MEDIA in the UK 2013 by Creative Europe Desk UK

MEDIA in the UK 2013

Philomena, directed by Stephen Frears, received MEDIA Automatic distribution funding in 2013. Image courtesy of PathĂŠ. Philomena is out on DVD and Blu-ray now.

Contents

The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza), directed by Paolo Sorrentino, received MEDIA Selective distribution funding in 2013. Image courtesy of Artificial Eye.

Hinterland (Y Gwyll) received MEDIA TV Broadcasting funding and was broadcast in 2013. Image courtesy of Fiction Factory/ S4C/All3Media/ Tinopolis/ BBC Wales.

Introduction

MEDIA Desk UK and Antennae activities in 2013

Distribution and exhibition Theatrical distribution Online distribution Exhibition Europa Cinemas

06 06 10 10 11

Production companies Development Interactive projects TV Broadcasting

12 12 14 15

Skills development Film students Professionals

16 16 17

Markets and festivals Audiovisual Festivals Access to Markets Promotional Events European Film Awards Film Sales Support

18 18 19 20 20 21

What Next?

Introduction

Agnieszka Moody, Director, MEDIA Desk UK © Grzegorz Lepiarz

2013 was the final year of the MEDIA 2007 programme, which has been supporting the European audiovisual industry since 2007. In that year, UK companies received over €7 million, which was a good result given that 2013 didn’t offer the autumn round of deadlines. A further €6 million was invested in the distribution of 60 British films in other European countries. More than half of the funds were received by over 30 production companies which approached MEDIA to obtain financial support to develop and produce fiction, creative documentary, animation and interactive projects for the international market. 2013 also saw the successful completion and release of several projects supported in development in previous years, including Roger Michell’s Hyde Park on Hudson and Neil Jordan’s Byzantium. MEDIA helped British films to find audiences on the continent by boosting their cinema releases. The titles include Le Week-end, released in 11 04

European countries with just over half a million Euros in contributions from MEDIA. European distributors invested their MEDIA funds in British films such as Mike Leigh’s upcoming Mr. Turner.

With the introduction of Creative Europe, the European network of MEDIA Desks and Antennae has now been merged with its sister network of Cultural Contact Points.

Audiences in the UK had an opportunity to enjoy the best of European film in 2013. MEDIA grants boosted the UK theatrical releases of such European hits as Blue is the Warmest Colour and The Great Beauty.

This was a year of transition for the MEDIA Desk and Antennae in the UK. A lot of work was put into building new partnerships to set up Creative Europe Desk UK, which from April 2014 will look after the needs of UK professionals across the spectrum of the audiovisual, cultural and creative sectors. We look forward to the many interesting projects that will come our way pursuing international exposure.

It was a consolidation year for MEDIA-funded UK-based training courses, markets and festivals. There were no new applicants but all previously supported initiatives – including Inside Pictures, Power to the Pixel, and the Production Finance Market – maintained funding for their 2014 editions. In 2014, MEDIA becomes part of a bigger programme, Creative Europe. With a budget of €1.46 billion over the next seven years, Creative Europe will support the audiovisual, cultural and creative sectors. Its focus will shift even further towards audiences, and the new programme will be able to support new players in the audiovisual sector such as film literacy initiatives – a long awaited and very welcome development. Another exciting area will be Creative Europe’s support for video games, an evolution of the MEDIA Programme’s previous Interactive Projects scheme.

MEDIA funding received by UK companies in 2013

MEDIA funding awarded to UK films in 2013

MEDIA Desk UK and Antennae activities in 2013

Throughout the year the UK’s MEDIA offices in London, Glasgow and Pontypridd were busy with the day-to-day administration and promotion of the 17 funding schemes offered by the MEDIA Programme. MEDIA Desk UK alone answered 1491 funding enquiries and conducted 125 advice meetings with UK audiovisual professionals.

Aberystwyth • Development Funding Seminar, with participation from S4C, Welsh Government and Film Agency Wales, March Belfast • Creative Europe at BFI ‘Film Forever’ Roadshow, November Bristol • ‘Breakfast with the Programmers’ and ‘Breakfast with the Buyers and Distributors,’ part of the Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival industry programme, September • Creative Europe at BFI ‘Film Forever’ Roadshow, November

The Desk also produced a number of printed publications, issued monthly e-bulletins with MEDIA news from the UK and beyond, and managed the UK’s online presence through its website and social media channels:

Cambridge • Creative Europe at BFI ‘Film Forever’ Roadshow, November

www.mediadeskuk.eu (now www.creativeeuropeuk.eu) @MEDIADesk_UK (now @CEDUK_MEDIA) /mediadeskuk (now /cedukmedia) As part of a network of 44 MEDIA offices across Europe, the UK’s MEDIA Desk and Antennae offered support on finding partners and connections in other European countries. The UK offices also organised, supported and attended a number of information and promotional events across the country. In 2013, locations included Cambridge, Swansea and Inverness.

