25/10/2006

A common text on digital cinema, signed by the directors of the 26 national film agencies in Europe, was published yesterday. Recalling in its preamble the need to develop and maintain national film industries – sustained by national and European policies that support the production, distribution and exhibition of films in order to promote the diversity of film in the respective countries to fulfil their cultural and economic role – the 26 agencies presented a united front on digital cinema, which has been described as a major challenge for the European film industry as a whole, in particular with regard to the development of online services (video on demand) and digital projection in theatres."

The directors of the 26 agencies emphasised the necessity of European cinema to be prepared for the transition to digital so that European audiences can continue to have access to a diverse range of European films. They therefore consider it imperative that the vast majority of recent and catalogued European films be available in HD, appropriate for video on demand services (over Internet or television) or in a format that is compatible with the DCI recommendations for digital projection in theatres (2K-4K).

Indeed, while the US studios are in the process of rapidly taking a stand on these two markets with the digitalisation of large film catalogues, there is a perceptible risk that the circulation of European films will never reach these new audiences if European producers, distributors and exhibitors are not in a position to meet the demands of digital quickly.

In the light of this, agencies are calling for "appropriate support measures both at a national and European level that will aim to promote film digitalisation (...) with a view to allowing the development of both digital projection in theatres and video on demand platforms" and respect the willingness of the European Commission to discuss possible means to assist the emergence of digital cinema in Europe at a time when the guidelines of the MEDIA 2007 programme are under preparation.

Signatories:
Filmförderungsanstalt (Germany)
Österreichisches Filminstitut (Austria)
Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Communauté française (Belgium)
Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds (Belgium)
Cultural Services of the Ministry of Education and Culture (Cyprus)
Danish Film Institute (Denmark)
Estonian Film Foundation (Estonia)
Instituto de la Cinematografia y de las Artes Audiovisuales (Spain)
Finnish Film Foundation (Finland)
Centre National de la Cinématographie (France)
Greek Film Center (Greece)
National Film Office (Hungary)
Irish Film Board (Ireland)
Ministry of Culture – General Direction for Cinema (Italy)
National Film Center (Latvia)
Film Department of the Ministry of Culture (Lithuania)
Film Fund Luxembourg (Luxembourg)
Maltese Film Commission (Malta)
Nederlands Fonds v.d. Film (Netherlands)
Film Department of the Ministry of Culture (Poland)
Insituto do Cinema Audiovisual e Multimedia (Portugal)
UK Film Council (UK)
Film Department of the Ministry of Culture (Slovakia)
National Film Foundation (Slovenia)
Swedish Film Institute (Sweden)
Czech Film Chamber (Czech Republic)

(Translated from French)