The European Film Forum (EFF) will bring together industry representatives and policy makers to explore, on one hand, the industrial and societal effects of virtual reality and, on the other hand, to look ahead to the future of audiovisual policy and support programmes. The newly appointed Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, will be sharing her perspective on the current and future MEDIA programme.
European Film Forum
Exploring the industrial and societal effects of Virtual Reality
Future is the keyword of the European Film Forum (EFF) taking place on during the 74th Venice International Film Festival. The first day of the EFF will focus on innovation, in particular in the field of virtual reality (VR). It will explore both the industrial effects of VR and its broader societal implications. Is VR a game-changer for the audiovisual sector? How is it affecting other sectors? How can its potential be fully exploited by European players? Do the experiences that this technology provides impact society at large? These and other questions will be addressed during the first day of the EFF. The event will take place on Sunday 3 September, from 15:00 to 18:00 at the Excelsior Hotel, Venice Lido, Sala degli Stucchi.
Shaping together the MEDIA Programme of the future
The second day will be devoted to EU's support to the audiovisual industry, and will look ahead to the future of audiovisual policy and support programmes. Speakers will take stock, in particular, of the achievements of Creative Europe MEDIA while reflecting on its future.
MEDIA’s current budget comes to an end in 2020. How can the future MEDIA Programme help the audiovisual industry to further take advantage of the possibilities offered by Europe's Digital Single Market? How can the objectives of competitiveness and cultural diversity be reaffirmed and reinforced in light of the digital revolution, changing audience behaviours and preferences? Prominent stakeholders from the industry, as well as high-level policy-makers at both national and European level, will offer their perspectives on these issues and will share their vision of the future of the MEDIA Programme. The Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, will be closing the European Film Forum with her perspective on the current and future MEDIA programme.
The event will take place on Monday 4 September, from 10:00 to 11:45 at the Excelsior Hotel, Venice Lido, Sala degli Stucchi.
Programme of the European Film Forum
MEDIA-supported films
Eleven films co-financed by the European Union will be screened during the 74th Venice International Film Festival. These films have received EU funding through the development and distribution schemes of Creative Europe MEDIA, for a total amount of €792.572.
IN COMPETITION - Venezia 74
Five feature films supported by MEDIA are competing for the Golden Lion, the Festival's prestigious Award:
© KG Productions; © AGAT Films; © Scott Patrick Green;- Custody (Jusqu’à la Garde) by Xavier Legrand (France), supported at the distribution stage
- Hannah by Andrea Pallaoro (Italy, Belgium, France), supported at the development stage
- The House by the Sea (La Villa) by Robert Guédiguian (France), supported at the distribution stage
- Lean On Pete by Andrew Haigh (UK), supported at the development and distribution stages
- The Leisure Seeker (Ella & John: The Leisure Seeker) by Paolo Virzì ( Italy) supported at the distribution stage
IN COMPETITION - ORIZZONTI
Four MEDIA films are competing in the Orizzonti selection, dedicated to films that represent the latest aesthetic and expressive trends in international cinema:
© Netop Films; © Espèces Menacées; © Los versos del olvido ; © Nico, 1988- Endangered species (Espèces Menacées) by Gilles Bourdos (France, Belgium), supported at the distribution stage
- Nico, 1988 by Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy, Belgium), supported at the development stage
- Oblivion Verses (Los Versos del Olvido) by Alireza Khatami (France, Germany, Netherlands, Chile), supported at the development and distribution stages
- Under the Tree (Undir Trénu) by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (Iceland, Denmark, Poland, Germany), supported at the distribution stage
OUT OF COMPETITION
- Happy Winter (Buon Inverno) by Giovanni Totaro (Italy), supported at the development stage
- Racing and the Jailbird (Le Fidèle) by Michaël R. Roskam (Belgium, France, Netherlands), supported at the development and distribution stages.
MEDIA-funded side events
Other activities taking place during the Festival that received support from Creative Europe MEDIA:
The European GAP-Financing (1-3 September 2017) is a co-production and a co-financing market for European projects wich have secured at least 70% of their budget. This platform offers the opportunity to secure the final financing of the projects through one-to-one meetings with professionals and investors (producers, sales agents, distributors, financiers, broadcasters and funds). The European GAP-Financing was awarded € 60.000 in 2017 via the market to access support scheme of Creative Europe MEDIA.
The Biennale College is supported by MEDIA for two of its training activities: The Biennale College – Hybrid (a programme devoted to Virtual Reality) and The Biennale College – Cinema (a creative community that explores the aesthetics of micro-budget feature length filmmaking and the new integrated models of production which engage with an audience from the outset). These two activities were awarded € 190.000 in 2017 via the training support-scheme of Creative Europe MEDIA.
Art cinema = action + management is another training activity that takes place during the Venice Film Festival. This course is addressed to art house cinema exhibitors and professionals (cinema managers, operators and programmers in managing art house cinemas) and foresees sessions for Juniors (at least one year experience in art house cinema exhibition) and Executives (at least 5 years experience in cinema exhibition ans/or audiovisual sector). Art cinema = action + management was awarded € 145.0000 in 2017 via the training support-scheme of Creative Europe MEDIA.
Festival Scope is an online platform for film lovers screening films from the best film festivals. Thanks to on-going agreements with film festivals worldwide, Festival Scope makes independent films available on-line during their festival presentation, so that they can enjoy extra visibility and promotion. The Venice Film Festival is one of the partner festivals and in 2017 and 10-15 films from different sections will be screened on the platform during the festival period. Festival Scope was awarded with € 130.000 in 2017 via the Promotion of European films Online support scheme of Creative Europe MEDIA.
About Creative Europe MEDIA
MEDIA Sub-programme of Creative Europe is designed to support European film and other audiovisual industries. It provides funding for the development, promotion and distribution of European works within Europe and beyond. It invests in the training of producers, film distributors, directors, and screenwriters to help them adapt to new technologies. Each year, MEDIA supports around 2,000 European projects including films, TV series, video games, training programmes, cinemas and much more.