Cardiff • Funders, Fans, Followers documentary funding event in partnership with Sheffield Doc/Fest, February • Audience Connect Seminar in partnership with Film Agency Wales, April • Wales Games Development Show, June • TV Tax Relief Seminar in partnership with Wales Screen Commission, June • MEDIA ‘clinic’ at The Producers Forum, October • PlayArk Games Festival, November • Drama Commissioners Breakfast event in partnership with BAFTA Cymru, November Dundee • Game in Scotland recruitment event, March

Edinburgh • Introduction to Interactivity industry event at Edinburgh International Film Festival, June • Creative Europe information seminar with Cultural Contact Point (CCP), December Gateshead • MEDIA funding info session for producers at BALTIC, January Glasgow • Funders, Fans, Followers documentary funding event in partnership with Sheffield Doc/Fest at Glasgow Film Festival, February • Creative Europe information seminar with Cultural Contact Point (CCP), December Inverness • MEDIA Roadshow, March • MEDIA surgeries at Go North, June Liverpool • Creative Europe at BFI ‘Film Forever’ Roadshow, November London • ‘Meet the European TV Commissioners’ and ‘Meet the European TV Buyers’ at Totally Serialized TV Series Festival, January • Producers Development Workshop, March • m&id taster session in partnership with Media Business School, April • Development Seminar as part of the NFTS Diploma in Script Development course, May • Meet the European Funder seminar at Sargent-Disc BAFTA Filmmakers Market, July • MEDIA in the UK 2012 Launch networking event, July • European Co-Production Markets seminar, September

• Creative Europe: Gearing up for 2014, seminar at Ravensbourne with Cultural Contact Point (CCP), September • Movie Money – International Co-production at Raindance Film Festival, October • Creative Europe presentation at the BFI Animation Day, October • ArtFilm Think Tank at Frieze Art Fair, October • Facilitating Access to Finance at the Creativity Delivers conference organised by EUCLID, October • Films That Travel seminar on developing films for the international market at the 57th BFI London Film Festival, October • Creative Europe for Exhibitors presentation at the Film London Exhibitor’s Breakfast, December Newcastle • Creative Europe at BFI ‘Film Forever’ Roadshow, November Sheffield • MEDIA co-production dinner at Sheffield Doc/Fest in partnership with other Desks and Antennae from across Europe, June • A Ticket to Europe at the Children’s Media Conference, July • Creative Europe at BFI ‘Film Forever’ Roadshow, November St Andrews • MEDIA Roadshow with St Andrews University Film Dept, March Stirling • MEDIA Roadshow, March Swansea • Broadcaster Clinic at Celtic Media Festival in partnership with Antennae Galway and Scotland, April

Distribution and exhibition

Theatrical distribution MEDIA commits more than half of its annual €100 million budget to helping European films see international releases. This is achieved through three funding schemes: Selective, Automatic and Sales Agents. UK films funded through the Selective scheme In 2013, four 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. Roger Michell’s Le Week-end, written by Hanif Kurieshi and starring Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan and Jeff Goldblum, was awarded €554,300 towards its release in eleven European territories. The Look of Love, directed by Michael Winterbottom and starring Steve Coogan, received €102,000 for its theatrical run in ten countries. Following MEDIA Selective support for their Europe-wide releases in 2012, James Marsh’s Shadow Dancer and Ken Loach’s The Angels’

Share received further awards of €77,000 and €1,200 respectively this year. Both films have performed well, with The Angels’ Share picking up the Cannes Jury Prize as well as two BAFTA Scotland Awards, and Shadow Dancer winning acting accolades for Andrea Riseborough and Domhnall Gleeson at the BIFAs. Film

No. of countries

Le Week-end

Blue is the Warmest Colour (La vie d'Adèle), directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, received MEDIA Selective distribution funding in 2013. Image courtesy of Artificial Eye.

Award (€)

554,300

Shadow Dancer

77,000

The Angels' Share

1,200

The Look of Love

102,000 734,500

Total MEDIA Selective scheme funding awarded to UK films in 2013

Le Week-end, directed by Roger Michell, received MEDIA Selective distribution funding in 2013. Image courtesy of Curzon Film World.

