European Film Forum Focuses on Financing, Collaboration at San Sebastian

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SAN SEBASTIAN — On Monday at the San Sebastian Film Festival the European Film Forum hosted a presentation and two panels highlighting new financing and collaboration models for promoting European works.

Both panels were hosted by Rafael Lambea of Spanish non-profit Crea Sgr.

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In 2016 Crea Sgr was the first agency to make use of new financing mechanisms established by the European Investment Fund, represented on Monday by Laoura Ntziourou who talked about ways in which the fund helps SMEs from creative and cultural services secure financing at each stage of production processes.

The first panel, Co-financing Formulas for Better Exploitation of Rights, featured conversations about new financing and collaboration models. Case studies were presented to illustrate production, distribution and exhibition possibilities combining both public and private sector financing.

Panelists included Ntziourou, two Spanish producers in Miramemira’s Xavier Font – who brought with him experiences from Oliver Laxe’s “Fire Will Come” as a case study – and Morena Films and European Producers Club representative Álvaro Longoria, as well as the star of the day, Polkatulk and Scenso.tv’s Denis Février.

A brief Q&A was dominated by questions, some from fellow panelists, of Février who explained how Scenso.tv provides clear and transparent data and simultaneously ensures that appropriate rights-holders are paid their share of streaming revenues using an inhouse-developed blockchain ledger.

Panel two, Film Co-Financing and Co-Distribution: The Role of Co-Production Funds, more specifically highlighted how increased collaboration can help European productions increase their audiences across the world, particularly with co-production funds.

Panelists included Mathieu Fournet from France’s CNC, Paula Gastaud of Brazil’s Sofa Digital, Roberto Olla from Eurimages and Timothée Prudhomme from French sales agency Playtime, who used François Ozon’s “By the Grace of God” as a case study.

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