CREATIVE EUROPE IN THE UK
2019 - 2020 Support for the UK’s cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors
www.creativeeuropeuk.eu @CEDUK_Culture #creativeeurope
Front cover image: Freedom Festival - Foreign Tongues, is an IN SITU Pilot project presented by Liquid Loft at Freedom Festival 2019, © Tom Arran
CONTENTS WHAT IS CREATIVE EUROPE?
04
INTRODUCTION
06
CULTURE SUB-PROGRAMME
10
COLLABORATING ACROSS EUROPE
12
14
COOPERATION PROJECTS
SMALL & LARGE COOPERATION PROJECTS
16
SMALL COOPERATION PROJECTS 2019
18
LARGE COOPERATION PROJECTS 2019
19
SMALL COOPERATION PROJECTS 2020
20
LARGE COOPERATION PROJECTS 2020
23
MEDIA SUB-PROGRAMME
46
PRODUCING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET
48
SINGLE PROJECT AND SLATE FUNDING
50
VIDEO GAMES
52
TV PROGRAMMING
54
EXPORTING UK FILMS AND IMPORTING EUROPE’S BEST
56
DISTRIBUTION
58
SELECTIVE DISTRIBUTION
60
AUTOMATIC DISTRIBUTION
62 64
EUROPEAN PLATFORMS
24
SALES AGENTS
EUROPEAN NETWORKS
27
TRANSLATING EUROPEAN LITERATURE
28
30
LITERARY TRANSLATION
LOOKING FORWARD: MUSIC & MOBILITY
32
MUSIC MOVES EUROPE
34
i-PORTUNUS PILOT MOBILITY SCHEME
36
REWARDING CULTURAL EXCELLENCE
38
40
EUROPEAN PRIZES AND INITIATIVES
CROSS-SECTOR
42
CROSS-SECTOR SUPPORT
44
BRIDGING AUDIOVISUAL AND CULTURE THROUGH DIGITAL
45
INVESTMENT IN UK FILMS
66
PROMOTION OF AUDIOVISUAL WORKS ONLINE
68
HONING SKILLS AND BUILDING NETWORKS
70
TRAINING COURSES
72
MARKETS, NETWORKS AND INDUSTRY EVENTS
74
INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION FUNDS
76
ATTRACTING AUDIENCES
78
80
FILM FESTIVALS
CINEMAS
FILM EDUCATION
82 84
CREATIVE EUROPE DESK UK
WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE HELP
GET IN TOUCH
86 88
WHAT IS CREATIVE EUROPE? Running from 2014 to 2020 and with a budget of €1.46 billion, Creative Europe offers support to European projects with the potential to travel, reach new audiences and share skills and best practice. The MEDIA subprogramme supports film, television, new media and video games. It offers funding, training and networking opportunities for producers, video game developers, distributors, sales agents, audiovisual training providers, organisers of festivals, markets and networks, film education specialists and cinema exhibitors.
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The Culture sub-programme supports the cultural and creative sectors by funding collaborative projects and initiatives across all art forms in order to drive innovation, development of practice and participation across fields such as visual art, dance, theatre, literature, performance, music, heritage, architecture, design, circus, festivals, craft and fashion.There is also support for publishers to translate European fiction.
The cross-sector strand offers support for the creative sector as a whole, including a €121 million Cultural and Creative Sector Guarantee Fund, which aims to unlock €600 million in affordable loans from the private sector.
CREATIVE EUROPE IN THE UK 2014 - 2020
05
INTRODUCTION In 2019 and 2020, Creative Europe invested a total of €21.4 million in the UK’s creative, cultural and audiovisual sectors. This included €6.9 million through the Culture sub-programme and €14.4 million through the MEDIA sub-programme, €5 million of which supported distributors of UK films in other European countries. A further €90,000 was awarded through the Cross Sector strand. This takes the overall amount of Creative Europe funding the UK has benefitted from since 2014 to €111 million. The period we are reviewing in this report is inevitably overshadowed by uncertainty relating to the final stages of the process of the UK leaving the European Union and, in 2020, by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Given these circumstances, this report reviews the period covering 2019 and 2020 combined as the Desk prepares to close on 31 March 2021.
cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors’ engagement with Creative Europe remained remarkably strong demonstrating the agility, resilience and determination of professionals and organisations involved.
The UK’s official departure from the EU came into effect on 31 January 2020, commencing the 12 month transition phase. Soon after, in February 2020 it was confirmed that the UK would not be seeking participation in Creative Europe’s successor programme from 2021.
UK cinema audiences enjoyed the cinema releases of European films supported by Creative Europe, which included The Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Les Miserables and Little Joe. The MEDIA sub-programme also backed the distribution of many UK films in Europe with Ken Loach’s Sorry We’ve Missed You receiving nearly €1 million for its distribution in 22 countries. It’s become a tradition that the animated BBC One Christmas special is supported by Creative Europe and so it was the case in 2019 with the Snail and the Whale adaptation of Julia Donaldson’s beloved book. VOD services MUBI and Curzon
Throughout this challenging time, the Desk continued its activity to promote the programme in the UK and to encourage companies and organisations to apply despite uncertainties, and more generally to engage in international collaboration. During this period the UK’s 06
Many exciting projects received the support of Creative Europe in 2019 and 2020:
Home Cinema continued championing European film while BFI Player was supported to deliver A Year of European Cinema promotional campaign. In November 2020, there were 29 UK Europa Cinemas all bracing themselves for the challenges of COVID-19 but unfaltering in their commitment to screen European films. In the Culture sub-programme, UK-led projects awarded in 2019-20 demonstrated how UK organisations remained committed to collaboration despite Brexit uncertainties. 2020 was the last Cooperation Projects call the UK was fully eligible for, and one in five funded projects in this final call had UK partners. From developing new talent and supporting migrant artists, to transforming urban rooftops and making dance more diverse, the 54 funded projects, which can last up to four years, will continue to feed the ripples of European connections well beyond 2020. In recognition of music as an important pillar of European culture, with its high economic significance and audience reach, Music Moves Europe was developed as a pilot programme in 2018, with new tenders and calls launched in 2019, which led to Brighton-based band Squid receiving a nomination for a MME Talent Award in 2020.
