While culture professionals have been asking for several weeks now to be better listened to and to be given some answers regarding their status and activities, the Culture and Media Minister of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Bénédicte Linard has just unveiled her plan for the relaunch of the cinema and audiovisual sector. The goal is to support and accompany professionals to help them face current and future difficulties, whether they concern shooting, production, distribution or exhibition.

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Authors will see the number of grant supports for writing almost multiplied by two (from 13 to 24) at the next session in September 2020. 12 grants will also be dedicated to screenplay development, therefore supporting the desire of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Film and Audiovisual Centre to offer further support to this step of creation. A brand new call for projects will also be launched to support feature films aimed at a family audience, as well as animated series. New writings, including podcast formats and Instagram series, will also be supported sooner than originally planned.

Regarding cinemas, the Federation will cover the cost of health measures tied to the reopening of cinemas for arthouse exhibitors, and will buy 20,000 tickets to invite the public to return to cinemas. Distributors who will take the risk of releasing arthouse films will also be supported.

Finally, for producers, and while waiting for the National Security Council to make a decision regarding the relaunch of shootings (still suspended in Belgium), the Film and Audiovisual Centre has decided to cover the costs linked to COVID-19 measures on Belgian, French-language films — and, eventually, TV — shoots until December 2020, and to raise the production support of the Cinema Commission to 20%. Series currently in production will also receive a bonus ranging from 100 to €150,000, depending on their budget, to help them with current financing difficulties.