ragonese (The First Assignment), Poland: Jakub Gierszał (Suicide Room), Romania: Ana Ularu (Outbound), Sweden: Bill Skarsgård (Simple Simon), Switzerland: Max Hubacher (The Foster Boy), UK: Riz Ahmed (Four Lions)

  Shooting Stars website




• 
  

  MEDIA-backed films triumph at 2011 European Oscars

  6 films supported by the European Union's MEDIA programme for cinema were among those honoured at the 2011 European Film Awards in Berlin on 3 December. Melancholia received the award for best European film. In the other main award categories, Susanne Bier was named as best European Director, Colin Firth as best European Actor, and Tilda Swinton as best European Actress. In addition, The King's Speech received the People’s Choice Award for Best European Film and Stephen Frears was honoured with the European Film Academy's lifetime achievement award. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne took the award for European Scriptwriter.

  Press Release

  European Film Awards




• 
  

  "Les neiges du Kilimandjaro" wins 2011 LUX film prize

  The winner of the 2011 LUX film Prize is "Les neiges du Kilimandjaro" by French director Robert Guédiguian. European Parliament's President Jerzy Buzek presented the prize to the film's producer, Marc Bordure. The film questions the injustices of today's societies and their political and trade union conflicts, and makes a plea for tolerance.

  The other two finalists were "Attenberg" (Greece) by Athina Rachel Tsangari and "Play", (Sweden-France-Denmark).

  Presenting the prize, Parliament's President Buzek said "The European Parliament's LUX film prize serves as a reminder that what unites us is stronger than what divides us. It reminds us that the values, freedoms and indeed self-criticisms we share, are worth fighting for. It also reminds us that European movies have nothing to envy non-European productions."

  The film has received Distribution support from MEDIA.

  More info: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/en/headlines/content/20111006FCS28448/2/html/Les-neiges-du-Kilimandjaro-wins-2011-LUX-film-prize
  trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEis0smAb7c




• 
  

  UK film industry celebrates 20 years of the MEDIA Programme

  A new video clip produced by the UK MEDIA DESK features clips from iconic MEDIA-supported films and interviews with key film industry figures including Ken Loach, Mike Leigh, Rebecca O'Brien, Alison Owen, Jeremy Thomas and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Enjoy !

  http://www.youtube.com/user/MEDIADeskUK




• 
  

  The European Film Academy announced today the nominations for the coming 24th European Film Awards.

  At the Seville European Film Festival the European Film Academy and EFA Productions announced the nominations for the European Film Awards 2011. The more than 2,500 EFA Members will now vote for the winners which will be presented during the awards ceremony on 3 December in Berlin.

  The European Film awards are supported by MEDIA.

  The 24th EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS: Berlin, 3 December 2011
  The nominees are...

• 
  

  European Stars flock to Berlin for European Film Awards

  The 24th European Film Awards returned to Berlin on 3 December. An impressive line-up of European filmmakers joined by German actresses and actors as well as other colleagues presented the individual awards.

  The 1,000 guests – winners, nominees and EFA Members – gathered at the Tempodrom where German comedy star Anke Engelke lead through the evening as the show’s host. Among the guests this year: the German State Minister for Culture and the Media Bernd Neumann, the Austrian Minister for Education, Arts and Culture Claudia Schmied, EFA President Wim Wenders and the recipients of the honorary awards Stephen Frears and Mads Mikkelsen.

  The 24th EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS: Berlin, 3 December 2011
  Press release

• 
  

  12 Academy Award entries from Europe presented in Los Angeles

  European Film Promotion (EFP) presents 12 films from across Europe submitted for consideration as Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards in Los Angeles. The screenings of films seeking US distribution take place during the American Film Market (AFM), from 2-9 November, at the Wilshire Screening Room in Beverly Hills. The aim is to give these entries maximum exposure during this decisive time in Los Angeles and to attract the kind of awards season attention which often leads to wide international distribution.

  The screening series is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the respective EFP member organisations.

  This year, a total of 63 countries have submitted films for consideration in the Foreign Language Film category for the 84th Academy Awards. The nominations for the shortlist, which rises another buzz, will be announced on January 24.

•  
  

  26 MEDIA-funded films at the BFI London Film Festival

  This year's BFI London Film Festival line-up features 26 films from across Europe that have been funded by the MEDIA Programme. The 2011 selection includes the latest offerings from Roman Polanski and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne.

