19/05/2005

The chairman of the Ile-de-France Film Commission, Olivier-René Veillon who organized bilateral regional meetings since the beginning of the week in Cannes with the Germans from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Italians from the Lazio Film Commission and the Spanish from the Madrid Film Commission, analyzes the attraction of the French region and the potential of the new network of European capitals for Cineuropa.

What are the main assets of the Ile-de-France region regarding film and audiovisual production?
Olivier-René Veillon: The Ile-de-France region includes a structured, organized and diversified industry with skills and know-how that have existed for a long time. This concerns the photography department, the sets as well as visual effects and compositing which include more than ten world-famous societies. Moreover, the sites’ exceptional and universal nature, from Paris to Versailles, from Fontainebleau to Vaux-Le-Vicomte, as well as the Vexin nature reserve, attracts many world-wide productions in the Ile-de-France region. Eventually, the market, the frequenting and the film production’s vitality in France enable world-wide independent films to find co-production partners and a spot market in the Ile-de-France region, a major asset regarding film financing and depreciation.

In what ways the Ile de France Film Commission manages to increase the value of the region?
The region fund is available to all productions made in the Ile de France region, without attractive, language or nationality conditions, provided that the shooting time and the post-productions expenditures are respected. We are aiming at having a well financed activity with an access to international markets so as arouse wide interest. The agreements reached this year with the Germans from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Italians from the Lazio Film Commission and the Spanish from the Madrid Film Commission keeps with this pattern. Beyond service exchanges for shootings, we therefore launched in Cannes bilateral co-production meetings that include presale and distribution agreements.