13/02/2006

In attendance at the Berlin Film Festival yesterday for a meeting that brought together French and German film professionals, French Cultural Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres used the occasion to reiterate the need to make progress in the circulation of European films on the Old Continent. "We are all aware that European films do not circulate enough within Europe," he stated adding that, "The feeble market share for non-local European films is nothing compared to the 71% achieved by American cinema on European soil." Betting on "the power of cultural diversity against mass production", the Minister insisted on the crucial role of national production and public aid for cinema : "Our national markets are too narrow for us to make films that are economically viable only in these single markets. Therefore, public support for cinema is vital to its existence, to the very survival of these films. Our systems are examined regularly by the European Commission. [...] And this is why we should be very vigilant in 2007, because the European Commission has not hidden its intention to toughen up the criteria it applies in examining support. We have to make the Commission understand that it risks allowing, purely and simply, the disappearance of European cinema, and would then be accused of playing into the hands of American cinema".

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Donnedieu de Vabres also offered some suggestions for improving the circulation of films in Europe: the encouragement of initiatives such as Europa Cinemas, the promotion of European film weeks and also the use of new technology that make legal downloading available online. Finally, the French minister demanded that the Media Programme be given the necessary means to improve the circulation of European films and called for more vigilance over future financial allocations. In fact, even though the European Commission has anticipated a 62% budget increase for the Media Programme in 2007, the compromise adopted in December during the British presidency fixed a ceiling on an entire sector, which includes "culture, media, youth, health and consumer protection".

(Translated from French)