Stranger by the Lake (L'inconnu du lac), directed by Alain Guiraudie, received MEDIA Selective distribution funding in 2013. Image courtesy of Peccadillo Pictures.

UK distributors funded through the Selective scheme In 2013, six UK distributors secured MEDIA funding totalling €548,000 to support the releases of a range of European films on British screens. MEDIAsupported films in UK cinemas included Artificial Eye releases of Blue is the Warmest Colour, which saw director Abdellatif Kechiche and actresses Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos share the Cannes Palme d’Or for the first time ever, and Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, which took almost £1 million at the UK box office. Stranger by the Lake, released in February 2014 through Peccadillo Pictures, also received critical acclaim at Cannes, winning both the Directing Prize in Un Certain Regard and the Queer Palm. “Over the years the Selective scheme has added considerable value to our P&A spend on a number of films, including our very successful recent release of Stranger by the Lake. The fund often gives us that little extra to be able to push the film more than we otherwise could within the tough UK theatrical marketplace. Each time we have received a Selective award it has made an invaluable contribution toward the visibility and success of the film within our territory.”

Total MEDIA Selective scheme funding awarded to UK distributors in 2013

Distribution company

Film

Award (€)

UK Box Office to 23 March 2014 (£)

Artificial Eye

Acleste A Bicyclette

12,000

UK release tbc

Call Girl

14,500

38,391

Camille Claudel, 1915

18,000

UK release June 2014

Hannah Arendt

12,000

122,257

Meteora

11,500

UK release tbc

Soda Pictures

Paradies: Hoffnung

8,000

6,458

11,000

3,830

Blue is the Warmest Colour

100,000

672,906

Nymphomaniac

120,000

283,482

Eureka Entertainment

More than Honey

Curzon Film World

The Great Beauty

69,000

988,612

The Past

63,000

UK release 28 March 2014

Metrodome Distribution

Kraftidioten

45,000

UK release tbc

Peccadillo Pictures

Stranger by the Lake

25,000

142,110

Salvo

18,000

4,887

W Imie…

21,000

16,051

548,000

2,278,984

Tom Abell, Peccadillo Pictures 07

Distribution and exhibition

UK films funded through the Automatic scheme The MEDIA Automatic scheme rewards distributors for the box office success of films from European countries other than their own (non-national films). Recipients can use funding from this scheme to invest in Minimum Guarantees or to subsidise the distribution costs of new non-national European acquisitions. In 2013, the distribution of 60 UK films on the continent was supported by a total of €5,371,530 from the Automatic scheme. The highest beneficiaries included Paul Andrew Williams’ Song for Marion (€618,878), Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner (€428,355) and Stephen Frears’ Oscar-nominated Philomena (€402,407).

Total MEDIA Automatic scheme funding awarded to UK films in 2013

Film 360 A Little Chaos A Long Way Down All Stars BB King - The Life Of Riley Belle Berberian Sound Studio Broken Byzantium Day Of The Flowers Diana Dom Hemingway Fast Girls Filth Ginger & Rosa God Help The Girl Goltzius And The Pelican Company Great Expectations How I Live Now Hummingbird I Give It A Year Ill Manors Jimmy's Hall Le Week-end Liv & Ingmar Love Punch Love, Rosie Mr. Turner Our Robot Overlords Papadopoulos & Sons Philomena Posh Quartet Queen And Country Romeo And Juliet Rush Seven Psychopaths Shell Sightseers Song For Marion Still Life Summer In February The Act of Killing

Award (€) 3,092 9,521 203,312 137,632 8,271 18,227 16,000 6,579 135,142 70,297 302,559 13,303 9,566 122,633 22,294 63,437 2,412 77,902 268,268 247,938 67,313 16,424 24,000 110,294 16,899 20,373 431,161 428,355 4,748 75,757 402,407 29,429 390,457 254,373 4,597 94,308 37,647 24,062 87,138 618,878 13,200 321 12,273

The Angels’ Share The Awakening The Devil's Violinist The Dinosaur Project The Disappearance of Alice Creed The Double The Duchess The Look of Love The Pervert's Guide to Ideology The Spirit of '45 The Story of Film: An Odyssey The Sweeney The Trip Trishna Under The Skin We Need To Talk About Kevin You Instead

24,800 28,654 26,000 36,822 906 16,100 840 21,200 5,500 1,000 36,808 127,703 18,236 8,500 105,158 7,104 3,400 5,371,530

Song for Marion, directed by Paul Andrew Williams, received MEDIA Automatic distribution funding in 2013. Image courtesy of Steel Mill (Marion Distribution) Limited.