  As part of MEDIA's 20th anniversary celebrations the MEDIA Programme is also hosting a Gala Screening of Nanni Moretti's award-winning comedy Habemus Papam (We Have a Pope) on Tuesday 25 October.

  The Director of DG EAC, M. Vladimir Sucha, Aviva Silver and the MEDIA desk UK will attend.

  • Press release: MEDIA Gala screeing

  • The full list of MEDIA-funded films screening at the 55th BFI London Film Festival.

  More information on the BFI London film Festival.

• 
  

  EUROPEAN DAY IN ROME celebrating MEDIA 20 YEARS OF PASSION

  During the International Rome Film Festival (27/10 - 4/11) the MEDIA Desk Italia, The Business Street and Antenna MEDIA Torino in collaboration with Mibac – Direzione Generale Cinema, and Istituto Luce - Cinecittà will celebrate the MEDIA Programme's 20th anniversary on, Saturday, 29 October 2011 from 11 a.m. in Hotel Bernini Bristol / Conference Room 1st floor, with a one-day in-depth conference on the European Audiovisual Industry focusing on the opportunities offered by the new technologies and future European financing schemes.

  After the welcome of Nicola Borrelli, General Director of DG Cinema-Mibac, and Roberto Cicutto, CEO of Istituto Luce Cinecittà and Director of The Business Street and after the presentation of the Day by Giuseppe Massaro (MEDIA Desk Italia) and Silvia Sandrone (Antenna MEDIA Torino), the meeting will start with the first session “Understanding the Digital Cinema Roll-Out in Europe”.
  The afternoon will be entirely dedicated to the present and future of the MEDIA Programme. The European Commission will adopt a proposal for a new “Creative Europe” framework programme before the end of the year. It will cover the new MEDIA Programme 2014-2020 along with other actions in favour of cultural and creative industries. Isabella Tessaro, representative of MEDIA Unit, DG EAC - European Commission, will present the main features of this new framework.

  For futher information please see programme

• 
  

  "Justice for Sale" by Ilse & Femke Van Velzen (The Netherlands) will participate at the 24th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam(IDFA)/MEDIA International support

  The filmmakers Ilse & Femke Van Velzen participated with Justice for Sale at the Greenhouse 2010 program on the theme of racism & human rights. In November 2010 the filmmakers pitched their project at IDFA's pitching forum. The film is supported by Ikon TV the Netherlands, Tribeca Gucci Fund, the Sundance Documentary Fund and the Dutch Film fund.

  Justice for Sale tells the captivating story of innocent people wrongly accused and sentenced to long prison term. Wealthy people buying their way out and corrupt judges in a failing judicial system. The filmmakers follows a courages young human rights lawyer who fights impunity to end corruption in Congo's judicial system.

  Justice for Sale will be competing at the Dutch Documentary competition.

  The filmmakers Ilse & Femke Van Velzen participated at the Greenhouse 2010 program supported by the EU in the framework of Media International.

  Read more and watch the trailer

• 
  

  Angry Birds, Ubisoft and "A Monster in Paris" at Cartoon Feature (17-19 Oct, Munich)

  At Cartoon Feature, key speakers will share their expertise on the latest developments of the feature-length animation market:

  • Winning partnerships with the game industry: Rovio Entertainment (Angry Birds) and Ubisoft Motion Pictures
  • Finding new ways of financing: co-producing with Germany, crowdfunding, MEDIA production guarantee fund, the new web actors…
  • Distribution and marketing strategies: Gebeka Films, Telepool
  • How to develop the best story for your film
  • Films under 5M EUR and the emergence of adult oriented movies
  • Learn from experience! 5 case studies (“A Monster in Paris”, “The Rabbi’s Cat”, “Wrinkles”, “Marco Macaco”, “Moon Man”)

  Cartoon Feature is organised with the support of MEDIA and Bayerische Staatskanzlei.

  For more info on the event: http://www.cartoon-media.eu/MASTERS/fea_programme.php

• Through the European Film Promotion, MEDIA supports European films at Busan International Film Festival (South Korea)

  The European Film Promotion (EFP) is now in the 14th year of a consistent and strong partnership with this innovative Busan cinema platform which is known as largest and arguably most important film festival in Asia.

  In close cooperation with the festival, EFP introduces directors, actors and producers with new films from across Europe during the first and busiest weekend, organises various presentations and networking opportunities, and offers exclusive press interviews with the artists. Financial support for the EFP activities in Busan comes from the MEDIA programme of the European Union and the participating EFP member organisations.

