Film Sales Support for European films at non-European film festivals and markets

Introduction and Objectives

European Film Promotion (EFP) was appointed by the MEDIA Programme in 2004 to follow through measures to support the promotion of European films outside MEDIA countries. EFP has implemented Film Sales Support (FSS) as one of its activities outside of Europe.
FSS supports up to 50 per cent of the promotion and marketing costs of European films at five non-European festivals and three markets in 2010 (see points 2, 3).

Eligibility

1) Films

Eligible for support are recent completed European fiction films, animated films or documentaries with a minimum duration of 60 minutes participating in one of the main sections of the selected festivals or marketed at any of the chosen markets.

Recent films, refers to the original copyright of a film being established in 2007 or after.
Excluded are films consisting of advertising or containing pornographic or racist material as well as those advocating violence.

Films have to be majority produced by a producer or producers established in the countries participating in the MEDIA Programme and have to have been made with a significant participation by professionals who are citizens/residents of the countries participating in the MEDIA Programme (ANNEX, point 2).

Significant participation is defined as 10 or more points under the following scheme. In case of documentaries or animated films that do not have all of the components (for example actors etc.) and where the total is therefore less than 19, films need to achieve more than half of the points of the maximum total.

	Points
Director	3
Scriptwriter	3
Composer	1
Actor 1	2
Actor 2	2
Actor 3	2
Production Design/Art Direction	1
Director of Photography	1
Editor	1
Sound	1
Shooting Location	1
Laboratory	1
Total	19

2) Festivals

FSS supports the promotion of European films in one of the main sections of the following festivals in 2010. The festivals are based in countries outside the EU, the EEA and in countries which are not associated members of the MEDIA Programme:

• Sundance Film Festival, USA (January 2010)
• Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara, Mexico (March 2010)
• Shanghai International Film Festival, China (June 2010)
• Toronto International Film Festival, Canada (September 2010)
• Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, Brazil (September/October 2010)

3) Markets

FSS supports the marketing of European films (a maximum of 2 films per sales company) at one of the following markets in 2010. The markets are based in countries outside the EU, the EEA and in countries which are not associated members of the MEDIA Programme:

• Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART), Hong Kong (March 2010)
• Asian Film Market, Pusan, South Korea (October 2010)
• American Film Market (AFM), USA (November 2010)

4) Beneficiaries

For FSS Festival support:
European sales agents or European production companies (only if no sales agent is involved in handling the film(s) in the respective territory) promoting European films participating in the listed festivals.

For FSS Market support:
European sales agents marketing European films at one of the listed markets.

Qualification

The sales agents or production companies have to be based in one of the EU countries, the EEA or countries associated with the MEDIA Programme (ANNEX, point 2). The European company has to be owned, whether directly or by majority participation, by nationals of member states of the European Union and of the European Economic Agreement (or nationals of the other European countries participating in the MEDIA Programme) and registered in one of these countries.

5) Costs

The budget to be submitted by the applicant to EFP for support must include costs for a substantial amount of promotional activities at the festival or market. The following costs for promotional and sales measures are eligible for support at the festival or market where applicable:

1. Production of promotional and advertising material (posters, brochures, flyers, press kits, screeners)
2. Publication costs (costs for advertisements in local newspapers, radio and TV advertisements, activities for the general public, billboards, etc)
3. Public relations activities (any promotional activity for the respective European film participating in the respective festival or market, hiring of a publicist, hospitality, reception, etc.)
4. Production of a subtitled or dubbed print or digital betacam (for market screenings)
5. Subtitling and dubbing (translation and subtitling and/or dubbing of the print of the films participating in the respective festival)
6. Transport of print and related expenses (for example, transport costs, insurance for film print, custom clearance costs)
7. Travel and hotel costs for a sales representative (sales agent or producer, if no sales agent is involved at festivals), for the talent and the director (ANNEX, point 4 for maximum eligible travel and accommodation/subsistence costs per country).
8. Stand or booth at the markets
9. Market screenings
10. Market registration

NB: Flight costs for the sales representative to the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and the American Film Market are not part of the grant and therefore not reimbursable.

