Short film coproduction

short film co production

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SHORT FILM COPRODUCTION International cooperation in the field of short film production in Europe

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table of contents Why short film coproduction?

The situation of coproduction in Europe Types of coproduction Challenges of coproduction Case studies Thermes The Great Magician The Monster of Nix Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre Random Strangers Vivons la Mort Panihida Main Contacts

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List of coproduction incentives in Europe A - Z of coproduction Index of People and films Credits NISI MASA

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chapter 1

Why short film coproduction?

As a network of young filmmakers and producers, NISI MASA has always been in close contact with the production and the distribution of short films in Europe. Knowing all the difficulty that short films find to be produced and then sold or seen, it seemed important to us that producers and cinema institutions in general be acquainted with the coproduction possibilities that have already become quite a usual practice amongst feature films.

Therefore, we wanted to get an impression from the professionals of cinema regarding the importance of the coproduction of short films. We got in touch with film producers, filmmakers, screenwriters, festival organizers, sales agents, film schools, regional cultural funds, television buyers, crowdfunding websites and

other institutions. Our goal was to perceive how familiar these people and companies were with coproduction, if they had done it or not, their reasons and beliefs concerning this practice.

This project is therefore a “collection of impressions”: a sort of open debate rather than a strict catalogue or essay on the topic. France and Germany represent an important part of our quest, but other countries such as Spain, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Latvia, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Finland, Belgium, Austria, Serbia and others are also represented. Since coproductions are often generated by “improvisation, creativity, as a way to get by”, as one of our interviewees said, there is no point in setting strict rules and advice for a practice that is still evolving in Europe.

The first part of this book focuses on the central aspects of coproduction, with its implications for financial and artistic aspects, as well as the main advantages and disadvantages perceived by our interviewees. Then, seven short film coproductions were chosen because of certain particularities regarding their genre, production structure and sources of funding. In the second part, most of the practical information about the mentioned people, films and institutions has been compiled, together with a small index of the main terms related to the coproduction of short films.

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The situation of coproduction in Europe

It would be hard to ignore that the practice of coproduction is much more common for feature films than for short films. The reason for this may be that the cost of feature films is much higher and they have deeper financial obligations, since they have a more developed commercial career than short films. The informal structures available for short films make them freer on one side, but less structured on the other.

from Panahida (Weydemann Brothers, 2010)

“The market is expected to be harder for short films, even if more and more festivals have been created. Short films, due to the economic choices of our system, do not have a commercial distribution. There is no financial interest, and normally when there is such interest, it’s because publicity companies or feature film producers notice very fast a director who makes good short films. It’s also true that short filmmakers, most of the time, do not want to stick to shorts. That might be less true when it comes to animation, but it’s the majority with real-life shooting, because in that case filmmaking companies or producers only make short films to turn into features afterwards.

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feature production companies do not make a lot of money once the film is ready and exhibited

“What I have increasingly noticed is that the financial existence of a feature in the theatres has become more limited, because in order to get such a product done, there must be a minimum of guarantee coming from international sales, DVD release and other sources. In the end, feature production companies do not make a lot of money once the film is ready and being exhibited, because a significant part of the income is used to reimburse these intermediates.”

(Ron Dyens, filmmaker and producer at Sacrebleu - France) Given that context, the fact is that there are almost no grants or specific financial institutions which encourage the coproduction of short films. Forums of film projects for European producers and European pitching sessions are new initiatives that surely help, but the practice remains unconventional. Some countries have very limited budgets for the production of short films, and even if

coproduction might represent a financial aid, it can also generate more expenses with trips and project translation. Border regions between countries may also encourage cultural exchanges, but that does not apply to the all of Europe.

I do

“I don’t think we do a lot of coproduction of short films in general. There is a high percentage in France in the case of animation, because there are fewer problems with believe that coproduction will But I because the grants are limited, and also there are language. do believe that financial responsibilities that are hard to cope with coproduction will become a usual practice, because the grants are limited, and also there are financial responsibilities that are hard to cope with. The new companies and institutions are very bureaucratic, the government demands an awful amount of paperwork, so we need more people to work on that, to participate in selections, to find the financing… that costs money for employees. It’s normal that, when people become professionals, we pay them more money, and we become more demanding. All that has a cost, so we have to find the cash. Even if we do have it, sometimes we run out of places to look.” (Ron Dyens, Sacrebleu)

practice,

become a usual

from Panahida (Weydemann Brothers, 2010)

In general, most producers are unaware of benefits and possibilities of coproduction. Working with a different culture and new producers may seem a challenge that many producers are not ready to face. That is why the new initiatives mentioned above seek to present the coproduction of short films as a new possibility and an asset instead of a constraint.

“For short films, apart from NISI MASA and the Euroconnection at the Clermont-Ferrand festival, I don’t know any institutions that support coproduction. The French film commission, the CNC, has had some specific actions towards coproductions (the year of Algeria in France, and then a screenplay contest in partnership with England, I think), but they have no permanent funds. Actually, one very simple and concrete action, that wouldn’t cost much money, would be to create a grant for film project translation. We do produce short films with little money, and language still remains the main obstacle to transmit an idea, which is the basis of the screenplay. A pitch in English, from a Macedonian or a Spanish person, could surely give a general idea of what the project is about, but it’s far from explaining the whole project, translated into the right language.” (JeanChristophe Soulageon, producer at Les Films Sauvages - France)

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Types of coproduction from Ohne Titel (Films de Force Majeure)

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When talking to French film producer Nathalie Algazi, she immediately highlights that it is important to separate financial coproductions and artistic ones. This division may be helpful to understand that the collaboration of a producer may take place only at the investment level – when a company from a different country intends to pre-buy the project, for example, or invest in the film’s post-production – or, on the contrary, can take place on an artistic level, with the executive production being split with a second producer, who takes part in the development of the screenplay, the casting, shooting locations, etc.

“We have two films in coproduction. For Mappamundi, the crew and the equipment are international (Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, France and Belgium). The financing comes from Luxembourg and Austria, and there is also a financial contribution from Films de Force Majeure. The shooting took place in Austria, Luxembourg and Belgium. As for Ohne Titel, the financing is provided by the two coproducing countries (France and Germany), where the animation was done. The executive production is done by FFM. The artist comes from Germany. In other words, the project includes several different partnerships between the two countries.

This experience was very enriching because it allowed the Since I am also a screenwriter film to have better potential from the pre-production stage. and filmmaker, my last short film, Alter Ego (2009), was a Then, the film could be easier seen in the partner countries. coproduction between Luxembourg (Minotaurus Film) and France (La Compagnie d’Avril, Green House), with cooperation from Belgium and Austria, where new partnerships enabled post-production to happen (Amour Fou in Austria, Alea Jacta in Belgium). This experience was very enriching because it allowed the film to have better potential from the preproduction stage. Then, the film could be easier seen in the partner countries.

Consequently, for my next short film, Hippocampe, I intend to venture into coproduction once again.” (Jérôme Nunes, Films de Force Majeure)

from Together (011 Productions Ltd., PB Film Produktions)

In general, coproduction may be any kind of multinational or multiregional exchange that allows short films to happen. If a company or individual cooperates with equipment, financial aid, help in post-production, etc., that cooperation can be considered coproduction. From “ideal”coproductions, in which all parts involved contribute equally to the making of the film, to crowdfunding coproductions, for which ordinary individuals from different countries contribute with amounts of money as symbolic as ten Euros, coproduction can have many different faces. Despite the different natures and impacts that this practice has on the final result of the film, coproduction remains basically It was crucial that we had the backing an exchange which adds new possibilities of both German and British funds on this for the film’s produc- production. (....) this was the only possible tion, distribution and way we could make our film. exhibition. Some producers and filmmakers present the diversity of coproduction they have been involved in:

“We have got interest and agreement from a Swedish producer to give some financial support to our project. It was more sponsorship than actual co-production.

He covered all laboratory costs. This was not a big part of our budget, but it was important enough for that particular situation.” (Vladimir Leschiov, director of Zudusi Sniega – Latvia/Sweden)

“Together is a British story directed by German director Eicke Bettinga, so from the very beginning we considered making it a collaboration between the two countries. I have previously worked on several feature films in a producing capacity, with all of the films structured under the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Productions, so I had a very good idea of what we would need to do to make it work. It took over one year to raise the required finance for the film. Nordmedia, the German regional fund for Lower Saxony and the Stiftung Kulturregion Hannover (Hannover Cultural Office) were the first financers on board and the shooting took place in and around Hannover over six days in late November 2008. We had a British cast and the entire crew was German. The film was also supported by Band Pro Munich GmbH, which provided the camera while we hired the rest of the production equipment locally. Post-production was supported by the UK Film Council’s Short Film Completion Fund and most of the post-production work took place in the UK. It was crucial that we had the backing of both German and British funds on this production. This type of collaboration is usually reserved for feature films and I am happy that we managed to apply it to Together, as this was the only possible way we could make our film.” (Zorana Piggott, producer of Together – United Kingdom/Germany) All genres and types of films can be concerned by coproduction, but some genres have made use of this practice more often than others. Animation seems to be not only a type of production that normally suits better television programmes and Internet buyers, but also the one that, since it usually costs more than a live action film, looks more frequently for other sources of financing. But this does not mean that genres such as documentaries and experimental projects, which have

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from Shaman (24 Images Production)

a more difficult commercial career, do not make use of coproduction.

