MEDIA in the UK 2009
Nowhere Boy, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, received MEDIA Automatic Scheme funding in 2009
Contents
The White Ribbon, directed by Michael Haneke, received MEDIA Selective Scheme funding in 2009. Image courtesy of Artificial Eye
A Prophet, directed by Jacques Audiard, received MEDIA Selective Scheme funding in 2009. Image courtesy of Optimum Releasing
Introduction
4
Distribution and exhibition Theatrical distribution Online distribution Exhibition
6 10 10
Production companies Development i2i Audiovisual TV Broadcasting Interactive and games
12 14 15 15
Skills development
16
Promotion and festivals Film festivals Access to Markets Promotional events Film Sales Support
18 18 19 20
New technologies
22
MEDIA International
22
03
Introduction
Agnieszka Moody Director, MEDIA Desk UK © Grzegorz Lepiarz
British film, television and new media production companies, distributors, sales agents, VoD operators, film schools, professional training providers and organisers of festivals and promotional events all benefited from MEDIA support. Examples include: Aardman Animations, The Bureau Film Company, Seize the Media, The National Film and Television School, Leeds International Film Festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest’s MeetMarket, Artificial Eye, Optimum Releasing, and 44 UK-based Europa Cinemas. A further €5.3 million was invested in the European distribution of 48 UK films. These include Fish Tank, Looking for Eric, Slumdog Millionaire and Chéri.
MEDIA in the UK 2009 highlights the funding grants given to the British audiovisual industry from the European Union’s MEDIA Programme over the last year. €7.8 million of direct funding was invested in UK companies, with a further €5.3 million awarded to European distributors to release British films.
04
MEDIA helped bring a number of European films into the challenging UK market. 2009 box office successes released with MEDIA support include The White Ribbon, A Prophet and Antichrist. The information and advice given by MEDIA Desk UK, MEDIA Antenna Scotland and MEDIA Antenna Wales resulted in nearly €8 million of direct investment into the UK from the MEDIA Programme in 2009. On the following page we have outlined details of our work. The brochure goes on to demonstrate the many different ways the MEDIA Programme’s support has strengthened the UK’s audiovisual industry in the last year. We congratulate the successful companies and look forward to another busy year in 2010.
€7.8 million
€5.3 million
MEDIA funding was received by UK companies in 2009
MEDIA funding was awarded to UK films in 2009
MEDIA Desk UK and Antennae activities in 2009
MEDIA Desk UK, MEDIA Antenna Scotland and MEDIA Antenna Wales are the promotion and information offices for the European Union’s MEDIA Programme in the UK. With 16 different funding schemes and hundreds of training, promotional and networking opportunities to advise on, 2009 was a busy year for the MEDIA Desk and Antennae. For instance, the Desk answered more than 2,000 enquiries from the industry, and gave detailed advice on funding applications. Alongside being on hand to answer direct questions from audiovisual professionals, the UK offices organise events to inform the industry, publish printed publications, a website (www.mediadeskuk.eu) and monthly news bulletins about the MEDIA Programme’s funding and related opportunities. Importantly, the UK MEDIA Desk and Antennae are part of the network of 40 European Desks and Antennae offices across Europe and offer support on finding partners and connections in other European countries.
Aberdeen • MEDIA Roadshow Aberystwyth • MEDIA stand at the official opening of the new Welsh Assembly Government building Caernarfon • MEDIA Networking Reception at the Celtic Media Festival, arranged in collaboration with MEDIA Antenna Galway Cardiff • MEDIA Documentary Workshop with Sheffield Doc/Fest • MEDIA presentation on festival funding to the Network for the Promotion of Linguistic Diversity (NPLD) • MEDIA hosted premiere of A Boy Called Dad during the Soundtrack International Film & Music Festival • How to Access European Funding at EAVE Workshop
London • What’s New in Distribution? – a seminar on MEDIA distribution schemes • MEDIA Documentary Workshop with Sheffield Doc/Fest • UK / Spanish Co-Production meeting in collaboration with the UK Film Council, London Spanish Film Festival and Spain’s international promotion body ICEX • Presentation on MEDIA distribution funding to over 60 distributors and sales agents at London Film Festival Manchester • Information meeting on MEDIA funding for producers based in the North of England organised with North West Vision and Media.