in light of challenges such as sustainable and inclusive touring, and the implications of COVID-19 such as Perform Europe and the Creatives Unite platform. The UK’s outward-facing cultural, creative and audiovisual sectors continue to share and exchange substantial expertise and innovative solutions within these European projects. Despite the political context of the UK’s decision to leave the EU, UK sectors remain fiercely committed to their valuable partnerships with European friends, positively contributing to and enhancing their value. The EU exit will require adaptation to the way these partnerships are made possible but it will not diminish the enthusiasm of UK organisations to engage in them. It’s “All change!” from 2021 and these are uncertain times, but it is clear and more important than ever before that the UK’s creative sectors form part of a wider, vibrant European family, sharing so much history and common values. In the absence of Creative Europe, these deep links and connections will continue to thrive, even if the ways to support them may be different going forward. Agnieszka Moody Director, Creative Europe Desk UK
The i-Portunus pilot mobility scheme was launched in 2019 and ran for three open calls, supporting 29 UK-based visual and performing artists to travel in Europe for projects, and also enabling artists from other Creative Europe countries to travel to the UK to collaborate, network and learn. This period also saw the development and launch of initiatives to support and help future-proof the sector 07
“The impressive figures depicting the UK’s participation in both of Creative Europe’s sub-programmes, Culture and MEDIA, speak for themselves, but they alone do not show the full extent of the creative contribution that UK beneficiaries have made to the European Union’s cultural and creative landscape throughout the last programme period. The stories told by the people behind the projects, and the way those films and projects resonated with citizens, will have a lasting impact in showing the innovative potential and societal relevance of cross-border collaboration and circulation of audiovisual and cultural works. We would like to thank the UK Desk colleagues in particular for their commitment in helping to make this happen.” Lucia Recalde Langarica and Barbara Gessler, Heads of Unit (Culture and MEDIA), Creative Europe at the European Commission
08
Edinburgh Panel and Networking Event 2019. Photo by Kat Gollock
09
10
SMALL €1.5m
COOPERATION PROJECTS €5.7m
CULTURE 2019-20
€6.9m
EUROPEAN PLATFORMS €1m
LITERARY TRANSLATION €0.2m
LARGE €4.2m
11
Bringing together 19 partners and 12 associate partners from 21 countries across Europe and beyond - including the UK’s Freedom Festival and Norfolk & Norwich Festival - the IN SITU network for artists were awarded funding for four-year Cooperation Project (UN)COMMON SPACES in 2020. Image: Freedom Festival - Foreign Tongues, is an IN SITU Pilot project presented by Liquid Loft at Freedom Festival 2019, © Tom Arran
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COLLABORATING ACROSS EUROPE
13
COOPERATION PROJECTS Cooperation Projects continues to be the Culture sub-programme’s largest funding opportunity. It encourages organisations across Europe to work collaboratively with the aim of developing capacity and reaching new audiences in the cultural sector. In 2019 partnerships continued to flourish, as the UK was once again in the top five European countries for crossborder collaborations, with 32 UK cultural organisations awarded €3.8 million in Cooperation Projects funding. The UK was the joint most-partnered country, alongside Germany, with European nations actively seeking UK project partners from a variety of sectors such as performing arts, music and dance. In 2020, €1.75 million in funding was awarded to 22 cultural organisations from across all four UK nations, despite the call for applications taking place during a period of Brexit uncertainty. 78% of UK organisations receiving funding were based outside London, including projects in Leeds, Belfast, Edinburgh, and Swansea. The 2020 call resulted in UK partnerships with 29 of the 40 other countries which take part in Creative Europe. The UK is not seeking to participate in the EU’s Creative Europe programme from 2021, making the 2020 Cooperation Projects the final round of Creative Europe funding that UK organisations were fully eligible to participate in. However UK organisations will still be able to join these cross-border Cooperation Projects as Third Country ‘associate partners’, alongside countries such as Canada and Japan, from 2021. Projects awarded funding under the current Creative Europe programme (2014-20) will be able to run their activities until completion, including projects that continue after 1 January 2021.
€5.5m to 54 UK organisations from 2019-20
Artsadmin, a producing organisation that also provides support to artists across disciplines, were successfully awarded funding across two Cooperation Projects in 2019: BE PART and ACT: Art, Climate, Transition. They have worked on four Creative Europe projects since the programme began in 2014.
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“The Creative Europe Cooperation Projects Artsadmin have taken part in have been incredibly valuable to the journey that we and our partners are making towards working sustainably and ethically in the 21st century.” Mark Godber, Artists’ Producer, Artsadmin 15
SMALL COOPERATION PROJECTS Small Cooperation Projects involve at least three partners from three of the countries participating in Creative Europe. Partnerships can apply for up to €200,000 for projects that last up to four years. In 2019 and 2020 thirteen UK organisations have been Lead Partners on Small Projects, demonstrating the UK’s engagement and willingness to lead on cross-border activities despite Brexit uncertainties.
LARGE COOPERATION PROJECTS Large Cooperation Projects involve at least six partners from six participating countries. Partnerships can apply for up to €2 million for projects that last up to four years. In 2020 Large Projects from all four nations in the UK received funding, including Belfast’s Urban Scale Interventions ‘European Creative Rooftop Network’, the first NI Cooperation Project to be funded since 2017. Turn over to discover the UK-partnered projects that received funding in 2019-20. More details on these projects can be found on our website: www.creativeeuropeuk.eu/funded-projects
BUZZ Network, led by Youth Theatre Arts Scotland, is a three-year project which enables five European partners to share and develop best practice in Youth Theatre across Europe for the first time, and to create a website to promote opportunities to 38,000 youth theatre members across Europe. Image courtesy of Youth Theatre Arts Scotland.
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“We are thrilled to have been awarded Creative Europe funding as the Lead Partner for the Buzz Network project. The project will enable YTAS and its members to showcase their skills and experience whilst gaining rich insights into diverse Youth Theatre practice from across the continent.” Kenny McGlashan, CEO Youth Theatre Arts Scotland 17
SMALL COOPERATION PROJECTS 2019 PROJECT NAME ORGANISATION LOCATION Full of Noises (formerly Octopus Collective) Acoustic Commons Soundcamp BUZZ Network Youth Theatre Arts Scotland Contested Desires D6: Culture in Transit Creative Accessibility Network Skyway Programs Outdoor Arts Coventry City of Culture Trust European Academy: School of Participation Walk The Plank
Festivals of the Future FUSION: Fashion Up-Skilling Innovation Network Green Europe Experience Moving Classics Sonic Flux of War Experiences Out – Hope for the Future Paint the Change Refugee Arts with Participants and Practitioners Open to integRaTion Shape It The Ulysses’ Shelter: Building writers-in-residence network 2
18
TOTAL € AWARDED LEAD / (IN ENGLAND) PARTNER TO PROJECT
REGION
Take Me Somewhere Festival Transform Theatre Projects
England North England London Scotland England North England London England Midlands England North Scotland England North
Lead Partner Lead Lead Partner Partner Lead Partner Lead
Crafts Council A Greener Festival Curated Place Threshold Studios University of Lincoln Off-Centre Productions
England England England England England England
Partner Partner Lead Partner Lead Lead
198,660
Lead Lead
199,969 199,979
London London North Midlands Midlands London
acta Community Theatre England South West Contemporary Dance Trust (The Place) England London (Literature Across Frontiers) University of Wales Trinity Saint David Wales
197,040 198,210 199,937 200,000 195,000 199,170 199,999 197,100 199,800 199,662
Partner 158,108
LARGE COOPERATION PROJECTS 2019 PROJECT NAME ORGANISATION LOCATION ACT : Art, Climate,Transition Artsadmin Art BEyond PARTicipation. Towards a better understanding of the entanglements between power, politics, place and Artsadmin publics Scottish Sculpture Workshop ConnectUp - The Life of the Others | European Theatres for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru Young Audience in a Union of University of Derby Theatre Ltd Diversity Crafting Europe Crafts Council EEEmerging+ The York Early Music Foundation Inclusive Theater(S) University of Wolverhampton Keychange PRS Foundation LIBERTY - New European Generation Exploring Freedom and Identity through Creative Integration ArtReach MOST - The Complex Strategy to develop the Balkan World Music Scene MA Music, Leisure & Travel Ltd PLAYON! - New Storytelling with Immersive Technologies Pilot Theatre University of York Sounds Now Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival TAKING CARE_Ethnographic and World Cultures Museums University of Oxford as Spaces of Care University of Cambridge
England
TOTAL € AWARDED LEAD / (IN ENGLAND) PARTNER TO PROJECT
REGION
London
Partner
England London Partner Scotland Partner Wales England Midlands England London England North England Midlands England London
Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner
2,000,000
1,448,000
2,000,000 914,320 2,000,000 294,479 1,405,100
England Midlands Lead
1,303,678
England
London
Partner
2,000,000
England England
North North
Partner Partner
2,000,000
England
North
Partner
1,935,059
England England
South East South East
Partner Partner
2,000,000
19
SMALL COOPERATION PROJECTS 2020 PROJECT NAME ORGANISATION LOCATION AAA Accessible Art for All Arabic Literature in European Languages Collective Moves: Libertalia lab and performance Comics - A new language for Europe Confederacy of Villages EU Contemporary Puppetry Critical Platform Giving (Back) the Credit to the Heritage Communities In From The Margins L’Europe des Librairies Independantes The Transmission Vibes - Connected Dance Who Cares?