Olivier Smolders, an experienced experimental film director, is one of the examples that we had in this booklet of filmmakers who frequently make use of coproduction. That is also the case of Nicolas Schmerkin, Academy-award winner for Logorama (2011):

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“Coproduction I guess it’s a bit easier in the case is particularly important to experimental animation of animation, because a part of it short films like the ones we can be done in one country, and do at Autour de Minuit, be- the other part elsewhere cause it’s a lot harder to find financial aid for animation films. Even if it is never simple to work with coproduction in most films, I guess it’s a bit easier in the case of animation, because a part of it can be done in one country, and the other part elsewhere. It’s not the same thing with other films, when there is the crew, the actors…

“Having said that, we always need to check if it’s really worth starting a coproduction. Of course, a different producer can help reach the initial budget, but the obligations are numerous, and the compulsory division of the work between countries is complicated. It can cost a lot of money to travel, to find accommodation in another country... there are the language barriers… it’s not always easy. It demands a very good sense of organization for it to work.” (Nicolas Schmerkin, producer at Autour de Minuit - France)

Challenges of coproduction Undoubtedly, the principal motivation for the coproduction of short films is financial. Most projects and producers lacking the necessary amount of money to complete their budget can make use of coproduction as an alternative strategy. Coproduction can also be a necessity of the project itself, as for example when the screenplay includes scenes in different countries or when the characters come from different places and their cultures must be seen (or heard with the soundtrack) on the movie. Most of the professionals we talked to stressed that no one starts a coproduction just for fun: coproduction implies either a necessity or a clear advantage for the film.

“The idea of coproduction came to me naturally, since I’m French and living in Denmark. I had been working for ten years at 24 Images Production, a company based in Le Mans, France. They had become my friends. The Danish company, which was producing Shaman, needed to find a television company interested in the film in order to get financing from the Danish Film Institute. Since the Danish television refused to pre-buy it, I talked to 24 Images to try to get some help. They got a pre-buy from Arte France. That purchase enabled us to get some more financing in Denmark and gave us the possibility to start a coproduction with mostly French funds.”

(Luc Perez, director of Shaman – France/Denmark)

“It’s surely more complicated in administrative terms to multiply the financial sources, and having to fulfil eligibility criteria (such as territorial ones). But apart from the fact that coproduction helps reach a project’s budget, it seems to me that it’s more adequate when the nature of the project demands this sort of partnership, either because there is a multinational crew, or the screenplay demands it. For example, we have been working on a feature film that takes place entirely in Dakar, and even if the resources in Senegal are inexistent for local productions, we still need a local person to assure the executive production on location. This person will also be able to request some financial help not only to the Senegalese government, but also to the institutions that will consider it as a French-speaking country.

There is, in that case, a double interest: it’s natural for the artistic need, but surely a financial one as well, of course.” (Jean-Christophe Soulageon, producer at Les Films Sauvages - France) Therefore, the main positive if an institution sees that another one has aspects include the easier possibility of getting a pre- invested in a project, this same project buy or an investment from will seem more worthy of appreciation and at least one of the countries there are consequently more chances that a involved. Mimetic perception also plays an important second source will decide to invest. role in that mechanism: if an institution sees that another one has invested in a project, this same project will seem more worthy of appreciation and there are consequently more chances that a second source will decide to invest. Coproduction makes it easier for a project to be seen or distributed. Also, the different cultures can add to the making of the film, and to its appreciation once it is ready – people in one country may relate differently to certain themes than others.

Finally, this practice enables producers to develop a network of people they are familiar with and whose work they appreciate, which is essential for companies longing to realize bigger projects such as feature films.

“Coproduction is very useful for distribution, especially for France and with France as the short film culture is developed and TV buys films for a good price. Elsewhere it is not so beneficial. I am very international and I prefer it when there is an international collaboration. If there is some point in the making of the film that allows this practice - either location, distribution, 3D, money available - then it makes a lot of sense to coproduce short films, as there will always be more people that will see the film.” (Riin Urbanik, producer at Average Monkey - Estonia)

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“The biggest advantage is that the film could profit from multiple financial possibilities, and so could the commercial career of the film with television purchase and festivals. The film had a much longer career because it had both French and Danish producers. The film also gains a certain freedom and openness. The coproducers are more attentive to the impact that the film can have in each country. Of course, the multiplication of financial sources is good for the film. My next film, which is in the production phase now, is also a coproduction that allowed me to gather French and Danish talents. There is also a mimetic effect: the French will think “If the Danish like it, then maybe the project deserves it” and vice-versa.”

(Luc Perez, director of Shaman – France/Denmark)

“Coproduction is almost always a better way to finance a film. Apart from the financial resources you also have to consider the broader creative resources that you can access. It is a pity that funding for coproduction on a short film level is very rare unlike the situation for feature films. For features it is almost normal to make a coproduction. In the end, if you have a trustworthy partner and a harmonious relation it is heaven and always an advantage, if you don’t have that, it is hell.” (David Lindner, FILMALLEE)

“Within Films de Force Majeure, we consider international coproduction not only as a financial contribution, but above all as a mutual source of enrichment. That is the angle from which we consider coproduction for the projects that suit it. The advantages are the multiplicity of points of view and that of know-how; the project becomes more flexible from its conception to post-production, and that has a positive impact on distribution (films premier in at least two countries) and exhibition circuits (film festivals, television etc.). The network is much wider.”

(Jérôme Nunes, Films de Force Majeure) There are some downsides to coproduction, of course. The main downsides of working with a different country would be the amount of work and organization required. It can be harder to work with other languages, other administrative structures and obligations, other ways of thinking and conceiving cinema. Distance can be an issue if the cast and crew have to travel to different places – which is a minor problem for most animation films.

Short films in coproduction multiply their possibilities of pre-buying from a television channel or Internet support, but several buyers have reduced purchase goals for films in a foreign language. In general, coproduction implies a longer time for the film to become ready.

from Zudusi Sniega- Latvia/ Sweden

Apart from the financial resources you also have to consider the broader creative resources that you can access.

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“For this project there is a Spanish producer attached to it already. I was looking for a coproducer outside of Spain, preferably a French producer. For short films I think the bigger amount of the budget comes from public investment. If this project gets enough attention, I think we might have chances of presales on a few networks here in Spain. There might also be chances in France.

“I think coproduction is a good idea, but it depends on several things, such as the kind of film, and the grant laws of every country. If you’re coproducing between countries where grant laws are too protectionist, it might be too much work just for a short film. If you’re coproducing with France, there are a lot of different types of grants. Depending on the region and the country you’re in, it might be a good choice”. (Martin Guido, screenwriter of The Garment - Spain)

“Coproduction is harder to manage as a filmmaker: I was supposed to be the link between the two coproducers, explain to both of them how it all had to work. Writing the contracts according to the ??????????????????????????????? rules of both countries proved to ???????????????????????????????? be a delicate issue, and the same ???????????????????????????????? happened for management and accountability of the money we ??????????? raised. We had to be very precise with the organization and communication, handling misunderstandings originated by the language and cultural differences. But since I already had some experience working with German and American producers, I didn’t find it very hard.” (Luc Perez, director of Shaman – France/Denmark)

“First of all, in such small country like Latvia, we do not have enough professionals. Also, it is not possible to get 100% financial support from such a small country, where the film market is limited to a population of 2 million people. Often short films have lower budgets, so there is no need for coproduction. However, if the project is a complicated animation with lots of characters, it should be enough reason to look for a coproduction partner.” (Vladimir Leschiov, director of Zudusi Sniega- Latvia/Sweden)

from Silent River,

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chapter 2

Case Studies

This second part intends to illustrate the diversity of coproduction by the study of seven particular cases of short films coproduced mainly by European countries. Each case seeks to portrait a different kind of investment, film genre, distribution or exhibition. That is why the short films mentioned go from the biggest productions to small budget ones, from a first time experience to highly experienced producers and prize-winning projects.

Each case study is accompanied not only by a short presentation of the film and its commercial career, but also by the point of view of either the producer or the director, concerning the experience in coproduction.