Dundee • MEDIA at Game in Scotland, the Scottish interactive recruitment fair • MEDIA Roadshow Edinburgh • MEDIA Documentary Workshop with Sheffield Doc/Fest and Screen Academy Scotland • MEDIA Going Global, joint event of MEDIA offices from UK and Scotland at Edinburgh International Film Festival • MEDIA Roadshow Glasgow • MEDIA at Scottish Students on Screen • MEDIA Roadshow Inverness • MEDIA Roadshow Leicester • MEDIA presentation at EM Media Producer’s Forum
05
Distribution and exhibition
Theatrical distribution MEDIA spends more than half of its annual €100 million budget on helping European films enjoy international release. This is achieved through three funding schemes: Selective, Automatic and Sales Agents. UK films funded through the Selective Scheme In 2009, several UK films had their European releases enhanced by the MEDIA Selective Scheme. This resulted in a greater number of prints, more generous marketing campaigns and ultimately larger audiences. Ken Loach’s Looking for Eric, and Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank, both nominated for the Palme d’Or in Cannes in 2009, were successful in securing large awards from MEDIA: respectively €590,500 and €441,000.
Film
Award (€)
Becoming Jane
3,000
Fish Tank
441,000
Genova
218,000
Looking for Eric
590,500
Soi Cowboy
Looking for Eric, directed by Ken Loach, received MEDIA Selective Scheme funding in 2009
41,000
Turtle: The Incredible Journey
393,000 1,686,500
€1,686,500 Total MEDIA Selective Scheme funding awarded to UK films in 2009
A Town Called Panic, directed by Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, received MEDIA Selective Scheme funding in 2009. Image courtesy of Optimum Releasing
The Concert, directed by Radu Mihaileanu, received MEDIA Selective Scheme funding in 2009. Image courtesy of Optimum Releasing
06
UK distributors funded through the Selective Scheme UK distributors released a range of European films on British screens with MEDIA funding that totalled €585,000. In 2009 MEDIA-supported films included The White Ribbon, A Prophet and Antichrist, which all achieved considerable box office results.
€585,000
Distribution company
Film
Award (€)
UK box office revenue to 22/8/2010* (£)
Artificial Eye
Antichrist
60,000
396,181
Katalin Varga
20,000
126,078
Lourdes
30,000
195,740
Police, Adjective
15,000
UK release on 1/10/10
The Refuge
30,000
29,684
The White Ribbon
60,000
647,896
Women Without Men
12,000
39,767
Atlantic Film Distribution
Tales from the Golden Age
25,000
38,162
Dogwoof Pictures
Cherry Blossoms
6,000
5,463
Videocracy
12,000
7,987
Metrodome Distribution
Leaving
40,000
329,724
Séraphine
30,000
127,373
More2Screen
Pianomania
3,000
2,211
New Wave Distribution
Eccentricities of a Blond-haired Girl
8,000
4,659
Optimum Releasing
A Prophet
100,000
1,331,247
A Town Called Panic
80,000
Not yet released in UK
Babies
12,000
Not yet released in UK
The Concert
30,000
200,513
The Happiest Girl in the World
12,000
15,287
Total MEDIA Selective Scheme funding awarded to UK distributors in 2009 Soda Pictures
585,000 * Source: UK Film Council Research and Statistics Unit
07
Distribution and exhibition
UK films funded through the Automatic Scheme The MEDIA Automatic Scheme rewards distributors for the box office success of non-national European films. Recipients can use funding from this scheme to invest in minimum guarantees or to subsidise the release costs of new non-national acquisitions. 48 UK films shared a total of €3,570,717 from the 2009 MEDIA Automatic Scheme. The highest awards were granted to Stephen Frears’ Chéri, with over €570,000 worth of support, followed by Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire with over €500,000, and Saul Dibb’s The Duchess with over €350,000.