ArtReach England Midlands (Literature Across Frontiers) University of Wales Trinity Saint David Wales
Partner
198,600
Partner
200,000
Safe Regeneration
England
Lead
195,000
Lakes Arts Festival Grizedale Arts
England England
Partner Partner
200,000 199,999
Puppet Animation Scotland
Scotland
Partner
200,000
University for the Creative Arts Edinburgh Printmakers
England South East Scotland
Partner Partner
149,310 178,458
Librairie LaPage UK International Arts Partnership* Coventry University (Centre for Dance Research Coventry) Arts Services Grants Limited (Space Studios)
England England
London South East
Partner Lead
102,000 196,390
England
Midlands
Partner
200,000
England
London
Partner
180,805
“European artistic collaboration has been a vital component of our development and delivery over the last five years, and with valued ongoing advice from Creative Europe Desk UK we are ambitious to make more great and stimulating art for UK and partner communities.” David Hill,ArtReach Founding Director and Chairman 20
TOTAL € AWARDED LEAD / (IN ENGLAND) PARTNER TO PROJECT
REGION
North North
In 2019 Leicester-based cultural development agency ArtReach was awarded €1.3 million by Creative Europe to deliver Europe-wide arts project LIBERTY alongside 11 other organisations, aimed at engaging young people on issues of cultural identity. In 2020 they are partners in AAA: Accessible Art For All, displaying quality art in toilet venues in European cultural and community spaces, partnered with Belgium, Italy, Germany and Sweden. Image Journeys Festival International Manchester, courtesy of Drew Forsyth Photography.
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“It’s never been more important to have public spaces that can support healthy, social lives. Belfast has a rich and diverse urban landscape. This grant will help us to explore how our underutilised rooftops can be better used for social, cultural and climate activities, while connecting us with other cultural cities across Europe.” Jak Spencer, Partner at Urban Scale Interventions
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LARGE COOPERATION PROJECTS 2020 PROJECT NAME ORGANISATION LOCATION Human Cities - Creative works with small and remote places Craft Hub (Un)Common Spaces People Power Partnership Dance On, Pass On, Dream On enoa: Empowering Opera breaking boundaries for institutions and artists Performing Gender - Dancing In Your Shoes European Creative Rooftop Network - R-EU-FTOP
TOTAL € AWARDED LEAD / (IN ENGLAND) PARTNER TO PROJECT
REGION
Clear Village England London Craft Scotland, Swansea Art College Scotland University of Wales Trinity Saint David Wales Freedom Festival Arts Trust England North Norfolk & Norwich Festival England South East Magna Vitae England North Sadler’s Wells England London
Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner
1,744,519
Snape Maltings The British Council Yorkshire Dance Centre Trust
England England England
Partner Partner Partner
2,000,000
Urban Scale Interventions
Northern Ireland
South East London North
Partner
754,864 2,000,000 1,990,295 2,000,000
1,236,906 1,979,281
Image courtesy of Urban Scale Interventions, with project funding for European Creative Rooftop Network (2020 – 2024). Belfast will be part of a European-wide network of roofscape 21 festivals and practitioners
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EUROPEAN PLATFORMS European Platforms is a funding strand that supports the promotion of new and emerging talent though co-development, co-production and programming. Platforms cover diverse art forms, such as live music, architecture, poetry, media art, classical music, contemporary dance, pop music, photography, maker and design labs, interdisciplinary sound art, opera and ballet. This strand is now closed for applications. However, it is possible for currently supported European platforms to add new partners each year. More on all of these projects can be found on our website: www.creativeeurope.eu/funded-projects TOTAL € REGION LEAD / AWARDED PROJECT NAME ORGANISATION LOCATION (IN ENGLAND) PARTNER TO PROJECT European Photography Platform
1854 MEDIA
England
Aerowaves
Aerowaves
England London Lead
Contemporary Dance Trust (The Place)
England London Partner
PARRALEL - European Photo Based Platform
London
Partner
474,763 500,000
Derby Quad
England
Midlands
Partner
Fedora Platform
English National Ballet
England
London
Partner
499,995
Sadler’s Wells
England
London
Partner
European Media Art Platform
FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology)
England
North
Partner
432,000
Magic Carpets
Folkestone Fringe
England
South East
Partner
500,000 471,782
500,000
Ledbury Poetry Festival
England
Midlands
Partner
Distributed Design Market Platform
Limewharf Annexe
England
London
Partner
Paved With Gold
Scotland
Partner
Classical Futures Europe
The Barbican Centre
England
London
Partner
500,000
Future Architecture
Artifice Books
England
London
Partner
500,000
Versopolis
500,000
Scotland-based Paved With Gold are part of the Distributed Design Platform, and have established ‘Make Works’, a global library for local manufacturing. Photo by Ross Fraser Mclean.
24
13
UK organisations involved in 10 funded platforms
“We are delighted to be one of the beneficiaries of Creative Europe Platform funding. It feels really important now, more than ever, to be connected with makers across Europe. This funding will help us sustain a new life for the Make Works platform in Scotland, helping to spread awareness of local manufacturing and connect local makers with factories and fabricators in their regions. It will also help to bring Scottish makers closer to their European counterparts.” Kaye Symington, Co-Founder, Paved With Gold. 25
Amateo is a Creative Europe-supported network for active participation in arts and culture. Support from Creative Europe has allowed Amateo to develop a number of new activities through the Arts Take Part programme which is delivered in an ambitious trans-national team model involving over 20 people from 14 nations. Image courtesy of Arts Takes Part.