UK distributors funded through the Automatic scheme Every year distributors across Europe report to MEDIA on cinema admissions for the nonnational European films they released in the previous year. These admissions figures form the basis for the calculations of MEDIA Automatic scheme grants, which can be used to pay Minimum Guarantees and distribution costs on new non-national European films. On the basis of their 2012 admissions, seven UK distributors were allocated the following awards: Distributor Curzon Film World Metrodome Distribution Munro Film Services New Wave Picturehouse Entertainment Soda Pictures StudioCanal

Award (€) 150,860 70,505 5,083 22,633 5,000 37,063 101,188 392,332

Total MEDIA Automatic scheme funding awarded to UK distributors in 2013

“The support Philomena has received from the MEDIA Programme’s Automatic funding greatly facilitated the financing and distribution of the film. Pathé International’s ability to pre-sell the film to Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal was assisted by those distributors anticipating the availability of MEDIA Automatic funding. Philomena is just one example of how MEDIA contributes to increasing international potential for independent UK films by helping companies like ours to engage with international distributors at an early stage. We are extremely grateful for this support.”

Funding for UK sales agents The Sales Agents scheme allocates €1.5 million a year to sales agents Europe-wide and 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. Two UK sales companies, HanWay and Pathé, took advantage of this scheme in 2013. Sales Agents HanWay Films Limited Pathé Fund Limited (Pathé Int.)

Award (€) 88,253 89,739 177,992

Total MEDIA Sales Agents funding awarded to UK sales agents in 2013

Cameron McCracken, Pathé

Distribution and exhibition

Online distribution

Exhibition

VoD and DCD 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 films to cinemas (Digital Cinema Distribution). In 2013, over €4.1 million was invested Europe-wide in platforms that offer European content to audiences worldwide, with two UK operators, Curzon Cinemas and Distrify, successfully securing MEDIA VoD/DCD funding.

Europa Cinemas is a MEDIA-funded network which screens significantly more European films, and in particular non-national European films, than most cinemas. The average percentage of European programming in Europa Cinemas during 2013 was 67%. The network has become a trusted brand that clearly signposts access to European cinema for film-goers.

Company Curzon Cinemas Distrify

Project Curzon On Demand (COD) Muvies.com

Award (€) 450,000 388,600 838,600

There are 56 member cinemas in the UK, and two of these joined the network in 2013: The Dukes in Lancaster and the Stamford Arts Centre in Stamford, Lincolnshire. The 56 cinemas shared €759,100 between them in 2013. Recipient 56 cinemas in the UK

“The Lexi Cinema is a small 75 seat independent cinema, set up five years ago to benefit its local community while fundraising for another small community, a charity in South Africa. Our programming is extremely diverse and foreign films do particularly well for us; this year we screened Ulrich Seidl’s challenging Paradise trilogy and were pleased to build our audience for it progressively. We are proud to be part of the Europa network and grateful that the support helps us to maintain the richness of the film diet we put before our audience.” Carin von Drehle, The Lexi Cinema

Award (€) 759,100 759,100

Les Misérables,

Total MEDIA VoD/DCD scheme funding awarded to UK services in 2013

Total MEDIA funding awarded to Europa Cinemas UK members in 2013

Hackney Picturehouse, London

Filmhouse, Edinburgh

Cinema City, Norwich

The Courtyard, Hereford Photo by Ryan Bromley.

Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds Photo by Tony O’Connell.

UK cinemas in the Europa Cinemas network Aldeburgh Cinema, Aldeburgh • Barbican Cinema, London • BFI Southbank, London • Broadway Nottingham Media Centre, Nottingham • Cambridge Arts Picturehouse, Cambridge • Cameo, Edinburgh • Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff • Chelsea Cinema, London • Chichester Cinema at New Park, Chichester • Ciné Lumière, London • Cinema City, Norwich • Cornerhouse, Manchester • Curzon Mayfair, London • Curzon Soho, London • DCA, Dundee • Derby Quad Cinema, Derby • Duke of York's Picture House, Brighton • Eden Court Theatre, Inverness • Filmhouse, Edinburgh • Forum Cinema, Northampton • Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow • Gloucester Guildhall, Gloucester • Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury • Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds • ICA Cinema, London • Ipswich Film Theatre, Ipswich • Light House, Wolverhampton

