11/05/2016 - The event will take place on 16 May, focusing on the challenges of financing audiovisual works and defining the role of public policies in stimulating investment

“Financing European Works in the Digital Age” is the title of the new edition of the European Commission's European Film Forum (EFF), which will take place at the Film Market of the 69^th Cannes Film Festival on 16 May, in the Palais des Festivals’ Salon des Ambassadeurs. The forum is part of Creative Europe’s MEDIA events organised between 13 and 18 May at Cannes, and is part of the Commission’s agenda to kick-start a discussion on how to enhance the competitiveness, visibility and innovation capacity of the European audiovisual sector. 

The EFF poses questions of major importance for film-industry stakeholders, in two panels: “The challenge of financing audiovisual works in Europe. The audience is there; where is the budget?” and “What role for public policies in stimulating investment?” Among other issues, the speakers will address how regulations and public support schemes should be adapted to the needs of filmmakers, what the emerging new modes of financing are, and what Creative Europe's role should be in attracting more financing. 

The event is moderated by Cineuropa editor-in-chief Domenico La Porta. The speakers are key players involved in policy-making, financing, content production, sales and distribution: Günther H Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society; Martin Kanzler, film industry analyst at the European Audiovisual Observatory; Amanda Nevill, director of the British Film Institute; Sandrine Legrand Dealbera, chief finance officer at StudioCanal; Hubert Cottogni, director of the European Investment Fund; David Kessler, CEO, Orange Studio; Silvia Costa, Member of the European Parliament and chair of the EP Committee on Culture and Education; Giuseppe Abbamonte, director Media and Data, DG CONNECT, European Commission; Danielle Kadeyan, CEO, Media Finance Partners; Tero Kaukomaa, film producer (Iron Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tero Kaukomaa
interview: Timo Vuorensola
interview: Timo Vuorensola
film profile]); Colin Brown, editorial director, Slated; and Dimitri Rassam, film producer (The Little Prince [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile]). Paweł Pawlikowski and Ewa Puszczyńska, respectively the director and producer of the winner of the 2015 Academy Award for Best Foreign-language Film, Ida [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pawel Pawlikowski
interview: Pawel Pawlikowski
film profile], will be interviewed.

The EFF is an initiative that began in 2015, after being proposed by the European Commission in its 2014 Communication on European Film in the Digital Era. It aims to develop a policy agenda strategy that takes into account the challenges and opportunities for filmmakers in the digital age. There are ten editions of the European Film Forum scheduled for 2016.