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EUROPEAN NETWORKS Being involved in European cultural networks gives UK organisations access to European conversations and provides valuable opportunities to meet peers and potential partners to collaborate with. Many cultural networks are supported by Creative Europe through the European Networks funding strand. These networks aim to support their members to better operate transnationally, build their capacity to work across Europe and adapt to change. Networks encourage linguistic and cultural diversity, strengthen competitiveness, and promote skill sharing and good practice among members. All of the 28 pan-European Networks currently supported by Creative Europe have UK members, demonstrating the UK’s connections and knowledge sharing across artforms, from performing arts (IETM) to music (Jazz Network) and the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO). Take a look at our website for a list of networks, many of which are supported by Creative Europe: www.creativeeuropeuk.eu/european-networks
“Amateo is managed by a group of professionals working in the voluntary arts which are based across Europe, including the UK and Ireland. For the UK based partners and team members being part of Amateo and the ArtsTake Part project has been a wonderful opportunity to develop our skills, make new contacts and partnerships across Europe and participate in collaborative projects, This applies not only to staff but to the local people that those organisations work with in the UK.” Jim Tough, Arts Takes Part Coordinator, Amateo 27
Literature image by Kimberley Farmer
14 28
TRANSLATING EUROPEAN LITERATURE
09 11 29
LITERARY TRANSLATION Creative Europe’s Literary Translation funding opportunity supports publishers and publishing houses to translate works from one European language to another. Selected works are also supported in their production and promotion. In 2019 The Poetry Translation Centre was a first-time beneficiary of Creative Europe funding for their project ‘Beyond Europe, Inside Europe’. The project will see new work published by the Lebanese-French poet Vénus Khoury-Ghata, Eritrean-Italian poet Ribka Sibhatu, Georgian poet Diana Anphimiadi and Algerian-French poet Habib Tengour. The fund aims to support cultural and linguistic diversity in Europe, promote the transnational circulation of highquality literary works, as well as to improve access to these literary works so that they can reach new audiences. The translation of books for which the authors have won the EU Prize for Literature is particularly encouraged. 2020 also saw two first-time beneficiaries awarded Literary Translation funding, with Peirene Press publishing three titles in their ‘Anatomies’ series. Centrala Books’ funding will allow them to produce print and eBook editions of seven compelling graphic novels that were originally created in Czech, Polish, and Dutch. In addition, the UK has to date seen more translations of its authors into other languages than any other country, from contemporary fiction from Zadie Smith and Phillip Pullman to literary classics of Virginia Woolf. Here are the funded organisations in the UK in 2019 and 2020 and the projects they were involved in. More details on these projects can be found on our website: www.creativeeuropeuk.eu/funded-projects REGION 2019 PROJECT PROJECT NAME ORGANISATION LOCATION (IN ENGLAND) TOTAL € Beyond Europe Inside Europe The Poetry Translation Centre England
30
London
Wales
2020 PROJECT TOTAL €
43,065
Parthian- Voice for Margins
Parthian Books
15,633
24,000
Centrala
57,931
Peirene Press
25,000
“Readers are always looking for strong stories, a different perspective, an insight into a new culture: with these four exciting novels, including three winners of the European Prize for Literature, we are bringing significant new writers to the English language for the first time. It is an exciting journey working with people across so many countries and cultures and only possible through the support of Creative Europe”
280
books translated from English
Parthian Publisher Richard Davies
Centrala Books received funding in 2020 to translate three graphics novels
31
Image courtesy of Music Moves Europe, photo by Hanny Naibaho
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LOOKING FORWARD: MUSIC & MOBILITY
09 11 33
MUSIC MOVES EUROPE In recognition of music as an important pillar of European culture, with its high economic significance and audience reach, Music Moves Europe was developed as a pilot programme in 2018. New tenders and calls launched in 2019 to boost the capacity of the European music sector, from supporting online distribution to developing training schemes and enhancing the sustainability of small music venues. The inaugural Music Moves Europe Talent Awards took place in 2019, with UK artists Bishop Briggs and Pale Waves selected as winners, and in 2020 Brighton-based band Squid were nominated for the Awards which took place at a virtual Ceremony in 2021. More than 90 music projects (cooperation projects, platforms, networks) have so far received funding under the current Creative Europe programme (culture strand), with an approximate total budget of €57 million. Music Moves Europe funding opportunities were available in calls that supported actions such as supporting small music venues, training programmes for young musicians and also enhancing sustainability of European music. Further opportunities will be developed as a key part of the next Creative Europe programme from 2021.
34
Keychange project, with UK partner PRS foundation, is a pioneering Cooperation Project supporting gender balance in the music industry in Europe and beyond. Music Moves Europe also supports gender equality, sustainability and training in the European music sector.
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i-PORTUNUS PILOT MOBILITY SCHEME The i-Portunus pilot mobility scheme was launched in 2019 and ran for three open calls, supporting 29 UK-based visual and performing artists to travel in Europe for projects, and also enabling international artists to create work in the UK. This new funding initiative explored how to best facilitate cross-border mobility for artists by providing support for short-term (15-60 days) international projects from artists residing in a Creative Europe country. The aims of these mobilities were to develop international collaboration, engage in residences, and create projects with local communities. This second phase of i-Portunus launched in 2020 with 2021 calls and new opportunities for music, heritage and architecture professionals and artists. Results from this pilot scheme will be key to shaping a new funding opportunity in the next Creative Europe programme (2021 - 2027).
“By travelling to London I was able to fully participate in the International Residency at the Royal Court Theatre. I spent three weeks attending sessions with playwrights, directors and professionals from the UK theatre world, as well as getting to know and exchanging ideas with the other eight European playwrights.” Almudena Ramírez Pantanella, Spain-based i-Portunus participant who travelled to the UK
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“These connections made me feel that the UK/European family was genuinely close, with shared worries, joys, laughs, and the experience combated that isolationist point of view that we often encounter in the UK. It was therefore a very fruitful, fulfilling project.” Sarah Boulter, UK-based visual artist and i-Portunus participant who travelled to Germany.
337
artists were selected from over 3,000 applications in 2019
Visual artist Sarah Boulter was one of 29 UK-based artists selected and took part in the first round of i-Portunus, travelling by train to a residency in Chemnitz, Germany where she worked with local people and artists. Image courtesy of Sarah Boulter.
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The Europa Nostra/ European Heritage Award 2019 “will open the door of Yr
Ysgwrn to an international stage.”
Naomi Jones, Head of Cultural Heritage at Snowdonia National Park/ Pennaeth Treftadaeth Ddiwylliannol, Awdurdod Parc Cenedlaethol Eryri
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REWARDING CULTURAL EXCELLENCE
Welsh heritage site and farmhouse Yr Ysgwrn in north Wales, once the home of WW1 poet Hedd Wyn, received a Conservation Award at the prestigious Creative Europe-supported European Heritage/ Europa Nostra Awards 2019. Image courtesy of Purcell UK.
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EUROPEAN PRIZES AND INITIATIVES Through Creative Europe, the European Commission also supports a variety of prizes to increase the visibility of Europe’s culture and audiovisual sectors. These prizes reward achievement, highlight excellence and raise awareness of culture and heritage. Welsh heritage site and farmhouse Yr Ysgwrn in north Wales received a Conservation Award at the prestigious Creative Europe-supported European Heritage/ Europa Nostra Awards 2019. The Iron Bridge, Shropshire, UK was a 2020 Europa Nostra winner in the Conservation category, for English Heritage’s work on restoring this landmark in industrial heritage For the annual EU Prize for Literature Awards, UK novelist and nature writer Melissa Harrison was selected as a winner for her rural-set family drama All Among the Barley. European Prizes and initiatives include:
• • • • • • •
European Capitals of Culture European Heritage Days European Heritage Label EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award Music Moves Europe Talent Awards EU Prize for Literature
In October 2019, the 14 winners of the EU Prize for Literature gathered in Brussels at BOZAR to claim their well-deserved awards, including the UK’s EUPL laureate Melissa Harrison (pictured, right), author of All Among the Barley. Image Courtesy of EUPL.