• Ludlow Assembly Rooms, Ludlow • mac, Birmingham • National Media Museum, Bradford • Phoenix, Leicester • Phoenix Cinema, London • Phoenix Picturehouse, Oxford • Picturehouse at Fact, Liverpool • Plymouth Arts Centre, Plymouth • Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast • Reading Film Theatre, Reading • Renoir, London • Richmond Filmhouse, Richmond • Rio Cinema, London • Riverside Studios, London • Saffron Screen, Saffron Walden • Shortwave, London • Showroom, Sheffield • Stamford Arts Centre, Stamford • Stoke Film Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent • Strode Film Theatre, Street • The Barn Cinema, Dartington • The Courtyard, Hereford • The Dukes, Lancaster • The Gate, London • The Lexi Cinema, London • Tricycle Cinema, London • Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle upon Tyne • Watermans Arts Centre, Brentford • Watershed, Bristol

Production companies

Development In 2013, 24 UK production companies secured €1,780,518 worth of funding for development through the MEDIA Slate Funding and Single Project schemes. This can be put towards acquisition of rights, research and scriptwriting, among other pre-production costs. Slate Funding Six UK production companies shared €968,019 of MEDIA Slate Funding to support the development of slates of three to five projects, including Recorded Picture Company, APT Film and Television and Headline Pictures.

Production company

Genre(s)

APT Film and Television

Documentary/Fiction

Award (€) 130,744

BLTV

Documentary

115,000

Headline Pictures

Fiction

185,357

Kindle Entertainment

Fiction

190,000

Lookout Point

Fiction

166,918

Recorded Picture Company

Fiction

180,000 968,019

Total MEDIA Development funding awarded to UK production companies in 2013

“Established in 2009, Lookout Point is a co-production company based in London committed to producing high-end international drama with a British sensibility. 2012 saw the broadcast of Lookout’s ITV mini-series Titanic, written by Julian Fellowes, and Sir Tom Stoppard’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Parade’s End for BBC Two. More recently, BBC One aired two series of Ripper Street, Lookout’s BAFTA-nominated police procedural starring Matthew Macfadyen. Achieving MEDIA development Slate Funding will have an immensely positive impact on our three chosen projects. It will bolster each of them with additional funding for scripts, and will help to take an essential step towards greenlight. We are also pleased to be directing the funding towards covering our marketing and travel overheads, which are required for setting up ambitious productions. MEDIA plays an instrumental role in strengthening the television industry across Europe, and we are delighted to be a part of this prestigious scheme.” Simon Vaughn, Chief Executive of Lookout Point

Google and the World Brain, directed by Ben Lewis, received MEDIA Slate development funding in 2013. Image © Polar Star Films & BLTV.

Half of a Yellow Sun, directed by Biyi Bandele, received MEDIA Slate development funding and screened at the BFI London Film Festival in 2013. Image courtesy of Soda Pictures.

Single Project Funding The Single Project funding scheme awarded support to 18 UK production companies for the development of animation, documentary and drama projects in 2013. This included €80,000 granted to Aardman Animations for Chicken Run 2, and €80,000 awarded to Caveman Film Holdings for the development of The Beggar’s Opera with Andy Serkis and musician Nick Cave.

Production company Aardman Animations Animal Monday Assassin Films Autonomous Mr. Turner, Caveman Films Holdings directed by Mike Century Films Leigh, received Dartmouth Films MEDIA Single Project development funding Elevation Films and completed filming Intrepid Cinema in 2013. Image Karrot Entertainment courtesy of Native Voice Films Entertainment One. Oxymoron Films Pinball London Rex Entertainment Shoebox Films Wavelength Films Wild Horses Film Company Wostok

“The Beggar’s Opera is a hugely ambitious animated musical. Single Project development funding has helped us to develop not only the script but also the design of the world, the musical numbers and early pre-visualization of the film. These additional elements will be essential in helping us secure strong backing in the international marketplace. We are hugely grateful for this grant and the help and advice we received from MEDIA Desk UK during the application process.” Andy Serkis, Caveman Holdings

Project Chicken Run 2 Breath One Night Markowitz Faisal The Beggar's Opera Thomas Quick: The Making of a Serial Killer The Spirit Level Killer Beats Elith and the Whales Jim Jams Jimmy Nasty Gal - The Many Lives of Funk Queen Betty Davis Nothing Doing in Baghdad Smash the Control Machine Revenge: A Journey in Five Chapters The Upside The Brothers Wittgenstein Justified Sinner A Miracle

Category Animation Documentary Fiction Fiction Animation Documentary Documentary Fiction Documentary Animation Documentary Fiction Documentary Documentary Fiction Documentary Fiction Fiction

Award (€) 80,000 30,000 60,000 60,000 80,000 40,000 30,000 50,000 30,000 60,000 30,000 58,919 40,000 23,697 43,755 20,814 60,000 15,314 812,499

Production companies

Interactive projects MEDIA provides funding for the development of interactive projects which complement an existing traditional audiovisual project, or a project in development. In 2013, the Interactive Projects scheme invested €282,365 in three projects, up from one last year. The largest award went to Aardman Animations’ Future Eyes, which received €126,000.

