Producers meeting
CineRegio encourages interregional co-operation. This includes stimulating artistic, creative and technical exchange throughout Europe.
Many of the regional film funds in CineRegio are arranging producers meetings where producers from one region meets producers from other regions.
Examples of producer networking meeting are listed below:
FILM I VÄST + FILMFÖRDERUNG HAMBURG
Film i Väst in Trollhättan, Sweden, are actively working to extend both regional and international co-operations by creating opportunities for the film industry to meet.
“A platform for producers to meet is the first step to increase cross border co-productions. First you meet, talk, get to know each other and then you decide that you would like to do something together - not the other way around” says Bengt Toll International Executive at Film i Väst and the chairman of Cine-Regio. He points out that the Cine-Regio members, by using the Cine-Regio network, have excellent opportunities to promote and encourage co-productions.
“The Cine-Regio members really can accomplish something. We can get our respective producers to meet, as the number one condition for a successful co-production” Bengt Toll says.
FiV already has a long and well-established collaboration within the Nordic countries.
This has i.e. resulted in the films by Danish director Lars von Trier: “Dancer in the Dark”, “Dogville” and “Manderlay”, produced by Danish Zentropa in a co-production with among others Swedish Memfis Int. and FiV.
After successful projects on an international level with partners such as Scottish Screen and the UK Film Council, Film i Väst initiated a project together with Cine-Regio member Filmförderung Hamburg in Germany.
“It was natural step as Eva Hubert at Filmförderung Hamburg work in a very similar way to how we do things at Film i Väst” says Bengt Toll.
In 2005 Film i Väst invited Filmförderung Hamburg to Trollhättan, together with fifteen German producers. An equal amount of Swedish producers were invited. The participants were all asked to prepare a presentation of themselves, their companies and how they looked upon working in an international co-production environment. The meeting also contained speeches concerning the support and aid systems in the different countries and regions.
“Upon arrival everybody were introduced to each other and we took them on a tour of the Film i Väst studios. Then the prepared presentations followed including questions and discussions. By the end of the day, everybody knew who everybody was. The evening ended with a film screening and individual networking” Bengt Toll says.
The following day was assigned for individual meetings after which the two-day meeting was concluded with a dinner.
“The aim was to create time and possibilities for both social and serious conversation,” says Bengt Toll.
Six months later a similar gathering took place, basically with the same participants, but this time in Hamburg, with Filmförderung Hamburg as the host.
“The result so far is two or maybe three co-production projects already at the preproduction stage” says Bengt Toll, mentioning the examples “When darkness falls”(”När mörkret faller”) by Anders Nilsson, Sweden, that won the Amnesty International Film Prize at the Berlinale 2007 and “Sportsman of the Century” by Mischa Alexander, Germany.
Talking to Bengt Toll again a few moths later the list of co-productions between Sweden and Germany has grown even longer: the feature film ”The Red Zora” as well as the TV-dramas “The Turning Torso” and ”A simple Life” are all in post-production at the time.
“These productions spring out of the initiative to bring producers together cross borders and once again show the importance of getting people to meet” Bengt Toll concludes.
Interview with Bengt Toll August 2006 and March 2007.
Filmförderung MFG Baden-Württemberg + Rhône-Alpes Cinéma + Institut Català de les Indústries Culturals (ICIC)
A new networking group has seen the light in Cannes, 2007. Three European regional funds have formed a framework to stimulate cross border co-production.
It is the German Filmförderung MFG Baden-Württemberg, French Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and the Spanish Institut Català de les Indústries Culturals (ICIC) who have formed a framework agreement to stimulate co-production through producer networking between the regions.
”In this first phase we do not put money on the table too see if anybody want to co-produce. We chose to focus on establishing a sustainable, long-term relationship between the producers in the three regions and exchanging ideas and knowledge.
Then when the links are well established, maybe we will create a specific fund as well,” says Xavier Parache Calvet, Film and Audiovisual Financing Director at ICIC.
The three institutions will actively create meeting places for the producers and recommend productions companies as possible partners: “For example if a French producer is looking for a Catalonian producer Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and ICIC can facilitate such a meeting and vouch for the companies,” Xavier Calvet explains “and when actual co-production projects arise that we find interesting, we will of course look at the financing possibilities”.
The three regional funds are all members of Cine-Regio and have experience in working together in other networking constellations, i.e. "Four Motors of Europe". Xavier Calvet stresses that the fact that they know each other so well and share common objectives can help facilitate interregional and crossborder co-productions.
“We have learned from experience that the most important thing is to share a cultural platform and feel a mutual trust – then the language and other differences are easy to overcome”.
So far the network has resulted in three feature films;
“The woman of the Anarchist”, released 2007, which is a co-production involving all three regions,
"Brudermord (Fratricide)" and "Le Couloir", co-produced by MFG Baden-Württemberg and Rhônes-Alpes Cinéma.
Interview with Xavier Parache Calvet, Film and Audiovisual Financing Director at ICIC, March, 2008.
CINE-REGIO PRODUCER MEETING AND TALENT CAMPUS 2007
Making use of the 28-region platform of Cine Regio, a number of co-production meetings and a talent campus took place on 4 and 5 October 2007 in the framework of Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia.
For two days this event brought together producers, new directors and CEO’s of regional film fund agencies, who shared their projects, experiences and new outlooks to foster international co-productions and support Europe’s new up-and-coming talent.
The venue was organised by Cine Regio member Catalan Film & TV/Catalan Institute of Cultural Industries in collaboration with Cine Regio.
The venue also featured two round-table discussions sponsored by Variety magazine. One explored case-studies on how to finance small and medium budgets, and the following day the discussion was focusing on new European talent.
“Gathering the heads of European regional film funds, together with producers, talents and distributors were a unique opportunity to achieve a number of goals, including strengthening the co-development and co-production of films between regions, promote the film sector and establish new international friendships and contacts.” – Charlotte Appelgren, Secretary-General, Cine Regio.
CINE-LINK CO-PRODUCTION MARKET at Sarajevo Film Festival Aug. 2007
In 2007 Cine-Regio was partner in CineLink Co-production Market, held in the framework of the Sarajevo Film Festival.
The Cine-Link event brought together producers, directors, and CEO’s of regional film fund agencies who shared their projects, experiences and new outlooks to foster international co-productions.
15 selected feature film projects in development from Southeast Europe were presented and a number of co-production meetings took place.
Also, the annual Cine-Regio Talks in collaboration with Screen International took place. The topic was “Digital Distribution - Opportunities & Challenges”.