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Of her Award in 2019 Melissa Harrison said
“In these politically unstable times I’m very proud to represent Britain in the European Union Prize for Literature with a novel that explores the dangerous allure of nativism, nostalgia and xenophobia.” 41
42
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CROSS-SECTOR SUPPORT In addition to MEDIA and Culture sub-programmes, Creative Europe has a cross-sector strand that offers support for the creative sector as a whole through one-off funding calls and a Guarantee Facility. This allows Creative Europe to strengthen collaboration across industry silos, promote innovation and respond in an agile way to the opportunities and challenges faced by the creative sectors. Under the Cross-sectoral Strand, Creative Europe supports several activities, in particular: • • • • •
The Creative Europe Desks, which provide assistance to potential applicants and are well placed to foster cross-sectoral collaboration Studies and data analysis, in cooperation with the European Audiovisual Observatory and under the European Agenda for Culture Communication activities to increase awareness and raise the visibility of Creative Europe Policy cooperation and innovation by empowering players to work cross-sectorally Cross-sectoral projects with participants from audiovisual combined with other cultural sectors such as publishing, music or museums.
VIBE (Visions By Experience) is an innovative project exploring wearable haptic technology funded under the call “Bridging culture and audiovisual content through digital”. Image by Elisava Research (Fundacio Privada Elisava Escola Universitaria).
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BRIDGING AUDIOVISUAL AND CULTURE THROUGH DIGITAL In 2019 and 2020 two pilot calls were launched in order to lay the ground work for a Creative Innovation Lab set to take shape under the new Creative Europe programme which will run from 2021 – 2027. The proposed Lab will create space for experimenting and taking risks, for prototyping solutions which could then be scaled up and for stimulating innovative projects between audiovisual and other cultural sectors. Under the 2019 pilot call, eight projects were chosen within the available budget of €1.75 million. In 2020, a total of €3.2 million awarded to eight further projects. Selected projects feature partners from museums, audiovisual companies, performing arts and tech companies, this included VIBE a project with UK involvement which was awarded €398,605 and had partners in Spain, France and the Netherlands.
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TV PROGRAMMING €2.06m
SLATE FUNDING €596,626
DEVELOPMENT €1.1m
SINGLE PROJECT €500,000 SALES AGENTS €392,704
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TRAINING €615,470
ACCESS TO MARKETS €140,000
VIDEO GAMES €740,000
TRAINING & NETWORKS €0.75m UK FILMS €5m FILM & TV €3.16m
PRODUCERS €3.9m
MEDIA 2019-20
€14.4m
AUDIENCES €0.2m FILM FESTIVALS €112,000
DISTRIBUTION €4.6m THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION €1.4m
SELECTIVE DISTRIBUTION €923,254
PROMOTION OF AV WORKS ONLINE €3.2m AUTOMATIC DISTRIBUTION €105,432
EUROPA CINEMAS €91,515 47
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PRODUCING FOR THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET
Orange Eyes received TV Programming funding in 2019 to support the production of The Snail and the Whale. It is the fourth project to be supported based on Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s popular children’s books after The Highway Rat, Zog, and Stick Man.
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SINGLE PROJECT AND SLATE FUNDING These two schemes support the development of film, TV and digital platform projects aimed at the international market.
€1m
14 UK production companies secured €1,096,626 worth of development funding in the final two years of the programme. This supported a variety of development activities including; script writing, research, location scouting, travel to markets and festivals, pre-production budgeting and scheduling and staff costs.
awarded to 14 UK producers
Single Project COMPANY
UK NATION
PROJECT TITLE (PROJECT TYPE)
2019 AMOUNT €
Blue Zoo Productions
England
Big Tree City (Animation)
60,000
Cork Films
England
The Stolen Television Series (Fiction)
50,000
Patchwork Productions
England
The Tentmaster’s Daughter (Fiction)
30,000
Recorded Picture Company
England
Elements of Fear (Fiction)
50,000 50,000
Wildgaze Films
England
The Giant’s House (Fiction)
104 Films South
England
Something Else (Fiction)
2020 AMOUNT €
50,000
Alt Animation
Northern Ireland
Lugi – The Brodgar Boy (Animation)
60,000
Film and Music Entertainment
England
Murder in Batumi (Fiction)
50,000
Wellington Films
England
Any Means Necessary (Fiction)
50,000
Sixteen Films
England
Harvest (Fiction)
50,000
Slate Funding COMPANY
UK NATION
PROJECT TYPE
240,000 2019 AMOUNT €
Passion Pictures
England
Documentary
123,126
Spring Films
England
Documentary
120,000
The Bureau Films
England
Fiction
153,500
Number 9 Films
England
Fiction
50
260,000
2020 AMOUNT €
396,626
200,000 200,000
UK company Banyak Films received Single Project development funding to support the development of Maya in 2018. The documentary follows story of an Iranian animal trainer and his beloved Bengal tiger and is due to be completed in 2020. Image courtesy of Banyak Films.
“The development funding from Creative Europe was essential in getting this project off the ground. With their support we were able to put together the right visual material to attract and confirm production funding. It wouldn’t have happened without them.” Hugh Hartford, Banyak Films 51
VIDEO GAMES The gaming sector now accounts for more than half of the UK’s entire entertainment market, making it more lucrative than video and music combined. Five UK companies received a total of €740,000 to potentially contribute to this upward trend in 2019 and 2020, 61% of this total was awarded to companies based in Northern Ireland.
COMPANY
UK NATION
PROJECT TITLE (PROJECT TYPE)
Terahard Studios
England
Paranoia 150,000
Outsider Games
Northern Ireland
Tax-Force 140,000
Italic Pig
Northern Ireland
Quest Quest: The Quest for Quests 150,000
Brain and Nerd
Northern Ireland
Hortalius 150,000
The Weather Factory
England
Book of Hours 150,000
2019 AMOUNT €
2020 AMOUNT €
290,000
450,000
Over the seven years of Creative Europe (2014 – 2020), 19 grants have been awarded to 15 UK companies through this scheme, totalling €2,511,332. This equates to 10% of the total funding available Europe-wide and puts the UK as the second highest beneficiary of the scheme after Germany.
Little Orpheus is a technicolour side-scrolling adventure game inspired by classic movies like Flash Gordon, Sinbad and The Land that Time Forgot and delivered in eight bite-size, commute-friendly episodes. BAFTA-winning, Brighton-based developers The Chinese Room (now part of Sumo Digital) received early development funding for the game in 2017 which was released on Apple Arcade in June 2020.
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“The grant allowed us to undertake early concept and development work on Little Orpheus, both in terms of testing gameplay and fleshing out the world and story. It’s a really important initiative for smaller companies particularly, to support the risky business of getting new ideas off the ground” Dan Pinchbeck, The Chinese Room
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“Werner Herzog and André Singer’s Meeting Gorbachev is one of our most ambitious and exciting films to date, both creatively and commercially. It simply would not have been possible without support from MEDIA“ Ed Dallal, Spring Films 54
TV PROGRAMMING The production support available for fiction, creative documentary and animated TV programmes encourages international distribution, helping UK programmes reach wider audiences abroad. Eight UK production companies received a total of €2,068,865 in 2019 and 2020 to help co-finance nine different British projects targeted at international audiences. As a condition of the funding these projects come to MEDIA with a number of pre-sales from international broadcasters. Documentary projects from the UK were well represented which goes against the general downturn in the number of documentary submissions programme-wide. COMPANY
UK NATION PROJECT TITLE (PROJECT TYPE)
Orange Eyes
England
The Snail and the Whale (Animation) 177,091
Brook Lapping Productions
England
The People’s Money - The Hunt for Gaddafi’s Billions (Documentary)
100,000
Bungalow Town Productions England
The Elephant Experience (Documentary)
116,450
APT Film & Television
Misha’s Story (Documentary)
171,000
England
2019 AMOUNT €
2020 AMOUNT €
Urban Canyons
England
God’s Soldiers - Siege of Malta (Documentary)
95,000
Magic Light Pictures
England
Zog and The Flying Doctors (Animation)
149,324
Brook Lapping Productions
England
Trump on The World Stage (Documentary)
260,000
Eye Present
England
Flix (Animation)
500,000
HoHo Entertainment
England
The Wind in the Willows (Animation)
In addition to the above, UK producers Slim Film + Television partnered with Federation Entertainment in France and BE-Films in Belgium on a successful application for the high-end TV drama co-production Around the World in 80 Days starring David Tennant. The eight-part series due to air on BBC in 2021 received a total of €1 million through this scheme.