The short films mentioned are:

Thermes (France/Belgium, 2010) The Great Magician (France/Sweden/Estonia, 2006) The Monster of Nix (France/Belgium/The Netherland, 2010) Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre (Belgium/France, 2008) Random Strangers (United Kingdom/The Netherlands, 2011) Vivons la Mort (France/Canada, 2009) Panihida (Germany, Republic of Moldova, 2010)

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Thermes

France // Belgium 2010

Thermes is a coproduction between Frakas Productions (Belgium) and Premium Films (France). It is one of the rather frequent cases in which the coproducer is an investor with no intentions to interfere artistically, and important to the project because of his/her knowledge on the local film market. Sales agencies and production companies become then coproducers who are usually able to find in another country the investment need to finish the film (often from pre-buy), or the means to get the post-production done in a different place.

Joachim, a teenager of about fifteen years old, wins some tickets for a Spa. He goes there with his mother, and they both discover an unusually relaxing place, that lead them to different new feelings‌

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Thermes (France/Belgium, 2010) Genre: Dramatic comedy Length: 25 min.

Direction: Banu Akseki Production: Frakas Production (Belgium) and Premium Films (France) Cast: Julie Neenemagi, Sophia Leboutte, Tom Boccara

Both production and distribution companies explain how they met and how the coproduction took place. In this particular case, it was the second country involved in the project that oriented the creators to talk to a sales agency:

Jean-Charles MILLE Director at Premium Films (France) jcm@premium-films.com www.premium-films.com Jean-Charles Mille is a co-producer,

We started by getting financing from Belgium, without director, sales agent and founder of which it wouldn’t have been possible to look elsewhere. Premium Films.

So the first step was the French Community in Belgium.

For Thermes, we got their aid from the first shot. Then we searched other Belgium producers, Anonymes Films, based in the Hainaut Province, and we also got their help. Jean-Charles Mille also answered to some questions Since the film would be shot in “Thermes de Spa”, we also concerning the coproduction of short films in general: benefited from a grant from Clap! Asbl, the institution for film shootings in the provinces Liège, Namur and in Lux- You say coproduction is very poorly represented embourg. Then, we sent the screenplay to the French tel- in short films. Why is that so, according to you? evision channels. It’s France 3 that loved the project and advised us to talk to Jean-Charles Mille, from Premium It’s true that, for short films, the volume of production Films. The communication was quite easy and we got a is significant, but there are less financial aids from other countries. That’s why, at Euroconnection, in Clermont pre-buy from France 3.

Ferrand, it’s mostly other European producers that The film wouldn’t have been possible (or maybe very hard come to France in search of coproducers. The French to make) without each one of these partners. As you may coproducer will mostly look for pre-buy agreements know, the budget reserved for short films is normally insuf- with a national television channel (even if it isn’t easy, ficient. Therefore, we have to show some creativity and because many channels don’t pre-buy short films in search for other sources. France was the ideal partner foreign languages), and also to benefit from the French because of the geographical proximity, and also because financial system. On the other hand, French producers France and Belgium are used to working together. I can are always looking for new European talents to try to say we were lucky to find some partners in France who coproduce. were just as motivated as we were!

Do you think that the number of coproduction of (Cassandre Warnauts, Frakas, Belgium) short films has increased, then?

Thermes was the second film of a young filmmaker whose first film had known quite a success. It had been I wouldn’t know for sure, but I guess there is each time bought in France by Canal + and France 3, and for her more, because the new structure such as Euroconnew project, it was easier to present it to the networks. But nection and NISI MASA may convince producers who we didn’t present a formal financial request do the CNC didn’t think that coproduction was feasible, they might (National Film Commission of France), we didn’t do the become interested. They will see that they can shoot in work of a producer. It was better for both of us that we just a different country, which can prove to be cheaper. Of course, as in features, every cooperation deal implies worked to find the pre-buy agreement. obligations as well. Now there are local film commis(Jean-Charles Mille, Premium Films, France) sions, one can easily discover all the agreements and specific grants in each country.

Festivals & Awards - a selection Grand Prize - 15e International Festival of Ourense 2010 (Spain), Grand Prize - European Short Film Festival of the city of Brest 2010 (France), Public Award for best short fiction film - Media 10/10 2010 (Belgium), Grand Prize and prize for best fiction - 52eme ZINEBI 2010 (Espagne), Grand Prize by the International Jury - Festival du film d’Amour de Mons 2011 (Belgique), 33eme International Short Film Festival Clermont Ferrand 2011 (France), Grand Prize - Regensburg Short Film Week 2011 (Germany), Next Film Festival 2011 (Romania)

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The Great Magician

Sweden // France // Estonia, 2006

Even if some production companies become used to the work with coproduction, they are few to start directly with coproduction, and even fewer to have more than 50% of their catalog composed of short film coproductions. That is the case of French company La Voie Lactée, which has already worked with Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Belgium and other countries.

‘The great magician’ is an absurd and tragiccomical fairytale about the miserable life of a poor and unknown magician. He lives in the guise of a pedantic clerk who works at the Mysterious Bank at Humble Avenue. Even though ill-disposed people surround him, his servile attitude towards virtue, moral and providence keeps him from using his powerful force to change the situation.

Nobody suspects him to be a fan-

The Great Magician (France/Sweden/Estonia, 2006) Genre: Fairytale Length: 15 min.

Direction: Elisabet Gustafsson Production: La Voie Lactée (France), Average Monkey (Estonia), Dfm Fiktion (Sweden) Cast: Claes Hylinger, Maria Klenskaja and Egon Nuter

Producers Nathalie Algazi and Marie SonneJensen explain how this first coproduction was made, highlighting the artistic role of each contribution, and the network that it enabled the company to develop: Nathalie Algazi: La Voie Lactée started with a first coproduction, The Great Magician. We met the Swedish filmmaker Elisabeth Gustafsson, and her screenplay instantly pleased us. Her Swedish producer, DFM Fiktion, got financial support from the Swedish Film Institute, as well as the Estonian producer support from the French Embassy in Estonia and we managed to sel the film to France, so this 3. This first project naturally became a co-production amongst between three countries. We should mention that all three countries really liked the project, there was a true interest for each producer, and it wasn’t just a matter of financing. We cannot forget that there are two very different kinds of co-productions, the financial co-productions and the artistic ones.

Marie Sonne-Jensen: Indeed, it’s the Swedish producer who accepted it, because in the beginning he was supposed to do only the executive production, but since she had some of the financing already, he joined with a certain percentage of the budget and we became coproducers. He accepted that the pre-buy agreements be settled by the coproducers as well. It was a great opportunity, when we had some nice cooperation between producers Marie Sonne-Jensen: This is a good example of a coproduction where the major producer highlights the efforts of each co-producer. Indeed, La Voie Lactée, as French co-producer, didn’t succeed in financing the shooting of the film but we suggested to include a possible French TV buy of the film in our co-production agreement. The fact that France 3 bought the film, made it possible to the Swedish producer to pay the director and technicians correctly.

Festivals & Awards Brooklyn International Film Festival, US; MECAL – Barcelona, Spain; Hamptons International Film Festival, US; Bunter Hund International Film Festival Munich, Germany; Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival, Toronto, Canada; Portland International Film Festival, US; Paris Tout Court, France; RioFan - Rio de Janeiro Fantastic Film Festival, Brazil; Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival; Jonkoping Film Festival, Sweden; Portable Film Festival; Reykjavik Shorts & Docs, Iceland;Swedish and Norwegian film festival in Paris, France. Best Short Film, Fantasy Worldwide Film Festival, Toronto Canada.

Nathalie Algazi Producer at La Voie Lactée Productions (France) nathalie@lavoielacteeproductions.com

www.lavoielacteeproductions.com After working as a freelance production coordinator for French companies such as Aeternam Films and Bonne Pioche (March of the penguins), Nathalie Algazi created La voie lactée in 2005 along with Marie Sonne-Jensen she had studied with at ESRA (Ecole Supérieur de Réalisation Audiovisuelle). The European coproduction strategy of La voie lactée was rewarded in 2009 by the selection of her FrenchSpanish short film project at EuroConnection (Clermont-Ferrand film market). Nathalie also worked as coproducer on short films such as Casus Belli.

Marie Sonne-Jensen Producer at La Voie Lactée Productions (France) marie@lavoielacteeproductions.com www.lavoielacteeproductions.com Marie Sonne-Jensen is a Danish producer living in Paris. After two years of experience in the advertising industry, and collaborating as a production coordinator at Slot Machine and Les films du lendemain, she naturally applies coproduction strategies on the short film she produces.. She has developed a strong relationship with Swedish director Elisabet Gustafsson, giving birth to two collaborations : a Swedish-Estonian-French film shot in Tallin broadcasted by France 3, and a French- Swedish film shot in Strasbourg, prebought by France 2.

So coproduction just demand some more organization after all…

NA: The amount of work that we have to do in the coproduction of a short film, is like the amount of work spent in almost twice as important as it would be on a regular short film.

