Eurimages

Eurimages is the Council of Europe fund for the co-production, distribution, and digitisation of European cinematographic works. It aims to promote the European film industry by encouraging the production and distribution of films and fostering co-operation between professionals. Eurimages is located in Strasbourg, France. The Eurimages offices are in the Agora building of the Council of Europe.

Basics

The Fund was created in 1989 within the framework of the Council of Europe, as a Partial Agreement, under Committee of Ministers Resolution (88) 15 [http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/PartialAgr/Html/Eurim8815.htm] , with an independent budget of 21M €. It has currently (as of 2008) 33 Member States. These member states are: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzégovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.

The current chairman is Jacques Toubon. [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/expert/searchForm/view.do?id=28198&language=en]

Eurimages aims to promote the European film industry by encouraging the production and distribution of films and fostering co-operation between professionals. Eurimages has a clear cultural aim and is complementary to the Media programme of the European Union, which has an industrial goal. Eurimages has developed four funding programs: assistance for co-production, for distribution, to cinemas and support for digitisation of Eurimages funded projects.

The fund supports fiction films, animated films and documentaries (of minimum 70min) destinated for theatrical release.A main condition of obtaining Eurimages support is that the project is an international co-production between at least two member states of Eurimages, but non-member states can also participate in the co-production. Other conditions of eligibility for projects applying for Eurimages support are:

- Every co-producer has to have at least 50% of financing in place, at the moment of the application

- Non-member states, which participate in the co-production, are allowed to contribute with maximum 30% of the total financing

- The project has to have the support of either a film fund, a distributor or a television presale (Eurimages cannot be the first fund which supports the project)

- There are accepted no more than 15% of confirmed deferrals, and in-kind contributions

- The principal photography should not have been started before the meeting of the Eurimages Board of Management.

In order to receive Eurimages support, a project has to be an European Film, a characteristic defined in the European Convention of Cinematographic Coproduction [http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=147&CM=8&CL=ENG] and in Eurimages' Regulations.

Eurimages provides a conditionally reimbursable interest-free loan. The maximum amount that can be allocated to a project is 700.000€. The loan is reimbursed from the first € of each co-producer’s net receipts - at the rate of the percentage of Eurimages support.

External links

* [http://www.coe.int/Eurimages/ Council of Europe Eurimages' website]

References

Further reading

[http://www.irishfilmboard.ie/financing/Eurimages/20 Irish Film Board]

[http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4861558-1.html Eurimages Head quits over dispute]

[https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=CM/Res(2007)43&Language=lanEnglish&Site=CM&BackColorInternet=9999CC&BackColorIntranet=FFBB55&BackColorLogged=FFAC75 Eurimages Budget for 2008]