Film A Complete History of My Sexual Failures
MEDIA has been vital in expanding the range and access to European films throughout the UK - and thus plays a pivotal part in film culture. Louisa Dent, Managing Director, Artificial Eye
€3,570,717 Total MEDIA Automatic Scheme funding awarded to UK films in 2009
124,201
Better Things
51,140
Book of Blood
8,041
Brick Lane
6,257
Brideshead Revisited
79,131
Bronson
13,000
Centurion
75,065 571,167
Closing the Ring
25,396
Control
81,647
Cracks
60,000
Creation Dorian Gray Earth Easy Virtue Faintheart Fish Tank Five Minutes of Heaven
The support of MEDIA was crucial for the financing of Stephen Frears’ Chéri. Without such funds, local distributors would not have been able to pay the level of MG that was vital to underpin the financing of such an ambitious European film. MEDIA provides a brilliantly effective way of promoting the broadest audiences for our greatest filmmakers whilst rewarding commercial success. Cameron McCracken, Managing Director, Pathé UK
4,000
An Education
Chéri
MEDIA support plays a key role in our acquisition strategy. The Selective support for The White Ribbon allowed us to increase our P&A spend for it and the film went on to gross over £600k at the box office. These admissions – as well as the admissions of our other European films released in 2009 - will enable us to take part in the Automatic scheme and purchase European films we may not otherwise be able to acquire.
Award (€)
Franklyn Genova
78,820 107,358 1,200 203,555 3,618 154,286 569 14,226 4,409
Happy-Go-Lucky
11,485
Harry Brown
29,294
How to Lose Friends and Alienate People
49,782
Hush
8,124
In the Loop
40,632
It's a Free World (These Times)
28,102
Joy Division Looking for Eric Man on Wire New Town Killers Nightwatching Nowhere Boy Of Time and the City
3,600 172,711 14,806 4,522 9,840 106,932 33,200 continued >
08
Rage
8,000
Run Fatboy Run
94,967
Slumdog Millionaire
502,604
Soi Cowboy
1,680
Somers Town
138,205
St. Trinian's
11,637
Tamara Drewe
31,328
The Descent 2
141,019
The Duchess
372,436
The Escapist
69,060
Turtle: The Incredible Journey
1,000
Unmade Beds
11,600
Valhalla Rising
2,160
We Want Sex
4,905 3,570,717
€702,284 Total MEDIA Automatic Scheme funding awarded to UK distributors in 2009
UK distributors funded through the Automatic Scheme Every year distributors across Europe report to MEDIA on the cinema admissions for the European non-national films they released in the previous year. These admissions are the basis for calculation of MEDIA Automatic Scheme grants. The funding can be used to pay minimum guarantees and release costs on non-national European films. In 2009, UK distributors reported over €1 million worth of admissions to non-national European films in 2008.
Chéri, directed by Stephen Frears, received MEDIA Automatic Scheme funding in 2009. ©Tiggy Films Limited and the UK Film Council 2009, all rights reserved
Nowhere Boy, directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, received MEDIA Automatic Scheme funding in 2009
On the basis of these admissions they were allocated the following awards in 2009: Distributor
Award (€)
Artificial Eye
232,781
Cinefile Metrodome Distribution New Wave Films Optimum Releasing
4,887 5,694 11,684 206,397
Pathé Distribution
56,881
Pathé Productions
77,275
Pathé Scope Peccadillo Pictures Revolver Films Slingshot Studios Soda Pictures
3,741 3,345 58,543 6,231 34,825 702,284
09
Distribution and exhibition
Online distribution Since 2007, MEDIA has been supporting online content distribution via the VoD/DCD scheme, which funds video-on-demand platforms and the digital delivery of film to cinemas. In 2009, €8 million was invested in 16 platforms that offered European content on demand to audiences worldwide. Two UK VoD operators successfully secured MEDIA VoD/DCD funding: MercuryMedia was awarded €250,000 for the documentary platform www.joiningthedocs.tv, and www.brightwide.com, a portal dedicated to socially and politically aware content, received €200,000. Company
Project
ADM Media
Brightwide.com
200,000
Mercury Media International
Joiningthedocs.tv
250,000