MSJ: To agree on a contract, the cash flow, responsibilities take time. But it is truly necessary because we often haven’t got the possibility to use a lawyer in legal disputes – so we have to communicate well, way before the production of the film actually begins. There are lots of cases where there are disputes, and the film remains stopped in the laboratory. For short films, it also costs some significant amount of money, so we should pay attention to that.

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The Monster of Nix

France // Belgium // The Netherlands, 2010

The case of animation films is special amongst coproductions. Not only does animation correspond to one of the best selling genres in the short film market, because it can fit programs for adults, teenagers and children, but also its production conditions are favorable to coproduction. The budget of animation films is normally higher, which implies the bigger need of external financing, and the lack of live action shooting makes it easier for the work to be shared between two or more countries.

“Life is good in the idyllic fairytale village of Nix... until an all-devouring monster appears. Young Willy has to fight it. Alone.”

The Monster of Nix (France/Belgium/The Netherlands, 2010) Genre: Animation Length: 30 min.

Direction: Rosto Production: Studio Rosto A.D (The Netherlands) Autour de Minuit (France), CinéTé (Belgium)

Ron Dyens has worked in several different coproduction projects, and he presents the recent Ron Dyens The Monster of Nix as the example of an ideal Producer at Sacrebleu (France) coproduction, in which all of the partners have www.sacrebleuprod.com ron@sacrebleuprod.com a practically equal responsibility in both the artistic and financial aspects of the project: Ron Dyens is the director and creator of

Sacrebleu, a production company that

“The most representative short film we’ve done is in post- has existed since 1999. Since then, it has production for now, it’s The Monster of Nix, made by Rosto. produced around 45 short films, that have It was a real coproduction between the three countries: been selected in more than 900 festivals.

France, Belgium and The Netherlands. It’s a 30-minute Sacrebleu has earned more than 120 prices, and has gotten more film, only 6 of which were made in Paris. All the three coun- than 100 pre-buy deals with television companies in France and tries were involved from the start, and they all contributed abroad. Their curriculum includes three participations at Cannes, two in Venice, one in Berlin, the Palme d’Or for the best short to reach the budget.” film, and two Academy Awards nominations.

“I don’t think we do a lot of coproduction of short films in general. There is a high percentage in France in the case Willem Thijssen of animation, because there are fewer problems with Producer at CinéTé bvba (Belgium) language. However, I do believe that coproduction will cinete@skynet.be become a usual practice, since the subventions are lim- www.cinete.be ited, and also there are financial responsibilities that are hard to cope with. The new societies and institutions are Willem Thijssen is a film director, script very bureaucratic, the government demands an awful writer and film producer. He studied amount of paperwork and consequently we need more production and direction at the Dutch people to work on that, to participate in selections, to find Film Academy, and since 1974 he has the financing… that costs money with the employees. It’s been a producer and coproducer in over 40 short films and 15 features. normal that, when people become professionals, we pay His productions have already been them more money, and we become more demanding. All awarded with an Oscar twice. that has a cost, so we have to find the cash. Even if we do have it, sometimes we run out of places to look for.”

Willem Thijssen gives his point of view on the (co)production of The Monster of Nix: “I’ve been in coproduction of shorts and features since the 70s. At least half of my 80 films so far are coproductions.

For instance our Oscar winning short Father and Daughter in 2000 was a Dutch/English 50/50 coproduction. The main reason to coproduce is to get the money together, of course, but it also implies a lot more work and travelling, which is a disadvantage. In general I think that animation is quite well adapted to be coproduced. Based on a (moving) storyboard the work can quite easily be split up between more animators.”

Festivals & Awards Being still in post-production, The Monster of Nix hasn’t yet participated in festivals and other events.

I agree with Ron [that this coproduction was equally shared between all the producers]. Things were clear from the beginning (Dutch majority and clear attributions on France and Belgium). Basically the only problem we ran into was the fact that the Dutch side of the production was quite inexperienced in the job of “coproducing” (where they were very experienced in directing) and a lot of things had to be explained often to make things work. But it turned out fine in the end!

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Voyage Autour de ma Chambre Belgium // France, 2008

If coproduction seems perfect for animation, it can have a different impact on hybrid films, especially those that put together animation and experimental narrative and aesthetics. That is the case of most productions made the Belgium Olivier Smolders with the production company Les Films du ScarabĂŠe. Experimental films normally have a more limited commercial career, and at the same time the search for new textures, narratives and aesthetics also imply a bigger budget.

That is why coproduction is important not only to get the film financed, but also to show in other countries an innovational point of view on cinema.

Alone in his bedroom, a filmmaker talks about territories and trips, some fictional and other imagined, that he has experienced. Made out of images collected through the years, Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre raises in a poetic way the matter of finding the right place for

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Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre (Belgium/France, 2008) Genre: Immobile film Length: 26 min.

Direction: Olivier Smolders Production: Olivier Smolders and Christian Popp

Smolders, used to working with coproduction, Olivier Smolders exposes how Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre was done and how coproduction functions in Producer and director at Films du Scarabée (Belgium) that case: The film was shot in Italy, Kenya and Belgium. It also contains images from files. The cooperation between coproducers involved very different domains, at the same time technical and artistic. Besides matters strictly related to coproduction, it’s especially interesting to have a partner with whom you can have s trustful dialogue about the artistic orientations of the project.

I had already worked in coproduction with other partners. They were all different cases and each project implied specific kinds of cooperation. Mutual trust is obviously essential to succeed in coproduction. For that reason, it is important to expose, since the beginning, each person’s goals. But the most important part of the work still remains, I believe, the complicity on an artistic level. Both coproducers need to have the desire to do the same film - even if the filmmaker is, in the end, the only master in command within the limits of the budget.

Coproduction is surely an asset when it’s possible. It allows the film to have more financial possibilities ad also to find a larger audience. It only works if both coproducers have the same vision and share the same philosophy of production. We know that short films do not have financial profit as a main purpose. We also know that they often have to be produced with limited means, which requires creativity and a smartness to get by. Having that in mind, coproduction can be very productive and make you forget all the administrative constraints that it implies.

Festivals & Awards Pize for best documentary at the Media Festival 10/10 of Namur 2008; Grand Prize Docencourt at the Lyon film festival 2009; Young Jury Prize at the Vendôme Festival 2008; Special mention by the Young Jury at the Aix-en-Provence Festival 2008; Special mention by the Student Jury at the Nice Festival 2009; Annual documentary prize Scam 2009; Nominated for the Lutins for the short film, and for the Césars 2010; Cinematic Achievement Award at the Thess international short film festival Greece 2010.

w w w.smolderscarabee.be/ index_o.htm osmolders@gmail.com Born 04/01/56 in Léopoldville, Congo. Graduated in roman philology at UCL, founder of Films du Scarabée, producer, screenwriter and filmmaker, teacher at INSAS and ISV, professor at Liège University, author of essays on literature and cinema.

Extract from a film review on Voyage Autour de ma Chambre, published on Belgium media Cinergie’s Webzine n°133: From the opening credits, the voice of the filmmaker says: “I prefer immobility to movement, silence to words, being in the bedroom rather than going elsewhere.”

Voyage Autour de ma Chambre proposes an imaginary space, in voice over, which relates to the look that Olivier Smolders has on the different spaces his body has been to: Africa, because he was born there (this “land where I happened to be born”, that teaches him to “unlearn his interior myths”), America, Asia. This moving cuts on the moving image, these confuse impressions on the world’s appearance, the ears full of a tireless melody and the eyes filled with pictorial colors, the filmmaker transmits them by solarizing his sequences.

The film takes us to a gallery that exposes dissected bodies, a sort of anatomy painted in colors, like Flamish paintings by André Vésale. The body is therefore an expression of life and death – one of the most important subjects in the history of art. “That is where hides the mystery of existence, of the soul. What is left of us without our bodies? The cinema has always been fascinated by the body. Filming someone else means starting by filming his/her body.” The splendor of Voyage Autour de ma Chambre does not rely solely on the trip through the pathways of existence, but also on showing with a pictorial imagination the beauty of the world.” (by Jean-Michel Vlaeminckx)

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Random Strangers UK // Netherlands 2011

If most coproductions are done for artistic or financial reasons, some of them happen essentially for organizational purposes. Random Strangers, a short film made by feature-film habituate Alexis dos Santos, became a United Kingdom/Netherlands coproduction as the filmmaker was in The Netherlands at the time when the shooting was possible, and it was easier to move the film to the director than moving the director to the film. This shows that looking for a production partner in a different country may not only be a necessity for the production or for the screenplay, it can also be a choice.

The maker of Glue and Unmade Beds delves yet deeper into youth culture. Lulu and Rocky, from different corners of the world, meet in the virtual one. Two people on opposite sides of the world enter into a relationship in a virtual world. Lulu and Rocky live in Buenos Aires and Berlin respectively.

Their daily lives are very dif-

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Random Strangers (United Kingdom/The Netherlands, 2011) Genre: Fiction Length: 25 min.

