19/12/2003

In May 2004 10 new countries will be joining the European Union. In spite of the fact that film production in these countries in central and Eastern Europe has shown signs of renewed vitality (especially in the Czech Republic and Slovenia), their penetration in European markets is still very limited, with a share of just 0.05% of the total audience for the period covering 1996-2002.

The figures have been revealed in the new report published over the last few days by the European Audiovisual Observatory, which looks at the trends in the film markets of the new member states.

Cinema Audiences
According to the Observatory's "Yearbook 2003", 2002 saw a lot of ups and downs in cinema audience figures. Out of the most prominent markets, only the Czech Republic registered a rise in ticket sales, + 3.2% over the 2001 figures. In Poland, the biggest market out of the 10 new EU countries, there was a slight drop in audience numbers (-1.1,%), while Hungary, the second most important market, saw a bigger drop (-4.6%).
More significant progress has been made in the smaller markets, like Estonia, where the increase in cinema audiences (+19.5%) has been due to the enormous success of a local film, Nimed marmortahvlil.
However, the number of tickets sold per head of population is still much lower than the European Union average, which stands at 2.40 a year. Only Malta has a higher average (2.70), while the figures in Latvia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Hungary and Slovenia vary between 0.46 and 1.32.

Production
According to the Observatory's estimates, there were 92 feature films produced by the 10 new member countries in 2002, an increase of 3% over the previous year. Though 2001 was a year that saw a real boom in production, with 89 films made in respect to the 67 in 2000 (+33%). But the financial problems of the public television networks, which are the main investors in national films, have recently had a negative impact on production.

The three main markets with the highest number of cinemas are also the most active in film production: 27 feature films or documentaries for Poland, 24 in Hungary and 21 in the Czech Republic. Since 1998, these latter two countries have been enjoying an upward trend. There are also positive signs for Slovenian production, with 10 films made in 2002 (only one of which was a co-production).

Public Funding: the Hungarian Example
The figures published by the Observatory show that the level of public funding for cinema and television is significantly higher in Hungary than in the other countries in the group of ten. In 2002, grants worth around €8.4m were given in Hungary, an increase of 64% over the figures for 2001. This rise is mainly due to the doubling of the budget of one of the most sources of funding, the Magyar Mozgókép Közalapítvány (Public Foundation for Cinematography). In comparison, the funding schemes in Poland and the Czech Republic (€1.6m and €2.2m respectively) seem somewhat modest, but it's important not to forget that these figures don't include investment in films made by the public broadcasters. For example, TVP co-produces almost half of the productions in Poland.
The original source of these funds is almost always the State. The exception to the rule is the Czech Republic, where production support comes from the income earned from the exploitation of previous films made in the nationalised studios, and from the tax on cinema tickets.
After the encouraging results of 2001, national films haven't kept up their considerable market share, with the exception of Estonia.
The drop of tickets sold for national films to 13% in the Czech Republic is significant. The average market share for Czech films from 1996 has been 20%, with a peak of 30% in 2001. The disappointing results in 2002 could be due to the lack of a domestic, big budget "blockbuster", like the 2001 hit at the box office, Dark Blue Word.

Access to the EU market
In spite of the popularity of national films in their respective domestic markets, their circulation in other markets is still disheartening. The LUMIERE database at the Observatory shows that only 44 films from the new member states have been released in European Union cinemas over the period 1996-2002. These 44 films sold a total of 2.4 million tickets, a market share of just 0.05%. More than half these tickets were sold in '96-'97 for just one film, Kolya, the Czech co-production with Britain and France, supported by Eurimages.

(Translated from Italian)