Should Europe do more co-productions? International co-productions travel and perform better than purely national films. Co-productions also have access to financing not available to national films. They also make subjects and cultural identities cross borders. So should Europe do more? The European Audiovisual Observatory will be asking this question at this year’s Cannes conference:

International Co-productions - A success formula for European films?

This entry free conference will take place on Saturday 12 of May from 9.30 – 11.30 as part of the Marché du film. The venue is the Olympia cinema, 5 Rue de la Pompe, 06400 Cannes (doors open at 9.10). This conference is open to all Cannes Film Market, Festival and Press accreditations. Conference languages are English and French with translation available.

This years’ Observatory conference will bring together key film industry players: film funders, producers, distributors and European decision makers. Our panel discussion will examine international co-productions as a success formula for European films as well as looking at the traps to avoid. As every year the Observatory will be providing its European market analysis and legal background to this year's conference theme.

The conference will be moderated by Roberto Olla, Executive Director of Eurimages. Peter Dinges, Head of the German FFA will provide the film funder's viewpoint. We’ll be talking to experienced co-producers from Belgium, Poland and Sweden: Diana Elbaum, Beluga Tree, Belgian producer of 'Elle', Dariusz Jablonski of Apple Film Production, co-producer of ‘Dovlatov and Helena Danielsson, Brain Academy, Swedish producer of 'The Childhood of a Leader'. Gilles Fontaine and Maja Cappello, the Observatory’s Experts, will accompany the debates with contextual facts and figures on international co-production, both from an economic and legal point of view.

Susanne Nikoltchev, Executive Director of the European Audiovisual Observatory, said she was looking forward to “a real coproduction laboratory, but hopefully in a non-sterile environment!” She added that this year’s Observatory conference would “examine the pros and cons of co-production and really add to the debate as to whether or not the future of European cinema lies in having more of it”.

For more information about this conference: cannes@coe.int

Link to the programme