Direction: Alexis dos Santos Production: The Bureau Film Company (UK), Molinare (UK) Soundadventure (The Netherlands), Lemming Film (The Netherlands) Cinema Reloaded - International Film Festival Rotterdam (The Netherlands) Cast: Inès Efron, Samy Challah

Producer Valentina Brazzini, at the Bureau Film Company, shares her experiences on the mak- Valentina Brazzini ing of this film, as well as her point of view on Producer at The Bureau (United Kingdom) coproduction: The Bureau is a UK production company but the funds came from International Rotterdam Film Festival through their crowd sourcing project Cinema Reloaded. At the time in which we needed to shoot, Alexis Dos Santos was living in Amsterdam because he was attending the Binger Film Lab. We then decided that it would be the best to shoot where Alexis was as he couldn’t leave the lab for too long. After deciding this, we found a coproducer, Lemming Film, to help us with the practicalities of shooting in the Netherlands. All the pre-production happened in our office in London, until we moved to Amsterdam a few days before the shoot. Most of the crew was living in Amsterdam but the majority of them were also foreigners (Japanese, German, Mexican, Hungarian...). The only Dutch crew was the brilliant sound recordist Evelien Van Der Molen, the amazing editor Saskia Kievits and two people who helped us in various ways during the shoot (Kees Brieenen and Liz Slot). The lead actor, Samy Challah, was from Germany (but living in Amsterdam) and the lead actress Inès Efron was from Buenos Aires (Argentina) and we had to fly her over for the shooting.

After the end of the shooting we completed the sound post-production in Amsterdam (at Soundadventure) and the picture post-production in London (at Molinare). Both companies helped us a lot financially so they are in a way also our sponsors.

The disadvantage of producing between two different countries in this occasion was that in the weeks of preproduction, we had to organize things from London, while most of our crew was in Amsterdam. This made everything more complicated because even if nowadays communication is not a problem, when you make a film the ideal situation is still to be very close to your director and crew to better organize everything and understand what is needed on the spot. Living every day close to your crew is important to bond and learn from each other very quickly. If this was a feature

Festivals & Awards ???

vb@thebureau.co.uk www.thebureau.co.uk

After a degree in Communication Science in Milan, Valentina went on to study Cinema at the University of Bologna wanting to pursue her passion for film further. After two years, she joined The Bureau in June 2006. Since then, going on to work on the production of films including Far North, Leaving Eva, London River. In her role as assistant producer she was able to get involved in each phase of the production of the feature Unmade Beds, which was certainly the most challenging project, that also gave her the opportunity to work as a music supervisor for its exciting and fresh soundtrack. Last year Valentina also produced a music video for the song “who am I”, by the singer-song writer Lail Arad.

She is the producer of the coproduction Random Strangers.

we might have had the budget to move to Amsterdam earlier and work from there for a few weeks, but being a small budget short this wasn’t possible. From this point of view, I think coproductions are great for features, because you have more sources of finance and collaborations, but if you’re making a short they can make your life more complicated because you never have enough budget to be in all the countries as much as you would need. In fact to make the most of a short film budget, the best is being in one contained place!

In spite of this, working between two countries and with such an international crew was essential to be truthful to the nature of this film. Random Strangers is about people meeting online and developing an intimate connection even though they live so far away from each other, and in a way while working on this film we all experienced the troubles and the joys of communicating and being far away at the same time.

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Vivons la Mort

France // Canada, 2009

While most of the examples above consist in big productions, one must not forget low budget short films may also benefit from coproduction with crowdfunding, for example. This “collective funding” implies calling out for ordinary people to invest on film project through the Internet. This financing may not raise big amounts of money, but it does allow smaller projects to exist. Vivons la Mort is a short film produced that way. Even if only one crowdfunding producer was from abroad (Canada), this essentially French short film represents a possibility that has become usual for several art projects.

A couple on their thirties decides to buy a very particular coffin in order to fulfill one of their fantasies. The very professional salesman, on his side, uses his sales skills to satisfy one of his own fantasies as well. An absurd and satirical blend on eroticism and death.

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Vivons la Mort (France/Canada, 2009) Genre: Fiction Length: 10 min Direction: David Règle Production: Pandorine Box Cast: Yvain Lucas, Marion Viot, Roland Drover

David Règle presents the experience of crowdfunding and the pretty peculiar alternative he David Règle Director and Producer at Panfound to get Vivons La Mort done: First of all, I would like to present you the origins of this film. The screenplay “Vivons la Mort” was selected to the Estran competition, which is organized by Coté Ouest, an association that is responsible for the Brest European Short Film Festival. This selection allowed me to profit from different workshops on screenplay, on techniques to direct actors, to compose a crew, to produce and to operate 16 mm film cameras. Despite that fact, the screenplay wasn’t selected by the jury.

Since I was very persisting in putting this story into images and therefore getting my first film done, I found a group of people who wanted to go through the same adventure. Due to the lack of producers, I created the association Pandorine Box and gathered all the tools required for the shooting of a film. Once all the technical aspects were sorted out and the documents were ready, the money issue was raised.

I had some personal savings, but unfortunately they weren’t enough! So I decided to try crowdfunding. “Vivons la Mort” is my first professional production and it is also the first one that profited from crowdfunding.

The first step was to get registered in Babeldoor and announce it to as many people as possible. Therefore, I informed all my contacts and I also created a page for the film on Facebook. That strategy worked because approximately twenty people agreed to contribute financially with the film. Most of the contributions were French. Only one of them was Canadian. That alone made it possibly to raise almost 1000 euros, which corresponds to 40% of the film’s budget. Some people didn’t use the crowdfunding website and came directly to me. Also, I got 800 euros of financial help from the city of Brest. The project’s budget was estimated at 47000 euros. However, since I only worked with volunteers and I didn’t have to pay for the technical equip-

Festivals & Awards European Short Film Festival of the city of Brest (France)

dorine Box (France) pandorinebox@gmail.com www.pandorinebox.org

After receiving his diploma as an audiovisual technician in the École Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle in 2007, David Règle has worked as an editor, camera operator, news cameraman, radio technician and documentary filmmaker.

ment, the cost was fortunately a lot lower than that.

I think it’s necessary to implement some more communication tools on the Internet in order to inform people about the projects, to have enough information and a good path so that it reaches other networks.

Once it’s well known, the project must be interesting enough to get the attention of potential coproducers. The presentation must be very carefully done, and so must the text. The director must constantly inform people about how the film evolves, and not hesitate to make use of announcements every now and then.

I think that when these ingredients are put together, there are more chances that coproducers can become interested.

As for the advantages of crowdfunding, of course the financial help is a considerable asset, and so is the promotion of the film. There are also disadvantages, I’d say that we cannot be sure that the project will reach the amount of money announced on the website. That adds up to the work and to the management issues.

But if the project is worth it, then I’d just say why not!

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Panahida Germany // Republic of Moldova, 2010

Even if the financial aids specifically conceived for the coproduction of short films are rare, they do exist in certain parts of Europe. The Robert Bosch Stiftung grant, for example, contributes with up to 70 000 euros for each coproduction project between Germany and Eastern European Countries. The projects can be fiction, documentary and animation.

German/Moldovan project Panihida was the 2010 winner of the fiction category.

Recently one of the oldest women living in a small village in Moldova died in one of the houses. Young and old generation come together in order to say goodbye to the old Lady who was mother, grandmother, friend and neighbor. Tradition collides with modern spirit, people from far away return and meet people who have

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Panihida (Germany/Republic of Moldova, 2010) Genre: Fiction Length: 58 min.

Direction: Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu Production: Jonnas Weydemann (Weydemann Brothers, Germany)

Producer Jonas Weydemann shares the experience of working with that institution and hav- Jonas Weydemann ing coproduction as a goal in itself, not just the Producer at Weydemann Bros.

(Germany) means of getting a short film done: Why have you chosen coproduction? Was it your intention and that of the director from the beginning of the project?

The story of Panihida is based in a little village in the Republic of Moldova. As we had never produced a film in this country before, it was logical to produce together with somebody from there. Not only regarding the organization, but also the story, it was very important to get the best out of the project. After we met the director Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu at the Wendland Shorts Film Festival in the northern part of Germany, where she pitched her idea, we decided at the very beginning that we would do Panihida as a German - Moldovan coproduction.

Have you had other previous experiences with coproduction?

We had already had experiences with coproduction in other projects and will always continue in this way of producing films. For most of our films coproduction makes sense, based on the story, the production conditions or due to financial reasons. But we always look carefully at each project, because a coproduction isn’t always the most adequate solution. In every country the production conditions are different and you have to adjust to them.

How does the Robert Bosch foundation follow the project once the grant is given, or do you have total freedom to work with the budget once the project is awarded the grant?