The guidance and encouragement from MEDIA Desk UK when applying for the second time to the MEDIA support for video-on-demand was the catalyst to our successful application. Now in our second year of EU funding we are about to relaunch with a state-of-the-art VoD platform that brings films directly to audiences on any website they are viewing. The EU grant has enabled us to experiment and to reinvent our VoD offer around audience needs. As a result of receiving the grant it would be no exaggeration to state that the EU MEDIA Programme is redefining how documentaries will now be viewed by audiences around the world. Tim Sparke, CEO, MercuryMedia
Award (€)
450,000
€450,000 Total MEDIA VoD/DCD scheme funding awarded to UK services in 2009
Exhibition Europa Cinemas is a MEDIA-funded network of cinemas which screen significantly more European films, and in particular non-national European films, than most cinemas. The average percentage of European programming in Europa Cinemas is 59%. The network has become a trusted brand that clearly signposts access to European cinema for filmgoers. There are 44 member cinemas in the UK, and between them they were entitled to €913,500 in
10
2009, including €215,000 for digital screenings. UK member cinemas include the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, the Curzon Soho in London and the Duke of York’s Picturehouse in Brighton. Recipient
Award (€)
44 cinemas in the UK
913,500 913,500
We value our membership with Europa Cinemas. The funding Watershed receives through Europa Cinemas enables us to continue to showcase the best European cinematic talent and to screen films in digital formats. We also benefit from being an active member of the Europa Cinemas network by sharing ideas and projects with colleagues in other countries. Further, Watershed champions initiatives that develop young audiences, which is a priority we share with Europa Cinemas. Mark Cosgrove, Head of Programme, Watershed
€913,500 Total MEDIA funding awarded to Europa Cinemas members in 2009
UK cinemas in the Europa Cinemas network Barbican Cinema, London • BFI Southbank, London • Broadway Nottingham Media Centre, Nottingham • Cambridge Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge • Cameo, Edinburgh • Chapter, Cardiff • Ciné Lumière, London • Cinema at New Park, Chichester • Cinema City, Norwich • Cornerhouse, Manchester • Curzon Mayfair, London • Curzon Soho, London • DCA Barbican Cinema, London
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow © David Grinly
Cinema, Dundee • Derby Quad Cinema, Derby • Duke of York’s, Brighton • Eden Court Theatre, Inverness • Filmhouse, Edinburgh • Forum Cinema, Northampton • Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow • Hyde Park Picturehouse, Leeds • ICA Cinema, London • Ipswich Film Theatre, Ipswich • Light House, Wolverhampton • Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Ludlow • Phoenix Cinema, London • Phoenix Picturehouse, Oxford • Phoenix Square, Leicester • Picturehouse at FACT, Liverpool • Pictureville, Bradford • Queens Film Theatre, Belfast • Renoir, London • Richmond Filmhouse, Richmond • Rio Cinema, London • Saffron Screen, Saffron Walden • Showroom, Sheffield •
Broadway Nottingham Media Centre, Nottingham
Pictureville, Bradford
Stoke Film Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent • Strode Film Theatre, Street • The Barn Cinema, Dartington • The Belmont Picturehouse, Aberdeen • The Gate, London • Tricycle Cinema, London • Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle • Watermans Arts Centre, Brentford • Watershed Media Centre, Bristol
Cinema at New Park, Chichester © Walter Francisco
Curzon Mayfair, London
Renoir, London
Rio Cinema, London
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Production companies
Development
€2,397,359
In 2009, UK production companies secured €2,397,359 worth of MEDIA Development Funding.
Total MEDIA Development funding awarded to UK production companies in 2009
Slate Funding Several established film and television companies won substantial bids to support slates of projects, including Aardmann Animations, Dan Films, Film & Music Entertainment, Number 9 Films and Wellington Films. Production company
Award (€)
Aardman Animations
190,000
B.L.T.V
102,503
Century Films Dan Films
74,076 190,000
Film & Music Entertainment
168,848
Fragile Films
190,000
*Number 9 Films
190,000
The Bureau Film Company
150,000
Wellington Films
77,477 1,332,904
* This project falls under a 2008 deadline, but remained on the reserve list until 2009, so was not recorded in MEDIA in the UK 2008.