Developer

Project

Aardman Animations

Future Eyes

Dinamo Productions

Abadas Interactive Pop Up Book

Native Voice Films

The Love Hotel

Award (€) 126,000 50,000 106,365 282,365

Love Hotel Web Xperience, directed by Phil Cox, received MEDIA Interactive Projects funding in 2013. Currently in development by Native Voice Films/ Bonne Pioche with web architects Upian.

“The MEDIA fund has provided essential seed funding to enable us to develop new interactive IP. It gives us the ability to grow the digital side of our business whilst being able to retain rights in the property, thus giving the opportunity for the property to become self-sustaining.” Heather Wright, Aardman Animations

Total MEDIA Interactive Projects funding awarded to UK companies in 2013

TV Broadcasting

Jamaica Inn,

MEDIA also helps to produce television programmes for international distribution. In 2013, four UK television producers received a total of over €1.5 million to co-finance international animation, documentary and drama programmes. These included Origin Pictures’ Jamaica Inn, an adaptation of the 1930s Daphne du Maurier novel. Production company

Project

Calamity Island

Calamity Island (Animation)

Award (€) 352,023

October Films

Stonehenge Empire (Documentary)

221,770

Origin Pictures

Jamaica Inn (Fiction)

500,000

Squint/Opera

Okido (Animation)

498,211 1,572,004

---

“The MEDIA Programme’s support for international television production is invaluable, especially at a time when European television production is struggling to punch its weight against the huge budgets and resources of US TV production. In particular, it encourages us to take really bold risks and make ambitious, high-end television drama, with very significant production values, that has the chance of making a real impact in the international TV market. It encourages European producers, financing partners and co-producing broadcasters to come together to bring to the screen higher-quality and more distinctive drama.

directed by Philippa Lowthorpe, received MEDIA TV Broadcasting funding in 2013. Image courtesy of Origin Pictures.

Room on the Broom, based on the book by Julia Donaldson, received MEDIA TV Broadcasting funding and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2013. Image © Orange Eyes Limited 2012.

The MEDIA Programme has established itself as an invaluable part of the landscape of international drama production.” Total MEDIA TV Broadcasting funding awarded to UK producers in 2013

David M. Thompson, Producer of Jamaica Inn, Origin Pictures

Skills development

Film students MEDIA recognises the fundamental role that training plays in the audiovisual industry and annually invests around €2 million in encouraging networking and shared projects among the students of various European film schools. In 2013, the Initial Training scheme awarded funding to four UK-led programmes, with the London International Film School receiving funding for the seventh edition of the European Low Budget Film Forum and the third year of its marketing and distribution skills course, Making Waves. Organisation

Training scheme

London International Film School

European Low Budget Film Forum VII

Award (€)

Edinburgh Napier University

Engage VII

London International Film School

Making Waves

75,000

University of Wales, Newport

Transform@Lab

92,902

80,000 150,000

397,902

“Transform@Lab is an elite workshop-based training programme designed to give graduate-level creative media students from across Europe the chance to develop and pitch cross-platform ideas in an intensive development lab. The MEDIA funding has opened up European collaborations and access to industry expertise in this new area of skills acquisition, allowing nine participants to travel to each of the host universities for an eclectic programme of masterclasses, development labs, networking events, pitching sessions and studio visits, with hands-on support and mentoring from university tutors and leading names in European new media practice. We have had great feedback from industry, with Channel 4 recognising the value of the programme by offering development funding for projects, and our growing network of alumni continue to work together on projects.” Hannah Raybould, Manager, Transform@Lab

Total MEDIA Initial Training funding invested in UK projects in 2013

Engage, run by Edinburgh Napier University, received MEDIA Initial Training funding in 2013. Photo by Kulla Laas.

European Low Budget Film Forum, run by the London Film School, received MEDIA Initial Training funding in 2013.