  This year, 80 films out of a total of 307 screened at the Busan IFF in the various festival sections are coming from Europe. With the support of the EFP network, 20 films will be presented by their directors and actors in person, with four of them competing for the Flash Forward Award, a special spotlight on young non-Asian directors

  More info: http://www.efp-online.com/

• MEDIA Mundus project TIES THAT BIND will hold its workshop during the Busan International Film Festival/Asian Project Market

  The second TIES THAT BIND workshop will take place from October 10 - 13, 2011. TIES THAT BIND brings together five producers with feature projects from Asia and five from Europe. During the two workshops they work together with 'state of the art' experts from both continents on script development, co-production between Asia and Europe, financing in the two regions, legal aspects of co-production, marketing, pitching and promotion, and meet with decision makers during both sessions.

  The second TIES THAT BIND workshop in Busan will offer in-depth insight into audiovisual market and operating conditions, legal frameworks, financing, sales, distribution and exhibition practices in Asia and Europe, it will provide opportunities for networking between the participants and their companies to create medium and long term co-financing and co-production relationships and it will enable the access to a network of producers, markets, festivals and decision makers during the Asian Project Market meetings.

  More information:
  www.tiesthatbind.eu,
  www.asianfilmmarket.org

•  San Sebastian International Film Festival (September, 16-24)
  5 MEDIA supported films take main awards in San Sebastian Film Festival
  The following films supported by MEDIA was awarded at the International Film Festival of San Sebastian :

  • Golden Shell award for the Best film
    "Los pasos dobles" by Isaki Lacuesta (Spain)
  • Silver Shell award for Best actress
    María León, "La Voz dormida " by Benito Zambrano (Spain)
  • Best photography award
    "Happy end" by Björn Runge (Sweden)
  • Best European film award
    "Et maintenant on va où?" By Nadine Labaki (France)
  • Audience award
    "The artist" by Michel Hazanavicius (France)
  
  More information: www.sansebastianfestival.com

• 

  3 MEDIA supported films got prizes at Venice Film festival
  Coppa Volpi for Best Actor
  Michael Fassbender in the film Shame by Steve McQueen (United Kingdom)
  Osella for the Best Cinematography
  Robbie Ryan for the film Wuthering Heights by Andrea Arnold (United Kingdom)
  Osella for Best Screenplay
  Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou for the film Alpis (Alps) by Yorgos Lanthimos (Grecia)
  More information: Cineuropa

• 

  55 European films receive marketing support for Toronto Film Festival
  The Toronto International Film Festival­, which runs from 8 - 18 September is renowned for its spotlight on new European cinema. This year, more than 135 films from across Europe out of a total of 339 either have their World or North American premiere at the festival. Toronto is top of the list for European Film Promotion's (EFP) Film Sales Support (FSS) which helps European sales agents and some producers without an agent to sell to North America and the rest of the world. It is a record year with 55 films from 18 European countries to receive FSS.
  FSS has been supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union since 2004 and is an important initiative to encourage the visibility of European films outside of Europe.
  
  More information: European Film Promotion

• 

  Cartoon Forum Polska, 13-16 September 2011, Sopot (Poland)
  250 buyers, 700 participants will be present at the Cartoon Forum in Poland.
  All major European broadcasters, distributors and investors will attend the next Cartoon Forum in Sopot (13-16 September), including France Télévisions, BBC, CANAL+, Cartoon Network, Super RTL, Disney Channels, Rai, RTVE, WDR, M6, MTV, Nickelodeon, NRK, SVT, TVC, TF1, ZDF, Lagardère Active (Canal J, Gulli)... and many others.
  
  They will be able to spot the best TV shows amongst the 66 animation projects to be pitched.
  The Cartoon Forum is neither a fair nor a festival, but rather a European co-production forum for TV and new platforms animation - with the support of MEDIA.
  
  More information: http://www.cartoon-media.be/

• Venice : 68. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica
  Until 10 September the Venice International Film Festival will show the best of European and world cinema. MEDIA is again well presented with over 15 supported films in the different sections.
  Official Festival website
  News via Cineuropa

• 2nd Games Summit in Antwerp, Belgium
  On Friday September 30 2011, MEDIA Desk Belgium – Flemish Community is hosting the second Games Summit. This games conference takes place at Villanella’s beautiful Studio in Antwerp, Belgium. Partners of this event are Antwerp European Youth Capital, DADIU, EGDF, IBBT, iDROPS, MAD Faculty, MEDIA Desk Denmark, MEDIA Desk Germany, MediaNet Vlaanderen, SACD/Scam, VAF and Villanella.
  A 4 day workshop on "CROSS OVER PLAY 2 - business & development LAB" will also be organised from Monday 26 till Thursday 29th September 2011.
  Registration and more info:
  www.gamessummit.eu or www.mediadesk-vlaanderen.eu

• Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou pays tribute to "Zorba the Greek" film director

• 64th Film Festival Locarno from 3 to 13 August 2011

  During the film festival, the MEDIA programme is supporting the European Producers club, who is organising a Co-production forum, 6 August. The event consists of an afternoon session of prearranged, individual meetings. Producers of the projects selected have the opportunity to make up to ten important new contacts for their current and/or future projects based on their needs (coproducers, sales agents, distributors, etc.) European Producers Club (EPC ) is an association of some 50 independent film producers from 20 countries across Europe, which acts as a think tank and a lobby, and works to promote international film co-production.

  On 6 August in Locarno, Europa Distribution organises a distribution workshop on recent and future films and forums to broaden the debate on concrete themes relating to distribution topics also with the support of the MEDIA programme.

  Europa Distribution is a European association of more than 100 leading independent distributors from 25 different European countries, whose overriding objective is to improve the circulation of European films and the competitiveness of European distribution by reinforcing information exchange and distributor cooperation. Its workshops complement a European intranet – the CIDINET database – which provides information ahead of the release of a film. For the first time in 2011, Europa Distribution will organise “miniworkshops” for the staff of distribution companies.

• 68th Venice Film Festival from 31 August to 10 September 2011.

  During the festival the CICAE (Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d'Art et d'Essai) will hold a training session with the support of the MEDIA programme.

  The training programme, called “Action + Management” aims at developing skills for managing art house cinemas. The idea is to reinforce the competitiveness of European art house cinemas and improve the European film market share within Europe. The training will be a 10-day workshop to be held in San Servolo Island, Venice (IT) from August 31 to September 8, 2011, addressed to 80 cinema exhibitors.
  More informaton

• An Italian tour for MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund representatives
  On the 27th June in Rome and on the 28th in Milan, Florence Avilés (IFCIC) and Monica Carretero (SGR Audiovisual) will present the MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund to Italian producers and bankers. More than two hundred professionals are already registered for both presentations. The event is organised by MEDIA Desk Italia and Antenna MEDIA Torino in cooperation with Cinecittà Luce, The Business Street, Apil, Lombardia Region and the Municipality of Milan. Info: www.media-italia.eu
• State aid: Commission consults on support to film sector
  The European Commission has launched a public consultation as the first step of a review of the criteria used to apply EU state aid rules to Member States' financial support for making and distributing films. The current Cinema Communication is 10 years old. The Commission has published an issues paper identifying areas for reflection, such as competing to attract major film productions using state aid, and supporting activities other than production. The Commission invites interested parties to submit their comments by 30 September 2011.http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2011_state_aid_films/index_en.html
• European films in Brussels
  The Brussels Film festival is taken place from 22 to 29 June with the support of the MEDIA programme.
  Over 40 selected films will be shown over the week., mainly 1st or 2nd film of European directors. Open air screenings will also take place and for the professionals there will be conferences, debates, cinema lessons. www.brff.be
• Quinzaine des réalisateurs…. in Brussels!
  After a successful Cannes edition in May, the Quinzaine des réalisateurs is in Brussels to show a selection of the films from Cannes.
  Cinema Arenberg is hosting the screenings from 23 to 28 June.
  MEDIA was proud this year to have supported 5 films in the selection 2011.
• Evens Prize for Media Education 2011: Apply for nomination! (25/02/2011)
• MEDIA Initial Training conference (9/02/2011)
• Public Hearing to discuss the FUTURE of the MEDIAs on 18 March 2011 in Brussels (11/02/2011)

Funding

• The MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund (12/01/2011)
• Press release: European Commission launches € 8 million cinema loan guarantee fund (12/01/2011)

Call for Proposals

• 
  

  Calls are now open to the participation of Bosnia and Herzegovina!

  Bosnia and Herzegowina is expected to become a member of the MEDIA 2007 programme soon. Professionals from Bosnia and Herzegowina can now submit their proposals under open calls, the selection of proposals however will be conditional on the finalisation of the negotiation process.