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Development is a key stage in a film's life. Without a good story and a good script you have nothing and this process takes time. Finding development money is difficult, but MEDIA enables European production companies to take a risk on material and writers they really believe in, in the hope of making films that will appeal across cultures and attract co-production and talent partnerships with our neighbours. Elizabeth Karlsen, CEO, Number 9 Films
As an established international animation production company, Aardman strives to produce world-class projects of unique quality that will sell in the international market place. Developing such ideas is a costly and timeconsuming business. The substantial funding received from MEDIA for our TV development slate is enabling us to progress some wonderful ideas which otherwise would have languished in a drawer for years. We’re now in the advantageous position of being able to develop a range of projects, in a variety of styles, and to give them the best possible chance of being commissioned. David Sproxton, Executive Chairman, Aardman Animations Ltd
Single Project Funding The 2009 Single Project Funding scheme awarded support to an assorted group of UK applicants from the animation, documentary and drama sectors. The companies funded included Big Rich Films, with the drama project Resistance, and AV Pictures, with Gladiators Versus Werewolves: the Edge of the Empire. Red Box Films received funding for the documentary The Warlord’s Wife. Animation projects that received funding included Pesky Productions’ Boj.
Production company
Project
011 Productions
Couple in a Hole
Award (€) 12,599
*Adventure Pictures
Oh Moscow
60,000
AV Pictures
Gladiators Versus Werewolves: Edge of Empire
60,000
A-Z Films
The Liar
60,000
Big Rich Films
Resistance
24,317
Blaze Films
Newtok, The Sinking Town
12,000
Borough Films
Available Light
50,000
Cowboy Films
Mercy
55,300
Dinamo Productions
The Wordles
53,771
Eyeline Films
Because This Is Who We Are
25,000
Flying Scotsman Films
Justified Sinner
60,000
Frames of Reference Films
Something Fell to Earth
44,500
Generator Film Development
Young Betjeman
24,000
*Glasshouse Entertainment
The End of Mr Y
60,000
*Hungry Hamsters
Hungry Hamsters
60,000
Keep the Car Running
Cover of Darkness
25,000
Kindle Entertainment
Fast Boy
23,819
Matador Pictures
Dirt Road to Lafayette
40,000
NDF Productions
The Widow
50,000
Niknat Productions
Dear God...
12,200
Pesky Productions
Boj
60,000
Polyphonic Films
Leidenzyklen
21,100
Pull Back Camera
Descer Indios
25,000
Red Box Films
The Warlord's Wife
50,000
Space Creatives
Hand Drawn Earth
21,500
Two Step Films
Pirate Hunters
24,350
Vision Thing Communications
String Theory - The Sound of Good and Evil
24,999
Vita Nova Films
The Undiscovered Country
25,000 1,064,455
* This project falls under a 2008 deadline, but remained on the reserve list until 2009, so was not recorded in MEDIA in the UK 2008.
