Artistic Freedom, FERA Speaks, News
FERA CEO moderates Eurimages panel celebrating 30 years of European co-production
Eurimages, the cultural support fund of the Council of Europe (CoE), is celebrating its 30 Years of European and International Film Co-production. On this occasion, a conference took place in Strasbourg, under the auspices of the Lithuanian Presidency of the CoE on 5 November.
The conference opened with speeches by Ambassador Andrius Krivas, Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the CoE, Eurimages President Catherine Trautmann and Marja Ruotanen, Director General of Democracy and Human Dignity of the CoE.
Moving forward, Dariusz Jabłoński, founder and CEO of Apple Film Production gave his insights on co-production, Maja Cappello, Head of the Department for Legal Information at European Audiovisual Observatory presented the legal foundations of co-production and Patrizia Simone, Project Manager and Data Analyst at Eurimages provided a statistical overview of the growth in co-productions.
FERA CEO Pauline Durand-Vialle then moderated a panel discussion titled “The value-added of film and audiovisual co-production and future perspectives” that brought together industry professionals Lithuanian producers Uljana Kim of Studio Uljana Kim & Marija Razgutė of M-Films, French producer Sébastien Onomo of Special Touch Studios, Marysabelle Cote, the Administrative Director of ARTE G.E.I.E., and Edith Sepp, CEO of the Estonian Film Institute.
The discussion delved into the practicalities of co-production from the perspective of producers, public funders, broadcasters and online platforms, before exploring current market developments, including the growing influence of global entertainment and the ever-evolving relationship with audiences. Finally, panelists gave a hopeful outlook for the future of European co-production.
Co-production is a very European success story, serving as a powerful tool for creative, economic, and cultural cooperation. For decades, it has supported artistic freedom across Europe and beyond, allowing local filmmakers to find their unique voices while fostering cross-border collaboration among authors, talent, crews, production and distribution companies.
This approach has provided an alternative to ideological and commercial pressures on filmmakers and remains a crucial tool to reach audiences across linguistic divides, through local yet universal stories. As such, coproduction can and must continue to expand, supporting the European project in all its diversity.
To go further:
Programme and speakers: https://rm.coe.int/programme-30-ans-co-production/1680b22b44
Eurimages newspost: https://www.coe.int/en/web/eurimages/-/a-celebration-of-30-years-of-european-international-co-production