  More information




• The following MEDIA calls are currently open. You can find information on each call under each sector.
  • Producer's support
    Development - Single project - next deadline: 25 November 2011
    Development - Slate Funding - next deadline: 25 November 2011
    Development - Interactive Projects - next deadline: 25 November 2011
    TV Broadcasting - next deadline: 16 December 2011
    Access to finance I2I - next deadline : 6/1/2012
    Distribution
    Selective Scheme - next deadline: 1 December 2011
    Promotion
    Audiovisual lFestivals - next deadline: 30 April 2012
• Continuous Training call for proposals EACEA 07/2011
• Initial Training call for proposals EACEA 02/2011
• Call for Proposals EACEA/27/2010 i2i AUDIOVISUAL
• Call for Proposals 34/2010: Promotion/ Access to markets
• Call for Proposals EACEA29/2010: THE "SELECTIVE" SCHEME 2011

Cannes

• Commissioner Vassiliou salutes winners at Cannes Film Festival
  

  Androulla Vassiliou congratulates Palme d'Or winner Terence Malick, for his film "The Tree of life" and the major success of EU-backed films at Cannes.
  Several MEDIA-supported films were among the winners.
  In the official competition, "Le gamin au vélo" (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) received the Grand Prix.
  Kirsten Dunst was awarded Best Actress for her role in Melancholia (Lars Von Trier).
  In the Quinzaine des réalisateurs – the parallel competition – 3 out of 4 prizes went to MEDIA-supported films:

  • "Les géants" (Bouli Lanners) received the Art Cinema Award and the SACD prize.
  • "Play" (Ruben Östlund) collected the Séance "Coup de Coeur" award.
  
  "Le Havre" (Aki Kaurismäki) won the International Critics Award from the International federation of Film Critics.

• Meeting of International, National and Regional Film Funds

  The MEDIA Programme organised a meeting of international, national and regional film funds during the Cannes Film Festival. The meeting was a follow-up from last year's successful film fund meeting which was held in relation to the Rendez-Vous Européen at the Cannes film festival. Two topics were discussed:

  1. Future MEDIA Programme and complementarities with international, national and regional film funds and;
  2. The MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund and new EU Financial instruments. How can they strengthen the European audiovisual industry and what are the possible opportunities for film funds?"

  Representatives from film funds and European financial institutions attended the meeting which included constructive and fruitful discussions, providing valuable input in the context of the preparation for the new MEDIA Programme. The funds were in favour of continuing such meetings in the future.

• The European Pavilion in Cannes
  

  The Marché du Film taking place at the Cannes' Festival is the world biggest film market where the international film industry meet, discover, trade, negotiate, buy, and sell… At the film market, the MEDIA Programme hosts some 200 selected European film and audiovisual professionals- reflecting the diversity of the European offer- in a 400 sq.m. ombrella pavilion: the EU MEDIA Stands. The professionals have access to all the required facilities enabling them to maximize the business opportunities available for them in Cannes.
  Marché du film

• "European Rendezvous" :
  

  On 16 May takes place the annual "European Rendezvous" at the Cannes Film Festival celebrating the 20th anniversary of the European Commission's MEDIA programme for cinema. Commissioner for Culture Androulla Vassiliou and Gilles Jacob, President of the Festival host the event with 20 European film directors, including Costa-Gavras, Théo Angelopoulos, Radu Mihaileanu and Jaco Van Dormael. They discuss the MEDIA fund's achievements and the future of film-making in Europe. (16/05/2011)

• MEDIA European Talent Prize
  

  Sunday 15 May, Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth awarded the MEDIA European Talent Prize to scriptwriters Virág Zomborácz (Hungary) and Hanna Sköld (Sweden) for their film scripts 'Afterlife' and 'Granny's Dancing on the Table'. The annual prize is awarded to the best film project supported by the European Union's MEDIA fund for cinema; experts rate the scripts on their potential to reach a pan-European audience. This year two projects received the same number of points so the prize is shared. (16/05/2011)

• Press release: Cannes Film Festival celebrates 20 years of MEDIA programme
• 20 MEDIA-films in Cannes
• The Official Selection is out!

The future of the MEDIA Programme

• Testimonial: The future of the MEDIA programme (05/04/2011)
• EU funding for cinema: Barroso and Vassiliou pledge on future MEDIA programme (17/03/2011)
• The future of the MEDIA programme (25/03/2011)
• Statement by José Manuel Barroso, EC President on the MEDIA programme (07/03/2011)

Publications

• Report on the results from the Public Consultation on the future of MEDIA after 2013.
• Public contributions following the consultation
• MEDIA Training&Networks 2011 guide (9/02/2011)