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Production companies
Mr. Nice,
i2i Audiovisual Several UK producers successfully applied to the MEDIA i2i Audiovisual scheme to help with the costs of financing their film projects in 2009. Fish Tank, Ipso Facto’s SoulBoy and Independent Film Company’s Mr Nice all benefited from this support. Production company
Project
Award (€)
Kasander
Fish Tank
44,706
Mr. Nice Distribution
Mr. Nice
50,000
SoulBoy Ltd (Ipso Facto Films)
SoulBoy
20,443 115,149
As a UK-Spanish co-production, Mr Nice provided us with numerous challenges that required close attention during financing and production. i2i Audiovisual funding provided crucial help in covering costs associated with the completion bond and discounting key pre-sales which meant, as the producer, I could concentrate more of my efforts on the production and re-direct much needed funds elsewhere. Mr. Nice premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2010 and is receiving excellent attention ahead of its UK and international releases. Luc Roeg, Producer, Mr Nice
€115,149 Total MEDIA i2i Audiovisual scheme funding awarded to UK producers in 2009
14
directed by Bernard Rose, received MEDIA i2i Audiovisual funding in 2009 © E1 Entertainment
SoulBoy, directed by Shimmy Marcus, received MEDIA i2i Audiovisual funding in 2009. © SoulBoy Ltd
Pandemic,
TV Broadcasting MEDIA also helps to produce television programmes for international distribution. In 2009, UK television producers received nearly €1 million to co-finance international drama, documentary and animation programmes. These included Daybreak Pictures’ dramatised account of conflict in the Middle East, Palestine, Luna W’s documentary Themerson and Themerson, and two animation projects: Poppy Cat by Coolabi Productions and Everything’s Rosie by VGI Entertainment. Production company
Project
Coolabi Productions
Poppy Cat
300,000
Daybreak Pictures
Palestine
400,000
Luna W
Everything's Rosie
73,000 173,000
Interactive projects MEDIA’s newest scheme funds the development of interactive projects that complement an existing traditional audiovisual project (or one in development). In 2009, nearly €500,000 was invested in five UK interactive media companies, including Seize the Media, Studio Liddell, Filmtrip, Proper Games and Dave Edwards Entertainment Media. Developer
Award (€)
Themerson and Themerson
VGI Entertainment
developed by Seize the Media, received MEDIA Interactive Projects funding in 2009 © 2010 Seize the Media
Award (€) 86,014
Filmtrip
E8
51,953
Proper Games
Lummox
95,908
Seize the Media
Pandemic
149,500
Studio Liddell
Poppy Cat, produced by Coolabi
Project
Dave Edwards Entertainment Media Arty's 'Make & Do Combat'
Roary the Racing Car Silverhatch Adventures
Productions, received MEDIA TV Broadcasting funding in 2009
91,217 474,592
946,000
€946,000
€474,592
Total MEDIA TV Broadcasting funding awarded to UK producers in 2009
Total MEDIA Interactive Projects funding awarded to UK companies in 2009
15
Skills development
Film students MEDIA recognises the fundamental role that training plays in the film industry, and annually invests €2 million in encouraging networking and shared projects among students of various European film schools. In 2009, the Initial Training scheme was keenly utilised by UK film schools who continued to be leading partners in three MEDIA-supported European consortia. Organisation
Training scheme
Edinburgh Napier University
Engage 3
London Film School
Low Budget Film Forum II
National Film and Television School Passion to Market
Award (€) 150,000 60,000 200,000 410,000
The invaluable MEDIA funding for Passion to Market benefits graduates of the NFTS, La Fémis and the Polish Film School as they prepare their first feature scripts and promo reels for Rotterdam, Berlin and Cannes. This "bridge to industry" programme shows how EU film schools and film industry partners can co-operate for mutually beneficial results. Already one UK feature developed through the programme is completed, and a French-UK production is gearing up for principal photography. Nik Powell, Director, The National Film and Television School
€410,000 Total MEDIA Initial Training funding invested in UK projects in 2009
16
Participants at Passion to Market 2009
Participants at London Film School’s Low Budget Film Forum II
Professional training MEDIA supports approximately 60 international professional training programmes every year, all of which prepare European professionals to work internationally. UK participation in these courses is very high, with over 200 individuals taking advantage of them every year. Courses include ACE Producers, Media Business School and EAVE. 2009 saw a surge in UK training providers successfully securing MEDIA money for their initiatives, with four of them receiving this support for the first time. Two of the newlyfunded courses cover new technologies: Seize the Media’s Introduction to Transmedia and Power to the Pixel’s Pixel Lab. Organisation
Training scheme
Independent Cinema Office
Cultural Cinema Exhibition Course 2010
Power to the Pixel
The Pixel Lab
Seize the Media
Introduction to Transmedia
The Bureau Film Company
Save Our Scripts (SOS)
Thanks to the essential and generous support of the MEDIA Programme, Power to the Pixel is able to help develop essential new skills and business contacts needed by European producers and industry professionals to move forward in a cross-media, on-demand world. Our two MEDIA-supported initiatives, The Pixel Lab and The Pixel Market connect leading international innovators with the European media industry helping them to develop new forms of cross-media storytelling, new methods of engaging audiences and new ways to create sustainable businesses in a digital world.