500,000 564,541
1,504,324
€2m
awarded to 8 UK producers
Meeting Gorbachev is a documentary feature directed by Werner Herzog and Andre Singer and featuring the former president of the Soviet Union. Produced by Spring Films, the company also received Slate Funding in 2014, 2017 and 2019. Image courtesy of Spring Films.
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EXPORTING UK FILMS AND IMPORTING EUROPE’S BEST
Céline Sciamma’s sumptuously beautiful Cannes prize-winner Portrait of a Lady of Fire is one of cinema’s most compelling visions of the power of desire. The film was supported through both the Automatic distribution scheme and the Selective Distribution scheme. The latter saw a grouping of 25 distributors submit a joint application led by sales agent MK2 which received a total of €659,063.
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UK sales agent HanWay Films led a grouping of 23 distributors in their joint application for Falling, the directorial debut of Viggo Mortensen. Together they received a grant of €825,908 under the Selective Scheme. Image courtesy of HanWay.
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“Critical to HanWay’s success has been our ability to consistently and dependably deliver support from Creative Europe to our distributors across the continent. As a British sales agency with deep European ties, we are building carefullytailored campaigns for European audiences and, thanks to Creative Europe, we have the resources to do so.” Peter Watson, HanWay Films
DISTRIBUTION The MEDIA sub-programme commits nearly 40% of its annual budget to helping European films travel across borders. This is achieved through three funding opportunities: Selective Distribution, Automatic Distribution and the Sales Agents scheme. All three schemes support distribution of European non-national films, i.e. those coming from a country different than that of the distributor or sales agent. Due to recent changes in the reporting process the full list of films supported in 2019 and 2020 is not yet known. Our overall totals reflect the data that was available at the time of going to print and as a result is subject to change.
€800k for the UK distribution of 19 European films
€5m
for the European distribution of 39 UK films
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SELECTIVE DISTRIBUTION In 2019 and 2020, 42 European films had received a total of €20.7 million through this scheme. These grants resulted in greater number of prints and expanded, collaborative marketing campaigns, aiming to increase the audiences for these films. At the time of going to print UK-based distributors were present in the groupings for 19 of these films, sharing a total of €783,280, but this could increase if more are added to the groupings over time. As well as supporting foreign language releases in the UK, this scheme also helps UK films reach audiences in other European countries and in 2019 and 2020, three UK films were supported with a total of €2,364,971. They were Sorry We Missed You, Nowhere Special and Supernova.
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2019
2020
SALES AGENT
FILM TITLE
GRANT AMOUNT €
Elle Driver
Piranhas* 549,061
Gaumont
Edmond
263,334
The Extraordinary 849,786
Memento Films International Claire Darling*
421,333
SALES AGENT
FILM TITLE
GRANT AMOUNT €
Beta Cinema
Nowhere Special
637,085
Doc & Film International
Two of Us*
323,699
Elle Driver
The Best Years 599,061
Films Boutique
Adam
Charlatan 445,180
HanWay Films
Falling* 825,908
280,839
MK2 FILMS
Amanda* 226,546
Portrait of a Lady on Fire*
The Whistlers* 469,018
Le Pacte
Mama Weed*
New Europe Film Sales
A White,White Day* 280,050
Le Petit Bureau
Supernova 944,519
The County* 518,145
Memento Films International How to Be a Good Wife
569,182
Playtime
By The Grace of God 411,016
MK2 FILMS
Arab Blues
369,859
Double Lives*
Gloria Mundi
186,639
Naszewski Jan Krzysztof
Lamb
517,332
New Europe Film Sales
Corpus Christi
347,967
Playtime
Summer of 85
384,137 394,341
659,063
430,804
340,366
Societe Parisienne de Production
Little Joe*
Sola Media
Dreambuilders 816,506
Hodja
Manou the Swift 598,002
Societe Parisienne de Production
About Endlessness*
Svensk Filmindustri
Britt-Marie Was Here 457,400
Sola Media
The Elfkins - Baking a Difference 612,968
The Match Factory
The Traitor* 674,275
Yuli*
Wild Bunch
533,847 389,796
The Match Factory
Martin Eden*
387,055
Three Floors 555,745
Les Misérables*
737,708
Undine 425,147
Sorry We Missed You
783,367
TrustNordisk
Another Round* 827,641
Hope*
Urban Distribution International
The Prince’s Voyage 270,778
10,456,11
223,550
226,836
10,308,779
Titles and companies in Bold are from the UK. Titles with an * included a UK distributor in the grouping involved a UK distirbutor at the time of publication
British film Supernova, starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, was awarded nearly €1million through the Selective Distribution scheme, supporting a co-ordinated release in at least 27 countries. Image courtesy of The Bureau.
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AUTOMATIC DISTRIBUTION Every year distributors across Europe report to the MEDIA sub-programme on cinema admissions for the non-national European films they released in the previous year. These admission figures form the basis for the calculations of the Automatic Distribution scheme grants, which can be used to pay minimum guarantees or print and advertising costs of new non-national European acquisitions. In 2019 and 2020, three UK distribution companies were allocated grants totalling over €105,432.
COMPANY
GRANT AMOUNT €
Magnetes Pictures
59,000
Peccadillo Pictures
17,289
StudioCanal
29,143 105,432
Czech distributor Areofilms and Dutch distributor Cineart both received Automatic Distribution funding for British director Asif Kapadia’s 2019 documentary Diego Maradona. Together they received a total of €34,623 which was used to co-finance the minimum guarantees they paid to acquire the film for their territory. Image courtesy of Altitude Film Sales © El Grafico
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SALES AGENTS This scheme is linked to an agent’s performance in selling European films. The funding awarded depends on the amount of cinema admissions generated by the films sold in the previous calendar year and can be used for acquisitions (sales guarantees) as well as the promotion and marketing costs of non-national European films. Four UK sales agents, Altitude Film Sales, HanWay Films, Protagonist Pictures and WestEnd Films shared grants totalling €392,704. COMPANY Altitude Film Sales HanWay Films Protagonist Pictures Westend Films
GRANT AMOUNT € 72,773 179,862 64, 884 75, 185 €392,704
Set on a Shropshire farm in 1657, Fanny Lye Deliver’d, stars Maxine Peake, Charles Dance, and Freddie Fox as is a UK/German co-production written and directed by Thomas Clay. French company Société Parisienne de Production received support for the film through the Sales Agents scheme in 2016. The film premiered at the London Film Festival in 2019, where it played in competition. Image courtesy of Vertigo Releasing.
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INVESTMENT IN UK FILMS European distributors and sales agents decide themselves which nonnational European films they wish to invest their MEDIA grants in.