Professionals

Inside Pictures,

Each year MEDIA supports more than 60 international professional training programmes, which teach industry skills ranging from script development to marketing, finance and new technologies. 2013 saw five UK training providers successfully secure MEDIA funding for their initiatives, with the largest awards going to the National Film and Television School for Inside Pictures (€217,716) and Power to the Pixel for The Pixel Lab (€222,601). Organisation

Training scheme

National Film and Television School

Inside Pictures

Peacefulfish Productions

ENTER - Training for Financing Professionals

Award (€) 217,716

Independent Cinema Office

Developing Your Film Festival

Power to the Pixel

The Pixel Lab

LivOn Productions

Transmedia Next: Storytelling in the 21st Century

60,044 43,604

“We are grateful for the support demonstrated by MEDIA in co-financing our Transmedia Next LONDON training series over the past four years. MEDIA's support has been invaluable in delivering transmedia training to help practitioners develop and become more competitive in a rapidly evolving global media market. In particular, we are focused on training media professionals with experience in traditional media production to expand their practice into the transmedia domain. We are extremely proud of the track record of Transmedia Next alumni, who have gone on to become leaders in the transmedia movement across Europe after attending our MEDIA supported course.” Anita Ondine, Director, LivOn Productions

222,601 50,000 593,965

run by the National Film and Television School, received MEDIA Continuous Training funding in 2013.

Developing Your Film Festival, run by the ICO, received MEDIA Continuous Training funding in 2013.

Transmedia Next, run by LivOn Productions Ltd., received MEDIA Continuous Training funding in 2013. Photo by Kate Shenton.

Total MEDIA Continuous Training funding invested in UK courses in 2013

Markets and festivals

Audiovisual Festivals MEDIA helps to expand audiences for European film by supporting festivals devoted to showcasing European audiovisual content. These MEDIA-supported festivals take place all over Europe. The sole UK recipient of funding for deadlines falling within this year was the Leeds International Film Festival, which in 2013 screened titles including Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Colour, Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake and Lukas Moodysson’s We Are The Best! The 2013 edition of the Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival was supported by MEDIA funding in 2012. Organisation

Festival

Leeds City Council

Leeds International Film Festival

Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival received MEDIA Audiovisual Festivals funding in 2012 and took place in 2013. Photo © thephoto.co.uk

Leeds International Film Festival received MEDIA Audiovisual Festivals funding in 2013. Photo by Zaineb Hadi.

Award (€) 32,994 32,994

Total MEDIA funding invested in UK festivals in 2013

“Film festivals are vital for delivering to audiences an inspiring experience of the vast and incredibly diverse world of filmmaking. For more than a decade, MEDIA has enabled Leeds International Film Festival to share outstanding filmmaking from across Europe with a fast-growing audience that seeks an alternative to mainstream programming. Thanks to support from MEDIA, we are able to bring to Leeds a majority of unreleased features and documentaries that regularly outperform titles with UK distribution – a result made possible by the consistent investment in audience development from the EU funding partnership. For the 27th Leeds International Film Festival in November 2013, we programmed our largest-ever selection of European filmmaking to meet audience demand, with 77% of all selected titles produced or co-produced by EU Member States. We know from our research that the audience’s experience of European programming at the film festival inspires their film viewing choices year-round.” Chris Fell, Director, Leeds International Film Festival

Access to Markets

Sheffield Doc/Fest's

MeetMarket

MEDIA offers support to a wide variety of networking events, festivals and markets to promote European audiovisual works and facilitate the mobility of professionals. This support takes various forms, such as the MEDIA Stand, which offers reduced accreditation and hosting to European independent producers at major film and TV markets in Berlin and Cannes. Through its Access to Markets scheme, MEDIA also offers funding to companies for the organisation of industry events, markets and pitching forums. Three UK-based events were awarded MEDIA Access to Markets funding for deadlines in 2013. These were Power to the Pixel’s Pixel Market, Film London’s Production Finance Market and Sheffield Doc/Fest’s MeetMarket. The 2013 edition of BRITDOC’s Good Pitch Europe was supported by MEDIA funding in 2012. Organisation

Event

Power to the Pixel

The Pixel Market 2013

Award (€) 84,960

Film London

Production Finance Market 2013

97,606

International Documentary Festival Sheffield

MeetMarket 2013

129,703

Power to the Pixel's

The Pixel Market received MEDIA Access to Markets funding in 2013. Photo by Noah De Costa.

Total MEDIA Access to Markets funding invested in UK events in 2013

“When Film London's Production Finance Market (PFM) launched in 2007, the film world was a different place: social media, new types of financiers and the impact of digital were all just emerging. There was a danger that London's new film finance market was going to remain introspectively British and veer west to cater to the North American market. Thanks, however, to our partnership with the MEDIA Programme, the PFM instead evolved towards the European Continent and beyond. Today, the PFM attracts a rich blend of European producers and some exceptional projects that traverse World Cinema, commercial genres and a blend of animation, documentary and some high end, split-rights packages. More than 50 feature films presented at the PFM have subsequently gone into production, while numerous projects have found international sales commitments and new sources of finance to bolster their finance plans. MEDIA understood that London and the UK is a critical axis point for the independent film market in Europe, and has been a fine partner over the past 5 years.” Angus Finney, Film London (PFM)

312,269

Promotion and festivals

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 Shooting Stars, a showcase of Europe’s acting talent at the Berlin International Film Festival, and Producers on the Move, which is held at the Cannes Film Festival. Andrea Cornwell, producer on The Last Days on Mars, was selected as the UK’s Producer on the Move for 2013.