€300,466 Total MEDIA professional training funding invested in UK courses in 2009
Liz Rozenthal, Founder and Director, Power to the Pixel
Award (€) 39,475 164,908 24,999 71,084 300,466
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Promotion and festivals
Film festivals
Access to Markets
Organisation
Event
Film London
The Film London Production
By annually awarding approximately €3.5 million of funding to festivals devoted to showcasing European audiovisual content, MEDIA helps to expand audiences for European film. The funded festivals take place all over Europe. The UK’s Leeds International Film Festival continued to run with MEDIA support in 2009.
€2.5 million is invested annually in the MEDIA Access to Markets scheme, which aims to improve European professionals’ access to industry events. The support can take various forms, for example the MEDIA Stand, which offers its services on a shared basis at major film markets in Berlin and Cannes. MEDIA also co-finances several specialist markets, including Cartoon Forum, the Amsterdam Forum for Co-financing of Documentaries and CineMart in Rotterdam.
Power to the Pixel
Pixel Market
40,000
Sheffield Doc/Fest
MeetMarket
79,464
Finance Market 2010
Organisation
Festival
Leeds City Council
Leeds International Film Festival
Award (€) 32,116 32,116 Leeds International Film Festival received MEDIA Audiovisual Festivals funding in 2009
€32,116 Total MEDIA funding invested in UK festivals in 2009
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In 2009, four UK organisations won bids to organise promotional initiatives. These were MeetMarket, an industry networking event that runs alongside Sheffield Doc/Fest, the Production Finance Market, held in London during the BFI London Film Festival and the travelling market World Congress of Science and Factual Producers. Power to the Pixel’s Pixel Market joined the pool of MEDIA-supported promotional initiatives for the first time in 2009.
Award (€) 55,000
World Congress of Science and Factual Producers
Producer Networking Events
40,000 214,464
The MEDIA Stand at Berlin International Film Festival
€214,464 Total MEDIA Access to Markets funding invested in UK events in 2009
Film London launched the annual Production Finance Market in October 2007 in a bid to bring commercial film financiers together with independent producers, and to encourage filmmakers to engage more directly with the 'hard' end of the market. The PFM, now in its fourth year, has started to realise its European potential thanks to MEDIA support and tapping the MEDIA Desk network. Film London works closely with MEDIA Desk UK in a strategic bid to expose European producers to commercial film finance. Angus Finney, Production Finance Market Project Manager, Film London
Promotional events The MEDIA Access to Markets scheme also funds European Film Promotion (EFP), an umbrella organisation that facilitates working relationships between Europe’s national film promotion organisations. EFP organises many events, including the European Film Awards, Shooting Stars (a showcase of Europe’s acting talent at the Berlin International Film Festival) and Producers on the Move, held at the Cannes International Film Festival. Carey Mulligan amongst recipients of the Shooting Star Awards, on stage at the Berlinale-Palast in 2009 © Yves Salmon/ Shooting Stars
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Promotion and festivals
Ken Loach, with Eric Cantona, accepts the European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 © EFA/Action Press/Guido Ohlenbostel
It was a real honour to be chosen as the UK's Producer on the Move in 2009 and very interesting to meet the producers from all the other countries, to hear their war stories and to make connections that will last and last. Adrian Sturges, the UK’s Producer on the Move 2009
Film Sales Support MEDIA also provides help to promote films through EFP’s Film Sales Support scheme. The scheme enables producers and sales agents to promote their films at key festivals and markets around the world. The Sundance Film Festival in the USA and Toronto Film Festival are just two of the festivals that have been focused on in the past. EFP’s Film Sales Support funding has helped us enormously to raise the profile of films at major international festivals such as Sundance and Toronto, enabling us to enlarge our PR and promotional activities in a way that our normal festival budgets do not allow. The resulting sales have demonstrated the positive effect of EFP grants. Ben Roberts, CEO, Protagonist Pictures
