European Union film support goes global

The European Commission today proposed an international cooperation program for the audiovisual industry which seeks to strengthen cultural and commercial ties between Europe’s film industry and film-makers of third countries.

The Media Mundus program will provide 15 million euros ($20.5M) between 2011-2013 for joint projects submitted by audiovisual professionals from the EU and third countries. Media Mundus is an extension of a program which helps Europe’s audiovisual professionals develop, distribute and promote their works around Europe, and it builds upon the success of an earlier EU pilot program (Media International) which led to the funding of 18 projects involving international partners.

The proposed Media Mundus program will:

• boost the exchange of information between professionals, particularly through training activities and scholarships that make networking between European and third country audiovisual professionals easier. This will improve access to foreign markets and build trust and long-term commercial relationships.
• improve the competitiveness and transnational distribution of audiovisual works worldwide by making international co-productions easier.
• improve circulation and exposure of audiovisual works worldwide and increase public demand, especially among young audiences, for culturally diverse audiovisual content.

For further information visit ec.europa.eu/information_society/media/mundus/index_en.htm