The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza) picked up the awards for Best European Film, Director, Actor and Editor. Photo © EFA/API/Jessica Kassner.

Sarah Greenwood collected the award for European Production Designer for her work in Anna Karenina. Photo © EFP/Kurt Krieger.

European Film Awards Every year the almost 3,000 members of the European Film Academy (EFA) vote to choose the winner of its annual awards from 40-50 selected films. In 2013, the 26th European Film Awards were held in Berlin. The night’s big winner was The Great Beauty, which was released in the UK by Artificial Eye with support through the Selective distribution scheme. Paolo Sorrentino’s film took home the awards for Best European Film, Director, Editor and Actor (Toni Servillo). Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina won in one of the five categories in which it was nominated, with Sarah Greenwood taking the prize for Best European Production Designer.

Film Sales Support MEDIA also offers financial support for the promotion of films through European Film Promotion’s Film Sales Support (FSS) scheme. Film Sales Support enables producers and sales agents to promote their films at key festivals and markets around the world, including Sundance Film Festival in the USA and FILMART in Hong Kong. In 2013, films supported through FSS included Biyi Bandele’s Half of a Yellow Sun, Roger Michell’s Le Week-end and David Mackenzie’s Starred Up.

Sales company

Film

Event

AV Pictures Limited

Scintilla

American Film Market

3,321

Beta Cinema (Germany)

Still Life

Moscow Screenings

1,454

Dogwoof

Award (€)

Inreallife

Toronto

3,747

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet

Guadalajara

1,252

Ealing Metro International

Half Of A Yellow Sun

Toronto

2,081

Embankment Films

Le Week-end

Toronto

1,734

High Point Films

Borrowed Time

Guadalajara

1,017

Independent Film Sales

Starred Up

Toronto

2,500

Starred Up

American Film Market

3,682

The Sea

Toronto

5,000

LevelK (Denmark)

Not Another Happy Ending

Asian Film Market

3,013

Linel Films

Sto Lyko (To the Wolf)

Toronto

3,049

media luna new films (Germany)

Gangs of Tooting Broadway

FILMART

1,273

Picture Tree International (Germany)

Victor "Young" Perez

American Film Market

4,839

StudioCanal (France)

In Fear

FILMART

1,907

The Salt Company

The Borderlands

American Film Market

3,369

Trufflepig Films

The Moo Man

Toronto

5,000

Vixen Films

Salma

Sundance

5,000

Wavelength Pictures

The Stuart Hall Project

Sundance

4,400

WestEnd Films

Inside Out: People's Art Project

American Film Market

Total EFP Film Sales Support funding invested in UK companies and films in 2013

5,000 62,636

Starred Up,

The Sea,

directed by Stephen Brown, received EFP Film Sales Support in 2013. Image courtesy of Independent. Photo by Karina Finegan.

The Stuart Hall Project, directed by John Akomfrah, received EFP Film Sales Support in 2013. Image courtesy of Smoking Dog Films.

What next?

Creative Europe 2014-2020 In January 2014, MEDIA became part of Creative Europe, a new â&#x201A;Ź1.46 billion funding programme for the creative, cultural and audiovisual sectors. Creative Europe builds on the experience and success of the previous MEDIA and Culture programmes, supporting European projects with the potential to travel and find audiences beyond their national borders. Creative Europe Desk UK, which replaced MEDIA Desk UK and Antennae and the UK Cultural Contact Point in April 2014, will be delivered through a network of partner organisations led by the BFI and the British Council.

Plenum by Simeon Nelson, with soundtrack by Rob Godman and coding by Nick Rothwell. A Lux Scientia commission for LUMIERE 2011, funded by the EU Culture Programme and produced by Artichoke in Durham. Photo by Matthew Andrews

MEDIA in the UK 2013 is a MEDIA Desk UK publication. For more information, visit:

www.creativeeuropeuk.eu Follow the Creative Europe MEDIA sub-programme in the UK: @ceduk_media /cedukmedia

Follow the Creative Europe Culture sub-programme in the UK: @ceduk_culture /cedukculture BFI Southbank, London, is a member of the Europa Cinemas network. Photo by Tara Moller.