EFP’s Producers on the Move in Cannes 2009 © Kurt Krieger
20
The Unloved,
Sales company
Film
Event
directed by Samantha Morton, was supported by Film Sales Support in 2009
AV Pictures
Freight
American Film Market
3,000
Celsius Entertainment
Crusade: A March Through Time
FILMART
1,756
Dartmouth Films
The End of the Line
Sundance Film Festival
5,000
Ealing Studios
Dorian Gray
Toronto Film Festival
5,000
From Time to Time
American Film Market
3,000
Fandango Portobello
Gomorra
FILMART
2,714
Films Boutique (Germany)
She, A Chinese
Toronto Film Festival
5,000
Goalpost Film
Three Miles North of Molkom
American Film Market
2,756
Goldcrest Films
Cartagena
American Film Market
3,000
Handmade Films
Cracks
Toronto Film Festival
5,000
HanWay Films
Creation
Toronto Film Festival
5,000
Perrier's Bounty
American Film Market
3,000
Perrier's Bounty
Toronto Film Festival
2,500
Triage
Toronto Film Festival
2,500
Independent
Exam
American Film Market
3,000
Jinga Films
The Scar Crow
American Film Market
2,927
Moviehouse Entertainment
Beacon 77
American Film Market
3,000
Pathé International, UK
Five Minutes of Heaven
Sundance Film Festival
5,000
Nativity!, directed by Debbie Isitt, was supported by Film Sales Support in 2009
Protagonist Pictures
€108,516 Total EFP Film Sales Support funding invested in UK companies and films in 2009
Award (€)
Bronson
Sundance Film Festival
2,500
In the Loop
Sundance Film Festival
5,000
Nativity!
American Film Market
3,000
The Unloved
Toronto Film Festival
5,000
Unmade Beds
Sundance Film Festival
2,500
Sola Media (Germany)
Turtle: The Incredible Journey
Toronto Film Festival
4,292
The Salt Company
Cherry Tree Lane
American Film Market
3,000
White Lightnin'
Sundance Film Festival
4,743
Boogie Woogie
American Film Market
3,000
Glorious 39
Toronto Film Festival
5,000
The Front Line
Toronto Film Festival
2,500
The Disapperance of Alice Creed
Toronto Film Festival
The Works International
Westend Films
4,828 108,516
21
New technologies
MEDIA International
Every year the MEDIA Programme supports innovation by funding the pilot project phase of projects aiming to develop new ways of creating, distributing and promoting European audiovisual content with the use of new, innovative information and communication technologies. In 2009 the UK-led project, Digital Alfie, received a grant of €175,000. The project is led by a consortium of five companies and the pilot phase aims to create and develop local online communities for nine cinemas across Europe. The idea is to explore how social media can be used efficiently for local independent cinemas to increase interaction with customers. Company
Project
Peaceful Fish Productions
Digital Alfie
Award (€) 175,000 175,000
€175,000 Total MEDIA Pilot Projects funding awarded to UK projects in 2009
22
The European Producers Club (EPC) Bilateral Forum with India was funded by MEDIA International in 2009
In 2009, the second round of MEDIA International funding was made available with a substantially increased budget of €5 million. 40 initiatives were awarded funding, each of which encourages Europe’s audiovisual industry to collaborate with international partners. While there were no UK recipients of this funding, many UK organisations were partners in funded projects, for example Scenario Films were partners on Babylon International. Other initiatives available to UK professionals include EAVE Puentes, a co-production workshop between European and Latin American producers, and Transatlantic Partners, a series of workshops for European and Canadian Producers.
MEDIA in the UK 2009 is a MEDIA Desk UK publication. For more information, please contact: MEDIA Desk UK Agnieszka Moody c/o UK Film Council 10 Little Portland Street London W1W 7JG Tel: 020 7861 7511 Email: england@mediadeskuk.eu
MEDIA Antenna Scotland Emma Valentine c/o Creative Scotland 249 West George Street Glasgow G2 4QE Tel: 0141 302 1776/7 Email: scotland@mediadeskuk.eu
www.mediadeskuk.eu
MEDIA Antenna Wales Judy Wasdell c/o Creative Industries 33-35 West Bute Street Cardiff CF10 5LH Tel: 029 2043 6112 Email: wales@mediadeskuk.eu
BFI Southbank, London, is a member of the Europa Cinemas network