During the nomination process they look carefully on the teambuilding of the coproducers; they are really interested in you and your idea. A very professional jury nominates and awards the projects and follows up also in postproduction. They are there if you need help or advices but give you creative freedom. To find good partners they even have an Internet platform. But of course another advan-

Festivals & Awards Winner of the “Silver Stork” at the Wendland Shorts Festival 2009.

Winner of the Robert Bosch Coproduction Prize 2010.

jonas@weydemannbros.com www.weydemannbros.com

Jonas Weydemann takes his first steps into the film business in San Francisco, where he attends workshops at the Hollywood Film Institute. In several film production companies in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg he gains experience and later studies film production at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb).

Since 2007 he is programming director at the short film festival Wendland Shorts and participates in the IDFAcademy and the Berlinale Talent Campus.Together with his brother he founds in 2008 the production company Weydemann Bros. in Berlin and Cologne.

tage is the amount, up to 70 000 Euro is a considerable amount of money for each category: live action short film, creative documentary and animation short film.

Do you think this very same film could have been done with a single country production, or with another grant than the Bosch grant?

Panihida is an arthouse film, realized in a small and very poor country with non-professional-actors and based on a treatment, not a scripted plot. I am sure that the financing of this project would have been very difficult or even impossible without the support of the Robert Bosch Foundation. From the very beginning it was clear in our mind that we had to do it as a coproduction.

What suggestions or advice can you give to other producers and directors who are looking to do their film in coproduction?

Look carefully at the partner you choose as a coproducer.

You will have to work for a long period of time together and you have to understand each other very well. You have to find solutions for a lot of difficult situations throughout the film production. Don’t choose a coproducer just for the possible money you could generate. If you choose well, you will have a great film, a good experience and a business partner for further projects.

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18

chapter 3

MAIN CONTACTS

connected to the coproduction of short films

After the discussions and impressions from producers, filmmakers and other professionals related to the coproduction of short films, this part sums up most of the practical information mentioned before. The first half includes financial id and meetings specially conceived for coproduction.

Some other institutions and organizations that contribute to this practice, such as film commissions for each European country, are not mentioned due to the extent of such a list, but is important to remind that boarder regions between European countries, festivals and other local institutes are always important contacts to make when looking for coproduction.

Along with the main encouragements and general aids, this chapter presents a list of people who contributed for this book, as well as the short film(s) in coproduction they have worked in.

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Robert Bosch Stifting - Coproduction Prize The Robert Bosch Stiftung is one of the major German foundations associated with a private company and has managed the philanthropic bequest of company founder Robert Bosch for more than 40 years. Indeed it was his entrepreneurial vision, political farsightedness, moral fortitude and charitable initiatives that set the standards for the work of the Robert Bosch Stiftung.

The Bosch Constitution The foundation exclusively and directly serves charitable purposes. As a shareholder of Robert Bosch GmbH the foundation receives a proportion of the distributed dividends in the company. Given its status as a charitable institution the foundation does not engage in corporate activity. The voting rights associated with its shares in Robert Bosch GmbH have been transferred to a trust, Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG. This clearly separates the entrepreneurial and philanthropic aspects of the foundation and allows it to undertake work ÂŤfor the common good without thereby questioning the company>s own business practices as suchÂť (Hans.L. Merkle, 1972). The foundation manages its assets as it believes Robert Bosch would have wanted it to.

Coproduction Prize This is a co-Production Prize for young filmmakers from Germany and countries in Eastern Europe in the genres animation, documentary, and short film (information from the official website).

The Co-Production Prizes 2010 for outstanding film concepts were presented to their young recipients by the Robert Bosch Stiftung on April 27, 2010, at the goEast Festival in Wiesbaden. The concepts will be implemented in Germany and the partner country this year. The ARTE television channel - partner of the Co-Production Prize - will incorporate at least one of the completed films in its programme.

The Co-Production Prize offers young German filmmakers (producers, directors, cameramen, and scriptwriters) the opportunity to realize a joint film project with young filmmakers from Eastern Europe. The prize is awarded in cooperation with the goEast Festival in Wiesbaden.

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Contacts Karin Angela Schyle Phone: +49 (0)30 521 31 485 schyle@coproductionprize.com Frank Albers frank.albers@bosch-stiftung.de www.bosch-stiftung.de

European Short Pitch Since 2007, NISI MASA organizes the European Short Pitch, a scriptwriting and pitching project. The NISI MASA know-how and experience is concentrated during two intense workshop sessions that are committed to the future of European short film productions. 25 young European talents are brought together in residence at the Moulin d’Andé-Céci (France) in order to rewrite, discuss and learn about the way of promoting their project. The potential of their script is decisive and crucial for their participation.

Supported by experienced tutors they prepare during one intense week for the second session: a unique pitching session in front of 25 European producers and buyers, in the frame of a European film festival. We aim to bring young European talents in the spotlight and give them a high end promotion opportunity, to develop cross-cultural short film production in Europe. European Short Pitch is about enhanced economic viability and European visibility for short film scripts. It results in European short film co-productions and eased access to feature film for the participants. From the previous editions, 90 projects were presented and more than 170 producers and buyers attended the pitching session and started some collaboration.

Organisation NISI MASA is a European network gathering hundreds of young film enthusiasts in 23 countries. NISI MASA is composed of national organizations with different profiles, but all consisting of young Europeans sharing a common passion: cinema.

The aims: • To discover & promote new film talents, • To foster European awareness through the means of cinema, • To develop cross-cultural cinema projects • To create a platform of discussion and collaboration for young European filmmakers.

Contacts Matthieu Darras matthieu@nisimasa.com NISI MASA European Office 99 rue du faubourg St Denis 75010 Paris France Website: www.nisimasa.com

The main activities: All the year long, NISI MASA organizes various activities focused on European cinema, split in three fields: SCRIPT, FILMLAB and DIALOGUES. Scriptwriting, filmmaking and journalism workshops, lectures, seminars, film screenings, meetings are held in various cities (Istanbul, Paris, Mitrovica, Vienna, Budapest, Amsterdam, Bucharest, Zagreb, etc). These events often take place during film festivals around Europe.

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EuroConnection forum Euro Connection is a business platform dedicated to European producers whose projects include developing short films as European co-productions. Producers and representatives of funding bodies and television channels meet there to form partnerships.

A network of national correspondents in fifteen associated countries1 is responsible for the selection of about twenty projects that will be presented during pitching sessions. Individual assistance will be available at the MEDIA Rendez-vous area to facilitate networking opportunities. Short films are a fertile ground for renewed creativity and promising talents who ensure the future of cinematographic and audiovisual creation in Europe. The success of the first Euro Connection forum last year was a clear indicator of this. Joining forces at a European level will prove all the more necessary in a challenging financial environment. Responding to contemporary challenges for producing short films in Europe, the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market is proud to launch the second edition of Euro Connection, the European short film co-production forum.

Euro Connection takes place during the Short Film Market, in direct collaboration with the MEDIA Desk France. This business platform aims at fostering partnerships between European production companies, funders and broadcasters for short film projects.

Organization Selected projects and producers’ profiles will be made available in a book of projects and online at www. clermont-filmfest.com early January 2010. Each selected project shall be supported by its producer who will have 10 minutes to make a concise presentation in one of the 4 pitching sessions taking place on Tuesday 2 February (either in French or in English depending on the producer’s choice). A simultaneous translation by headsets will be provided. One-on-one meetings between invited producers and registered participants will take place at the MEDIA Rendez-Vous area.

In order to be eligible, applying production companies must meet the following criteria: • They must be located in one of the participating countries of each edition.

• They must enter a project: a) with partial funding secured in its country of origin; b) that is being developed with a real approach to European co-production; c) that respects the deadline to start shooting determined for each edition.

• They must commit to attend and pitch their project in case of selection.

Contacts Selected producers are invited to Euro Connection. Invitation covers hotel and meals for the duration of their stay (limited to one www.clermont-filmfest.com person per project). Travel costs are the responsibility of the producers.

Enquiries:

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Laurent Crouzeix: l.crouziex@clermont-filmfest.com Phone: +33 (0) 4 73 14 73 12

Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris The Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris, organized with the Filmakademie Baden- Württemberg and Fémis in Paris, is a European professional one-year training focused on production and distribution. 18 graduates from different areas, having had a first year of professional experience, take part in this course: 6 French students, 6 German students and 6 students from a different European nationality. So far, our students have come from 18 different European countries.

The taught modules in Ludwigsburg, Paris and London convey practical and theoretical knowledge about financing, film funding, script development, calculating a budget, drawing up a shooting schedule and shooting a film. These modules also cover contract law, as well as film distribution and world sales. The study trips to the international film festivals in Berlin and Cannes offer participants a chance to discover what an A festival has to offer, how the festivals are organized and the opportunities they present.

For four weeks all students work as interns with a European film distribution company or world sales agent.