FILM TITLE
AMOUNT €
FILM TITLE
AMOUNT €
Beast
4,194
Ordinary Love
12,950
Beats
10,000
Patrick
27,299
Billie
72,520
Peterloo
78,705
Cold Pursuit
17,489
Red Joan
17,899
Colette Daphne Degas: Passion for Perfection Earth: One Amazing Day Edie
In 2019 and 2020 non-UK companies were awarded grants totaling €5,098,976 to support the acquisition and promotion of 39 UK films in countries across Europe. Due to a change in the reporting process for the Automatic Distribution and Sales Agents schemes in 2018, the full list of films supported was not available at the time of going to print.
Farming Finding Your Feet
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Shaun the Sheep 2
486,602
600
Sorry We Missed You
947,199
13,046
Stan & Ollie
381,389
6,724
Supernova
944,519
1,899
The Children Act
22,461
15,540
The Corrupted
5,029
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
3,835
6,900
Hope Gap
34,480
Journeyman
1,382
Judy
152,261
Kensuke’s Kingdom
211,675
The Secret Garden
272,585
The White Crow
King of Thieves
8,126
The Happy Prince The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
18,520 23,317 145,765 13,046
26,888
Van Gogh & Japan
Military Wives
56,159
Walking to Paris
Mum’s List
24,373
Whitney
10,809
Young Picasso
13,046
McQueen
Nothing Like a Dame
Over the first five years of Creative Europe, UK films on average received support totalling €6 million a year and so we would expect the figure of €5,098,976 to increase to this level once the final reports are processed.
170,656
Nowhere Special
1,462 685,206
4,009
4,950,493 Images from top left clockwise: Beats The Man Who Killed Don Quixote Stan & Ollie Peterloo Red Joan Whitney Mum’s List The White Crow Ordinary Love Sorry We Missed You Finding Your Feet The Children Act
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PROMOTION OF AUDIOVISUAL WORKS ONLINE €10 million a year is available through this scheme to support the digital distribution of European audiovisual works to a wider, international audience including projects that experiment with new models of distribution. In 2019 and 2020, seven awards were made to projects from the UK, sharing a total of €3.2 million. This includes streaming platform MUBI which received support for the third year in a row. Through MEDIA support, they have been able to develop innovative marketing tools and strategies including free subscriptions for film school students, a cinema ticket initiative MUBI Go and the MUBI Rentals service. COMPANY
PROJECT
2019 GRANT AMOUNT €
2020 GRANT AMOUNT € 777,564
MUBI UK
MUBI, Delivering European Cinema Globally
887,947.00
Curzon Cinemas
CURZON HOME CINEMA
672,800.00
GRUVI
The Audience Project
252,800.00
336,324
British Film Institute
A Year of European Film
212,628
CABIRYA
CABIRYA a novel search API
60,000
1,813,547
16%
of EU-wide funding awarded to UK
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1,386,516
“With MUBI GO, we have brought our online product into the offline world. With the support of MEDIA, we were able to experiment with this new initiative and promote MUBI GO as a new way to discover incredible cinema. The expansion of MUBI GO to more territories will contribute to the product as a growth initiative and we believe it will further cement collaboration across the industry. We look forward to reaching more young audiences and film lovers around the world this year and beyond.” Efe Cakerel, MUBI 2020 was the fourth year that MUBI received support for its Delivering European Cinema Globally campaign. MUBI Go is just one element of that campaign. Launched in the UK in 2018 it is also currently available in Ireland and India with plans to expand to Germany and the US.
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HONING SKILLS AND BUILDING NETWORKS
Less is More is a MEDIA-funded script development programme that uses creative limitations as a tool to help bring out a filmmaker’s unique imprint, giving his or her work a strong advantage in an overcrowded market. 16 participants are selected each year, attending three one-week workshops set in villages in three different countries of Europe. 2019 saw the selection of UK project Tremble by Welsh-based writer-director Tracy Spottiswoode.
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TRAINING COURSES Each year the MEDIA sub-programme supports around 60 international training programmes allowing audiovisual professionals from across the world to meet, share their experiences and learn both from experts in their field and each other. Altogether the training sessions took place in 76 different cities in 22 European countries. Two UK-based training providers received over €600,000 in 2019 and 2020 to impart their expertise to international participants. In total the courses supported welcomed over 2,000 participants annually, 70% of which were from EU Member States. This included around 100 UK audiovisual professionals who take part in many of the courses on offer across Europe each year, from year-long programmes designed for producers to week long training courses for European cinemas. COMPANY
PROJECT
Independent Cinema Office
Developing Your Film Festival
The National Film and Television School (NFTS)
Inside Pictures
EAVE’s Producer’s Workshop is a year long programme focused on three intensive weeks featuring professional development through working on the development of fiction, documentary and TV series projects. The UK-based participants in 2019 and 2020 were Geoff Arbourne (Inside Out Films), Elhum Shakerifar (Hakawati), Nora Ostler Spiteri (Triongl) and Victoria Thomas (The Polka Dot Factory).
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2019 GRANT AMOUNT €
2020 GRANT AMOUNT €
90,000
90,000
217,735 307,735
217,735 307,735
“Participating in EAVE in 2018 was nothing short of a life-saver - my work has always looked to build bridges between spaces of understanding, and to have a safe space to ponder that impulse alongside a network of producers from across Europe and beyond was an incredible experience. Being surrounded by peers from other countries, backgrounds and with vastly different networks and experiences is a gift of perspective. Over the course of nine months, we were able to look and think deeply at the stories we choose to tell, how we tell those stories, what we enable and why. To think about our industries and how its priorities shape our own notions of what matters. To build from this basis is powerful. If these volatile times have underlined anything, it is the power of community and collaboration. I was very grateful for everything EAVE has taught and brought me, and to have been part of the 2019 cohort.” Elhum Shakerifar, Producer
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“Creative Europe’s support allows us to do yearround organisation, in-depth industry monitoring, analysis, research, connecting with filmmakers and film organisations in Europe and around the world, and inviting a vast delegation of industry Decision Makers to Sheffield for match-made meetings with creative teams.” Patrick Hurley, Head of Marketplace and Talent, Sheffield Doc/Fest
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MARKETS, NETWORKS AND INDUSTRY EVENTS The MEDIA sub-programme supports around 60 initiatives each year aimed at facilitating exchanges and increasing the circulation and visibility of European films on international markets. The projects supported in under this scheme represent trade events and markets; online tools and promotional activities. The events support a range of disciplines across animation, creative documentary, virtual reality and international co-productions. UK-based organisation Sheffield Doc/Fest received funding for the 17th edition of its flagship industry event, MeetMarket, intended for new documentary features and series. The event takes place in 2021 and runs in parallel with the Arts Talent Market for XR/ new-media artists. COMPANY
PROJECT
2020 GRANT AMOUNT €
Sheffield Doc/Fest
MeetMarket and Alternate Realalities Market 140,000 140,000
Participants picthing their projects at Sheffield Doc/Fest’s MeetMarket and Alternate Realities Market.
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INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTION FUNDS Creative Europe boosts the funding capacity of five international co-production funds that offer either production and distribution support to producers working with partners outside of Europe. As a result, these international co-production funds become accessible to a wider pool of European professionals. Applications are then made directly to the fund rather than through Creative Europe. Each fund supported through this scheme has its own focus with different eligibility criteria and deadlines: • ACM Distribution • HBF+Europe • IDFA Bertha Fund • Torino Film Lab Audience Design Fund • World Cinema Fund Europe
Monos, Alejandro Landes’ critically acclaimed Colombian war drama, which premiered in Sundance in 2019 was supported through HBF+Europe.
