Summary of the. Comparative Study of European Regional Film Funds

Transcription

1 Summary of the Comparative Study of European Regional Film Funds

2 Film funds in Europe are generally divided into three sub-categories: - national funds in Estonia, for example, these are the Estonian Film Institute and the Audiovisual Arts Endowment of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia; - supranational funds for example, Eurimages and the MEDIA Programme; - internal or regional film funds that are divided further into regional (i.e. embracing a larger area or region comprised of, for example, different counties), local, and municipal funds (that support the filmmakers of a particular city, for example). This study looks at different regional film fund models, mostly from Europe, but, through the use of some comparative examples, also more distant areas. The study discusses a total of 15 regional or local film fund operation principles that vary both in terms of their diverse support schemes and the services provided to the film sector. Despite the differing scopes of activity and profiles of the funds in the study, two shared goals can be highlighted for all funds: 1) the support of culture, specifically film culture and its supporting art disciplines; 2) social cohesion and the development of regional infrastructure. Studies organized by regional, national, and supranational instances have repeatedly shown that cultural sector investments on the local level will bring about significant economic gain. Analyses confirm that, on average, every euro invested into the film industry on the local level will bring about an additional EUR 2.50 investment into the region from the outside, and this shows why the regional film fund sector has undergone such a marked development in the last ten years. At the moment, Europe has about two hundred local, municipal, and regional film funds in total. The most active of these (42 funds from 12 EU Member States in addition to Norway and Switzerland) have gathered under Cine-Regio, the European Regional Film Fund Association that works as an umbrella organization to give their members information about regional and pan-european development trends, do lobbying work, participate in the formation of cohesive European Union film policy, and provide the members with a platform for direct contact and cooperation projects. Today, when the most prevalent film production model in the European audiovisual sector is the co-production of films both on the national and the supranational level, the presence of regional film funds acquires vital importance for the entire European film industry, especially for local-level filmmaking. The number of regional film funds and the resources at their disposal differs greatly by country, ranging from the new EU Member States, where the national film fund is accompanied perhaps by a single local film fund with an annual budget within a few hundred thousand euros, to the so-called old countries in the EU where there the number and budget of regional film funds can be manifold. A latter example is Italy, which is home to 11 local film funds, more than half of which have been formed in the last five years. A similar rapid growth trend is also evident in Poland, which belongs in the Eastern bloc. One need not even mention the Western states, like Germany (17 regional funds) and France (36 regional funds), where the system has worked for decades. When it comes to states in our neighbourhood, we might mention Norway a country not part of the EU with its 6 regional funds or Latvia where the Riga Film Fund was founded in 2010 and has by now operated successfully enough to gain widespread popularity on the international scene and earn significant economic gains for the city.

3 This study analyses the various funds in terms of the demands they present, the activities they support, and the services they provide. The supported activities can be divided into those that are geared more or less to direct economic gain. Some funds primarily emphasize their cultural aspect and soft values, highlighting the local creative potential and all-round development of the small businesses in their field. This might be expressed in the form of direct or indirect economic support to the local film sector companies, the development of film projects or the stimulation of local screenwriters and other filmmakers through grants. It is also usually the habit to support especially the first or second film project of authors and to promote film education among local children and youth in any possible way. This support is based on the so-called soft financing principle: allocated sums will not be demanded back in case of purposeful usage. Other funds are more clearly focused on direct economic gain: support goes primarily to film production projects, the selection of which is subjected not only to artistic criteria imposed upon applicants but also the potential commercial success of the project. Among other criteria, the support sum is allocated only after the cost report for the region has been presented (cash rebate) and its volume can be at most 25% of local expenses; the film project qualifies for co-financing or support only after certain minimumexpense requirements in the region are reached and the support or a portion thereof must be returned if the film earns a profit (recoupable funds); profits are distributed according to the fund s participation percentage in the whole production budget; or the fund s support sum is treated as a loan from the get-go. Usually, in the case of both the first and second types of approaches, a contract provision is included that allows the local administration or fund co-owner to use the supported film or other audiovisual work for non-commercial promotion of itself or its own activities. The most popular audiovisual work categories supported are film, short film, creative documentary, and TV series and in some cases also animation, interdisciplinary media or computer games. The most frequent services provided by the regional film funds to the film industry are in helping to scout locations, assembling the technical team, and maintaining a database of companies that offer services to film crews (e.g. lodging, catering, transport, etc.). Up to 4 primary aspects of the regional film funds here have been selected for description: 1) Annual budget and sources of funding 2) Mission 3) Profile, i.e. what kind of support/services are offered 4) Precondition for receiving support The selection of fifteen film funds from the many regional funds to be described in this study was determined primarily due to their diverse nature. The goal of the study was to outline the most general list of models possible to show how the support of one creative field supports, in turn, the entire local cultural industry, economic life, and the community s sense of identity. All over Europe and elsewhere people have realized that the development of the film sector can attract international investment even in peripheral regions and from beyond their borders, thereby upgrading the region s image and promoting tourism. And, finally, some words about patterns highlighted by the study and which seem to be general. The primary and most crucial regional film fund initiator and sponsor is always the

4 local authority. For some major countries, like France and Germany, a significant role has also been reserved for media channels (TV), but by today this trend is rapidly diminishing. Co-sponsors also include national film funds, ministries of culture, etc. For funds where a significant part of their structure is formed by the profitability of their investments, the profits gained seemed to form an average of twenty per cent of the annual budgets. The foundation of regional film funds has sometimes exploited resources from the European Regional Development Funds; other contributors include banks, lottery or gambling funds, other smaller units or other funds that deal with cultural financing on the regional level. The purposes for creating regional film funds might be divided loosely into two categories: 1.Economic: - to attract the film industry, i.e. money, into the region; - to promote the development of middle- and small-sized companies; - to promote the regional tourism industry; - to create new jobs. 2. Cultural: - to promote film arts; - to support the local audiovisual industry; - to emphasize cultural identity; - to increase the general reputation of film arts; - to offer strategic routes in the audiovisual field. However, when comparing regional and national film funds, the following traits are clearly visible in the case of the former: a) there are far more regional than national funds; b)the proportion of regional film funds in the total financing volume is generally smaller than in the case of national funds (except in Germany); c) the biggest contributor to regional funds is the local administration; d) the primary intention in regional fund financing is the support of production; e) the goal of regional funds tends to be more economic than cultural.

5 List of funds described in the study: 4.1. Newer Member States in the European Union Krakow Regional Film Fund, Poland Riga Film Fund, Latvia Silesia Film, Poland 4.2. Older Member States in the European Union Agencia Andaluza de Instituciones Culturales, Spain Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Belgium Fondo Audiovisivo FVG, Italy Wallimages, Belgium 4.3. Nordic countries Film i Väst, Sweden Filmpool Nord, Sweden Icelandic film incentive, Iceland POEM, Finland Filminvest Midt-Norge, Norway Film Fyn, Denmark 4.4. Rest of the world BFC Busan Film Commission, South Korea NZFC Production Financing (New Zealand)