Award Criteria

Sales agents or production companies (only if no sales agent is involved in handling the film in the respective territory) applying for FSS festival support must send a sales representative to the respective festival to promote the film. Sales agents applying for FSS market support may only apply for a maximum of 2 European films for the marketing at the respective market.

• Priority will be given to films which have not been sold to the territory in which the respective festival takes place
• Priority will be given to films coming from countries with a low audiovisual production capacity (ANNEX, point 3)
• Priority will be given to films for which the sales agent/production company undertakes additional promotional activities exceeding the usual promotional measures for the film at the respective festival.

Beneficiaries are selected by EFP’s member organisations (ANNEX, point 5).  In countries where EFP is not represented, EFP will appoint a national contact to select the beneficiary. This could either be a national film institute, a national producers association or a Media Desk.

Financial Support

The support may not exceed 50 per cent of the costs incurred by the beneficiary for the promotion or marketing of the respective film(s) participating in the respective festival or market. It may also not exceed the maximum amounts available.

Maximum support per film per company and per festival:

€5,000 for one film

€2,500 per additional film

(The support for the individual films may be split in a different way but may not exceed €7,500 for two films, €10,000 for three films, €12,500 for four films, etc.)

Minimum support:

€1,000 for all films

Maximum support per film per company and market

(limited to 2 films):

€5,000 for one film

€2,500 for a second film

(The support for the individual films may be split in a different way but may not exceed €7,500 for two films)

Minimum support:

€1,000 for each of the 2 films

NB: The annual FSS funds are limited. This means, that it is likely that not all applications for the selected festivals or markets can be supported. It is also likely that in some cases the grants might be reduced.

Applicants may apply for more than one film at each festival and may reapply for support if the same film participates in another FSS listed festival. Applicants may only apply for two films at one market but may reapply for support for the same films at another market. In these cases additional promotional activities have to be undertaken.

If the beneficiary spends less than calculated, the support will be adjusted accordingly. The beneficiary has to inform EFP if he has received or will receive additional subsidies for the promotion of the respective film(s) at the respective festival or market.

The grant is disbursed after the festival or market and after the beneficiary presents EFP with proof of payment (signature) of the total eligible costs in relation to the promotion and sales activities for the film(s) at the respective festival or market. The beneficiary has to prove that a sales representative attended the respective festival or market. Completed proof has to be presented to EFP within 2 months of the end of the respective festival or market. The actual grants paid to the beneficiary will be published on European Film Promotion's website.

Application

Application deadlines for FSS are normally 4 weeks before the beginning of the respective festival or market. Application forms including a calculation of the promotional costs for the film(s) have to be sent to EFP by the respective deadline. For the support of films at festivals, the respective application form includes a declaration that the film(s) has (have) been invited by the respective festival and that the applicant accepts the film’s attendance and is attending the respective film festival.

Please send application forms to:

European Film Promotion
Susanne Davis (Project Manager FSS)
Friedensallee 14-16
22765 Hamburg, Germany
Tel: +49 40 390 6252
Fax: +49 40 390 6249
davis@efp-online.com

ANNEX

1. Countries not participating in the MEDIA Programme:

Countries not participating in the MEDIA Programme are countries outside the EU, the EEA and those not associated with the MEDIA Programme.

2. Countries belonging to the EU, the EEA and to the MEDIA Programme:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

Companies registered in and owned in majority by nationals from countries which are candidates to join the European Union will be eligible for FSS subject to the coming into force of their country’s participation in the MEDIA Programme.

3. Countries with a low audiovisual production capacity:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland.

4. Maximum travel and accommodation/subsistence costs per country:

Maximum travel costs: €1,500 relating to an economy ticket.

Maximum accommodation/subsistence costs:

Charts related to the maximum accommodation/subsistence costs can be found on the following website: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/per_diems/index_en.htm

If there is no overnight stay, the amounts are reduced by 50 per cent.