IP/06/572
Brussels, 4 May 2006
Europe’s films more successful than ever at Cannes Film Festival 2006 When the Cannes International Film Festival 2006 opens on 17 May, this will mark a particularly successful year for Europe’s film industry. Seventeen European films, which all received funding under the EU’s MEDIA programme, have made it into the final selection. The future of the MEDIA programme, the development of business models for Film Online services and the competitiveness of European films abroad will be on the agenda when the EU’s Ministers for Culture and Audiovisual meet with Commissioner Reding in Cannes on 23 May for their annual talks about EU audiovisual politics.
“This is really a good harvest”, said EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding, welcoming this year’s strong showing of European films in Cannes. “Between 2001 and 2006, Europe has invested, under the MEDIA programmes, €513 million into the circulation of European films outside their countries of production. This has been European money well spent: not only do we promote cultural diversity, which is the heart of our European identity, but we have also substantially enhanced the competitiveness of the European audiovisual industry. I will do my best to ensure that Europe’s film can continue to count on solid EU support in the future, despite current financial limitations in the EU budget.”
During the forthcoming 59th Cannes Film Festival, the European Commission will focus on how to improve the distribution and the performance of European films outside Europe. "European films go global” is the theme of the “Europe Day” (“la Journée de l’Europe”) of the Festival, which is traditionally dedicated to current issues on the agenda of European audiovisual politics. In spite of recent success stories – in March, the MEDIA-supported French Film “March of the Penguins” (“La marche de l’Empereur”) won the Oscar as Best Documentary Film 2006 –, the market shares of European films outside the EU are still very small. Today European films account for about 12% of the Australian market, 8.3% of the Turkish market, 6.7% of the Russian market, 4.6% of the US market and 2.3% of the South Korean market. Ways to enhance the competitiveness of European films will therefore be discussed at Europe Day in Cannes by the Culture and Audiovisual Ministers of the 25 EU Member States together with Commissioner Viviane Reding, the President of the Cannes Festival, Gilles Jacob as well as with film professionals and ministers from third countries.
This year’s Europe Day will also see the conclusion of the Film Online Talks. At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Commissioner Reding had initiated a dialogue between business leaders from the film and content industry, from internet service providers and from telecom operators (see IP/05/552) who since then have been working on a European Charter on Film Online. This Charter aims to present a business consensus on commendable practices for making more films available online under legitimate business models and for cooperation in the fight against online piracy. The final talks in Cannes on the European Film Online Charter will be chaired by Commissioner Reding.
The MEDIA successes from this year’s Cannes selection
The 59th Cannes Festival has included in its selection 17 feature films that received support from the MEDIA Programme for their development and/or distribution:
Official Selection:
La Raison du Plus Faible by Lucas Belvaux (MEDIA support: €100,000)
Fast Food Nation by Richard Linklater (€40,000)
The Wind that Shakes the Barley by Ken Loach (€313,141 for its development and distribution)
L’Amico di Famiglia by Paulo Sorrentino (€49,765)
Volver by Pedro Almodovar (€ 1,828,492 for its distribution in 10 territories)
El laberinto del fauno by Guillermo Del Toro (€224,942)
Flandres by Bruno Dumont (€9,000)
Laitakaupungin Valot by Aki Kaurismäki (€9,807)
Il caimano by Nanni Moretti (€128,121 for international sales).
Out of competition:
Zidane, un portrait du 21ième siècle, by Philippe Parreno and Douglas Gordon (€50,000).
Un certain regard:
Paris je t’aime (€50,000)
URO by Stefan Faldbakken (€20,000)
You am I by Krisijonas Vildziunas (€20,000)
Pour aller au ciel il faut mourir
by Djamshed Usmonov (€24,000)
Taxidermia by György Palfi (€8,593)
International Critics’ Week
Komma by Martine Doyen (€62,729)
La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs:
Azur et Azmar by Michel Ocelot (€50,000)
MEDIA New Talent Award 2006:
will be awarded by Commissioner Reding on the evening of 22 May to a young innovative film maker. Further information on the Cannes selection:
http://www.festival-cannes.fr/index.php?langue=6002#presentationselection
Further information on the MEDIA programmes and on the new MEDIA 2007 programme: http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/media/index_en.html Further information on the Film Online talks:
http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/other_actions/content_online/index_en.htm#filmonline