The objective is to ensure students gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and goals in the distribution business through being integrated into the firm’s practical work. The students subsequently produce a written distribution study drawing on what they have learnt.

In coproduction with ARTE and the German local broadcaster SWR, the students produce a series of 9 short fiilms. The development and production of this project is a leitmotif running through the entire course. The students plan, shoot and complete short films with the teams composed by students from the two film schools.

German coordinator of the Atelier, Hanna Hertwig, explains more about the project: “The year the participants spend together allows them to know each other quite well, they build a trustful relationship and develop a common project during the course. As a consequence, they end up having a network of future partners all over Europe, in the Alumni Association Atelier Network. This is an experience of great value for them, not only for the project they do together, but also for the exchange of experiences, knowledge and contacts.

In what international network is concerned, cinema schools can actually be institutions that encourage coproduction by giving the students the possibility to do exchange programs in foreign schools, and of course by welcoming students from abroad. It’s by working on the same project that the best contacts and professional relationships are established”.

Contacts atelier-ludwigsburg-paris.com Hanna Hertwig Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg Akademiehof 10 71638 Ludwigsburg Tel. +49(0)7141 969 501 Fax +49(0)7141 969 511 hanna.hertwig@filmakademie.de Christine Ghazarian La fémis 6 rue Francœur 75018 Paris Tel. +33(0)1 53 41 22 11 Fax +33(0)1 53 41 02 80 christine.ghazarian@femis.

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Crowdfunding platforms Cinema Reloaded

On the Cinema Reloaded website, two short film projects are presented.

On the website it is possible to see how much each short film project still requires to meet its minimum budget. By investing in a project, you become a “co-producer” and can therefore access special information, private forums and also the following services: - Regular updates by the filmmaker - View the premiere of the film in streaming VOD - Have your name in the credits if you purchase a minimum of 5 coins (if you became a co-producer before 11 January 2011) - Invitation to the theatrical premiere (depending on availability of seats) The International Film Festival Rotterdam has been championing innovative and exciting filmmakers and taking their work to new audiences. This new experimental project - Cinema Reloaded – is now taking that mission to a new level by using the opportunities offered by the digital age.

Cinema Reloaded will experiment with new forms of financing, production and distribution for the kind of innovative, artistic and independent film with which Rotterdam has always been associated.

IndieGogo Indie Gogo has existed since 2008, offering people with projects in different areas (theater, film, communitarian causes) the chances of getting people’s attention thought the Internet and encouraging them to financially participate on their projects. Find this essentially American-based platform on www.indiegogo.com

Babeldoor Babeldoor presents itself as a “small team of artists and businessmen”, also willing to encourage any sort of creative or entrepreneurial projects by private investment. Find this essentially French-based platform on www.babeldoor.com.

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Essential vocabulary of coproduction

As simple as an A-to-Z structure may be, this last part of the booklet seeks to sum up the basic information found previously on the book, as well as to insist on other issues that were not represented in the case studies. It is structured by main topics of interest concerning the coproduction of short films. Therefore, topics such as “animation” of “film schools” do not intend to represent what animation films and film schools are, but how they relate to coproduction, and why we believe it was important to stress these particular terms to explain how coproduction functions.

Animation

Amongst all cinematic genres in short films, animation is not only one of the categories that find better a commercial career, but also one of the genres that most often make use of coproduction. There are two main reasons for that. The first one is that animation short films are normally more expensive than live action ones, and therefore require creative ways of finding financing – which include coproduction. Also, animation makes it easier to share the work between two countries, given the fact that the crew doesn’t necessarily need to be constantly in two different countries.

Budget

One of the main reasons presented by producers to engage in coproduction is the possibility of reaching the budget needed for a film. Even if the artistic implications of coproduction should not be forgotten, it is true that this practice allows projects to multiply their sources of financing and therefore raise the amount of money that, without coproduction, would often be impossible to assemble.

Coproduction

There are basically two sorts of coproductions: artistic and financial ones. On the first case, the coproducer is involved in the creative decisions, on the second, he/she is only as investor who believes in the film’s potential. Many cases of coproduction unite both aspects of coproduction, though. Coproductions may be of many kinds and natures: a film shot in two different countries, made by a multinational crew and cast, using money, equipment or technology from different sources. Much more common in feature films than short films, coproduction has on the other hand increased in short films with some initiatives such as meetings and grants to encourage production exchanges.

Cultural aspects

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Whether it is seen and advantage or not, one of the main aspects concerning coproduction is the different cultural aspects of all countries involved. Different countries might have different languages, different agreements and fund search, different ways of shooting, acting and producing. Being in contact with another culture may be as enriching as trying because of the adaptation needed. However, the best experiences with coproduction told in this booklet concern the discovery of new talents and manners to conceive cinema that are acquired

Film commissions

In France alone, northern region Pas-de-Calais has a well-developed structure to finance short films, in particular those produced with the boarder regions of Belgium. The same happens to French region Alsace and Germany. Other countries in Europe can be interested in financing cinema, notably if the short film represents a good opportunity to present the city or a talent coming from that specific region. The list of European Film Commissions, present in websites such as the European Film Commission Network, presents a list of countries, states and other national divisions that support the production of short films, and that may function as partners for coproduction.

Film markets

“We don’t go to festivals much. We prefer those where there is a sales market, where we can see films fast, on DVD or Internet. Indeed, it’s also nicer to watch films in the theater, but if we choose to watch them in the theater, we don’t get to see many during the day, while the advantage of film markets with films on DVDs and Internet is that, knowing what we are looking for, if a film doesn’t please us, we can just stop it and move on to the next one. Having said that, we mostly watch films on DVD, at the office.” (Jean-Charles Mille, Premium Films) Sales agent Jean-Charles Mille (Premium Films, France) details above how important film festivals, and specially film markets, are to him. These events are essential not only to present short films, but also to know other producers and people who may share the same view on cinema.

Internet

Even if most of the coproduction short films still work with film and festivals as their main exhibition support – specially live action ones – Internet becomes a very important tool not only for the contacts and the organization, but also for new coproduction possibilities, as crowdfunding, and for the distribution and sales.

Indeed, an increasing number of websites show and/or sell short films, and pre-buys for television channels are sometimes done for exhibition and display exclusively online. Sales agencies from European countries may also be interested to engage in financial coproduction if they perceive the potential of a project they spot online.

Language barriers

One of the main arguments presented by producers reluctant to experiment coproduction is the language barrier. Indeed, despite eventual translations of a project, foreign people might not fully understand cultural aspects or subtleties of a project from another country. Still, meetings and workshops have been developed to gather producers, directors and screenwriters to help the message get through. Also, the diversity of languages may become an asset when the matter of negotiations with a foreign country is concerned – which is particularly interesting for the search of financial partners in other countries.

Organization

Having collected opinions from several different professionals involved in the short film industry, a consensus is established around the organizational aspects of coproduction. Most people agree that organizing the pre-production, the shooting, the financial research in different countries and with different partners implies more time. However, this complex structure in the beginning allows to save time once the film is ready and looks to be exhibited in festivals abroad, or be sold to television channels from various European countries.

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Pre-buy

“Every now and then, we discover project foreign producers contact us concerning projects in which there is already a national producer who has managed to get about 75% of his budget, he only needs the rest financing needed to get the film done, so he searches for a pre-buy from another country. That’s very hard, but it happens. They often look for pre-buys, particular in France since French Television channels are the ones who buy the most short film in Europe. But it is very important to understand, that very few foreign short films, shot in another language than French, are pre-bought by French TV stations. It is more common that foreign films are bought once the film is finished.” (MSJ)

Regional interest

“A very good example of a French region co-producing with another country must be our short film Le Piano, which got the France Télévision prize award at Clermont Ferrand. This film was financed by the region Alsace and later by France Télévision. I was discussing with the person responsible for the cultural institution of Alsace who told me that the filmmaker was Armenian, living in Alsace and they had liked the project so much that they accepted to shoot in Armenia and post produce in Alsace. The post-production represents a considerable part of the budget, therefore the region had a significant importance, and that allowed them to develop jobs in post production as well, which is quite rare.no problems with interchanging the rules. In that this case, not only there was national motivation, but also local ones.” (Marie Sonne-Jensen, producer at La Voie Lactée Productions - France)

Sales agencies

“I thought at the time that there was some place for these new forms of exhibition supports, on the Internet or on mobile phones, for short films, which are not well represented on the film market. I began to work with the sales of short films, and from the beginning we were interested in international films, both European and French ones. For more than ten years now, we have a catalog full of films of all genres and all countries.

Our business is firstly to find these films according to the needs of our distributors, to sort them out and then to present to our clients the films that could really fit with their programming.” (Jean-Charles Mille, Premium Films)

Screenplay Television VoD

“For now, VoD does work well, it works a lot better than last year. I don’t have the exact percentages in mind, but even the of VoD sales is still low, it can double from year to year, because there are more and more website that show short films, and other websites with a space dedicated to it, after having made some business deals with VoD editors. We can always count on some profit from iTunes for the animation shorts that are nominated for the Oscars, also some French exhibition platforms such as Free, that show short films to their subscribers.