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ATTRACTING AUDIENCES
In 2019 and 2020 the European Commission launched two calls for proposals to create innovative cultural hubs around cinema theatres, notably in areas where there is limited cinema and cultural infrastructure. The Movies in Motion project brings film screenings and accompanying events to the Croatian and Slovenian parts of Istria, a Mediterranean region belonging to the two countries. West Yorkshire based company Live Cinema UK was part of the grouping that submitted the application and will play a role in the project as the organiser of special screenings.
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FILM FESTIVALS Film festivals play an important role in expanding audiences for European film. Each year MEDIA co-finances 80 festivals of international importance which exhibit a majority of European works and reach an audience of around 3.5 million people. Two UK film festivals are included in this total. They receive funding for placing strong emphasis on films from other European countries and delivering various outreach and audience development activities both during and outside of their festival dates. ORGANISATION
FESTIVAL
Encounters Festivals
25th & 26th Encounters Festival
Leeds City Council
34th Leeds International Film Festival
2019 GRANT AMOUNT €
2020 GRANT AMOUNT €
33,000
33,000
33,000
79,000
46,000
In 2020, a new form of support was introduced awarding grants to networks of cinemas. Four such networks were supported including 23 festivals and covering 17 countries, although the uncertainty around Brexit meant that no UK cinemas were included in the selected groupings. A similar model for support to festival networks rather than individual festivals is due to be adopted under the new Creative Europe programme.
Encounters is the UK’s leading short film, animation and virtual reality festival. The festival discovers, supports and develops new talent in filmmaking, providing a platform for emerging and established filmmakers from around the world, and continues to be a unique meeting place for the industry. At the heart of the festival lies the Encounters international competition - an official gateway to the world’s most prestigious awards; the Oscars®, BAFTAs and the European Film Awards.
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CINEMAS Creative Europe supports European cinema exhibition sector through co-financing of the pan-European network of 1,134 cinemas totalling 2,761 screens, in 685 cities of 34 countries. UK films play particularly well in the network and in 2019, five of the top 10 films that generated the most admissions in the network were from the UK. They were; The Favourite, Downton Abbey,Yesterday, Rocketman and Sorry We Missed You. 29 UK cinemas were members of the Europa Cinemas network, spread across 16 towns and cities across the UK, with over half outside of London. Jointly they received €91,515. However, this is a 30% decrease in membership from the previous year and a 58% decrease in the level of funding. YEAR
UK MEMBERS
GRANT AMOUNT €
2019
29 UK Cinemas
91,515
A major part of the network’s strength is in it’s training and exchange opportunities, which aim to inspire, incentivise and enable more network members and the wider sector to innovate, exchange knowledge and develop their practices collaboratively in the areas of programming, communication, audience development, business development and data management.
Recent examples of Europa Cinemas exchanges have included Josefine Kraft from the Broadway Filmtheatre in Trier, Germany learning from the team at the Queen’s Film Theatre in Belfast and Adam Pugh and Tess Denman-Cleaver (pictured) from the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle developing ideas for programming artists film at U-Jazdowski Kino in the Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw.
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FILM EDUCATION This scheme supports activities aimed at increasing audiences’ knowledge of, and interest in, European audiovisual works (including archive works) as well as facilitating the circulation of European films worldwide on all distribution platforms, via international cooperation projects in the audiovisual sector. In 2019, the scheme was adapted, with a single grant of €1 million available to a consortium that could offer a pan-European film education platform, This was awarded to the European Film Factory, led by the Institut français in partnership with ARTE Education & European Schoolnet. The online platform developed by the grouping is available in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Spanish on all digital devices for students (11-18 years old) and teachers across Europe. 2020 saw a return to the funding of multiple projects, with four projects receiving support involving 25 organisations from 16 different countries. Uncertainty around Brexit meant that no UK organisations were included in the selected groupings.
“The EFF platform is a fantastic resource that allows students to learn about film literacy in a way that is fun, modern and creative. The detailed pedagogical kits provide excellent support for the teacher and help to make the students’ experience of film education as beneficial and enriching as possible.” An English and French teacher 84
European Film Factory, an online platform that aims to create a community of European teachers and students through film heritage and raise awareness on the importance of film education by offering an innovative, interactive and transversal pedagogy that is adapted to the needs, expectations and practices of the young audiences.
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CREATIVE EUROPE DESK UK WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE HELP
Our aim is to make Creative Europe more accessible to UK professionals. With offices based at the British Film Institute, British Council, Creative Scotland and Welsh Government, we work with our partners to reach out to new audiences in all four nations of the UK and provide support to applicants looking to secure funding for their projects.
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Our activity over the final two years of the programme has been wide ranging and 2019 saw us participate in events across the length and breadth of the country. These events ranged from the Celtic Media Festival in Aviemore and one-to-one consultations in Dundee, to organising a Culture Beneficiary Gathering in Birmingham, European Co-Production Weekender in Leeds and an animation workshop in Cardiff, or participating in the Agor Drysau performing arts festival in Aberystwyth, collaborating with Docs Ireland in Belfast and co-hosting an International Partnerships Seminar in Dundalk. Towards the end of 2019 we decided to hold the third edition of our cross-sector conference in the digital space. TRANSFORM! brought together a range of cultural and audiovisual voices from across Europe for a month of discussions, interviews and predictions. To date the site has attracted over 3,000 visitors from 80 different countries.
As the programme neared its end in 2020 and the outcome of the negotiations meant that the UK would not be participating in the new edition of programme, we focused our efforts on a legacy campaign which highlighted the economic, social and cultural impacts the programme has made in the UK, both on a national and regional level. In addition to the second edition of our ‘Impact of Creative Europe in the UK’ report we also produced publications and video interviews featuring testimonials from beneficiaries ‘in their own words’. We are keen to see the spirit of international collaboration continue now that the UK has left the EU and we know that many of you feel the same. We wish you every success in these endeavours. Many thanks The Creative Europe Desk UK team
Little did we know then that just a few months later we would be delivering all of our promotional activity this way due to the restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown encouraged us to work together on UK-wide activity delivering seminars, case studies and gatherings from our homes and through various online platforms in order to continue encouraging the UK’s creative, cultural and audiovisual organisations and companies to expand their networks and collaborate with their peers across Europe.
Participants at the inaugural European Co-Production Weekender in Leeds in 2019.
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GET IN TOUCH Creative Europe Desk UK offers free advice and support to UK applicants and organises a range of workshops, seminars and industry events throughout the year. Our team of specialists are based across the UK, in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast: www.creativeeuropeuk.eu/contact-us Visit our website to browse funding opportunities, be inspired by funded projects and keep up-to-date with the latest deadlines via our e-newsletter: www.creativeeuropeuk.eu Follow us on Twitter: @CEDUK_Culture and @CEDUK_MEDIA Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CEDUKculture www.facebook.com/CEDUKmedia
Creative Europe Desk UK is led by
In partnership with Arts Council England, Creative Scotland and Welsh Government. With support from the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the European Commission. The European Commission for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views Frontsupport cover image: Festivalcannot - Foreign Tongues, is an for IN any SITUuse Pilot project only of the authors, andFreedom the Commission be held responsible which may be made of the information contained therein. presented by Liquid Loft at Freedom Festival 2019, © Tom Arran
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Creative Europe Desk UK is led by
In partnership with
With support from the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the European Commission.