That is also a very profitable sales option for producers.” (Jean-Charles Mille, director and sales agent at Premium Films - France)

Workshops

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Index of people and films

This is a short list of the people who contributed to this project by giving their ideas and their time to talk about the coproduction of short films. They are listed in alphabetical order, according to their last names. The short films they mention are also connected to the respective name of the producer/ screenwriter or other spokesperson responsible for each film project.

Nathalie ALGAZI See case studies on page Y. Valentina BRAZZINI See case studies page Y. Ron DYENS See case studies page Y. Martin GUIDO - Screenwriter of The Garment (Spain)

martinguido@gmail.com

Martin Guido was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He finished his studies at the Film Academy and worked as a first assistant director in films and advertising between 2001 and 2006. In 2007 he moved to Barcelona (Spain) where he participated with his first short film Tough Audience as a director at different short film festivals, winning several prizes. In 2008, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Spain, he directed his second short film Ninety-Two, filmed at the beginning of 2009 and broadcasted on national TV in January 2011. Since 2008 he has worked at Magoproduction - an animation studio based in Barcelona as a scriptwriter developing animated TV series Dr. W released in Spain (TV3), France (Arte), Germany (Arte), Finland (YLE), Portugal and Argentina. Currently he works developing the scripts of the animated TV series Flying Squirrels, coproduced by Catalan Television.

Hanna HERTWIG - Program coordinator of the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris (France/Germany)

hanna.hertwig@filmakademie.de www.atelier-ludwigsburg-paris.com Hanna Hertwig is the coordinator of the Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. She initiated German short film nights in Madrid and Paris and has got a professional experience in promoting international academic exchange. During her trinational German-French-Spanish Master “Intercultural European Studies” she specialized in the media, crosscultural competence and public film funding in Europe.

Jean Denis LE DINAHET - Producer at b24 Films (Italy/France) ledinahet.b24@gmail.com

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Born in Villeurbanne (France), in 1981, Jean Denis Le Dinahet graduated in Management at Sciences-po Paris and successively in Film Production at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome in 2006, and worked as an intern at Cofiloisirs, Arte France Cinema and as an assistant to the Attaché audiovisuel of the French Embassy in Rome. In 2007 Jean-Denis Le Dinahet was selected at the Berlinale Talent Campus as producer & scriptwriter. Consultant to the Istituto di Economia dei Media Fondazione Rosselli in Rome, he worked from 2007 to 2008 as General Secretary at Maria Seven Dreams Productions in Rome.

Vladimir LESCHIOV - Director of Zudusi Sniega (Latvia/Sweden) vl@lunohod.lv

Born in 1970, in Daugavpils, Latvia. During 2001-2002, he studied animation at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, Department of Animation, Eksj, Sweden. From 1991 to 1995 he participated in several group and personal art exhibitions of independent artist in Latvia and Russia (personal exhibition in St.Petersburg in 1992). From 1993 Leschiov has worked as an art director, director, designer and artist for television productions. He has developed several animations for television, music video and commercials production in Latvia and Europe.

Zudusi Sniega

(Lost In The Snow, 2007) Genre: Animation Length: 7 min.

Direction: Vladimir Leschiov Production: Jet Media In winter some people go ice fishing.

Excitement intensified by freezing temperatures and strong drinks lead to unpredictable consequences.

Awards and nominations: Best Short Film at the 6th Anifest: International Festival of Animated Films 2007; Best in Show at the 4th Animation Block Party, 2007; Special Jury Mention at the 4th Animateka: International Animation Film Festival; Grand Prize at the Laputa International Animation Festival, 2008; Special Prize at the 12th Hiroshima International Animation Festival 2008.

David LINDNER - Producer at FILMALEE (Germany) david@filmallee.com www.filmallee.com Born in 1979 in Berlin , David Lindner Leporda grew up in Potsdam . David was acting in one of the last DEFA films when he discovered his passion for the film industry.

Starting 2000 he worked in film shootings in the production department and later as an assistant to film producer Christoph Müller. This was followed by the study of film production and media management at the University of Television and Film in Munich, from which he graduated in 2008. Since then David has worked under the name of his 2006 founded company FILMALLEE as an independent creative producer.

Jean-Charles MILLE - See case studies page Y. Jérôme NUNES - Producer of Films de Force Majeure (France)

nunes@films-de-force-majeure.com www.films-de-force-majeure.com Jérôme Nunes was born in 1980 in la Seyne Sur Mer. After spending six years in the British Isles where he studied and taught languages and cinema at university, he moved to Marseille in 2006. He dedicates himself to scriptwriting, filmmaking and literary translation. In 2009, he directed the short film Alter Ego. In 2010, he is involved in the creation of Films de Force Majeure, for which he is in charge of project scouting.

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Luc PEREZ - Director of Shaman (Denmark/France) luc@lupefilms.com Luc Perez is born in 1963 in France. After graduating in Arts (audiovisual communication), he made experimental videos mixing drawings, toys and actors.

After ten years of experience on French television channels, in cinema and institutional films, he decides to try new narrative forms. The passion for painting leads him to animation cinema, with which he experiments new techniques with pastel, acrylic on paper and chalk together with Photoshop and After Effects. He has also had experiences with animation scens for documentaries, feature films and video clips for France, Denmark, USA and Germany. He has lived for ten years in both France and Denmark.

Zorana PIGGOTT - Producer of Together at 011 Productions (UK) www.zerodoubleone.com zp@zerodoubleone.com

Zorana graduated in Production from the UK’s National Film and Television School (NFTS). Having associate produced or co-produced over fifteen feature films which participated at film festivals such as Venice, Berlin and Toronto, in early 2008 Zorana left her Head of Production position at UK’s Film and Music Entertainment to set up 011 Productions and focus on independently developing and producing feature films, as well as shorts. The company recently completed “Together”, a short film by Eicke Bettinga, funded by nordmedia in Germany and the UK Film Council. Together premiered in the Critics’ Week selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Zorana is also a member of the ACE (Ateliers du Cinéma Européen) Producers Network.

Together (2009) Genre: Drama Length: 14 min.

Direction: Eicke Bettinga Production: PB Filmproduktion, 011 Productions Ltd. Cast: Matt Smiith, John Vine, Amanda Boxer, Guy Flanagan Rob is driving back home. It’s been a year since the death of his older brother. Upon Rob’s arrival it is clear that the family is still learning how to cope with their loss. The relationship between Rob and his father is awkward. There is a sense that the father blames Rob for moving on too fast, while Rob’s understanding of the reality, even a year later, is still distorted. Rob decides that in order to get through to his father he’ll have to “force” his affection onto him.

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David RÈGLE - See case studies page Y.

Nicolas SCHMERKIN - Producer at Autour de Minuit (France)

nicolas@autourdeminuit.com Born in 1973 in Buenos Aires, Nicolas Schmerkin created in 1998 the cinema blog.autourdeminuit.com magazine Repérages, which included new DVDs edited by the own magazine. From 2000 to 2008, he works in the selection of films to the International Sarajevo Film Festival, as well as the Némo Festival in Paris. At the same time, he develops together with Philippe Bober a catalog of international sales and also does film editing for feature films such as Carlos Reygadas’s Battle in Heaven (2005). In 2001, he becomes the founder of Autour de Minuit Productions, a production company focusing on new inventive digital projects, mixing genres and techniques. He wins the Oscar and the César in 2010 for the short film Logorama.

Olivier SMOLDERS - See case studies page Y. Marie SONNE-JENSEN - See case studies page Y. Jean-Christophe SOULAGEON - Producer at Les Films Sauvages (France) jcs@filmsauvages.com www.filmsauvages.com

Born in 1971, holder of a license of film studies, Jean-Christophe Soulageon begun (and closed) his director career in 1996 with “ Only to the world “ (15 ‘, 35mm). Then, he became Assistant’s Press Agent at Ciné-Sud Promotion where he set up, in 1999, the department of production of Short films. In 1999, he joins Sombrero Productions, production company of short films at the origin of “Miss Butterfly of Julie Lopes-Curval” (Critic’s Week 2001) and “ After the Childhood “ of Thomas Lilti (Director’s Fortnight 2002).

Riin URBANIK - Producer at Average Monkey (Estonia) riin@averagemonkey.com www.averagemonkey.com Riin Urbanik (b. 1974) is a creative director, producer, international sales agent, marketing consultant and public relations specialist, who acquired her BA degrees in Communications; Political Science and Film and Video Production from Florida Atlantic University, USA. MA degree in Communications Management from Baltic Film and Media School. onas WEYDEMANN - See case studies page Y.

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CREDITSSSSS

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about NISI MASA

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2011