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MEDIA 2007: A big push for Europe's audiovisual industry

Media 2007: €755 million from the European Union to support Europe's film industry from 2007-2013. A clear priority is the distribution and promotion of European films outside their originating country, across Europe and worldwide (almost 65% of the total budget).
Under MEDIA Plus and MEDIA Training (2001-2006), more than half a billion euros were injected into 8000 projects from over 30 countries.
What are the objectives?
MEDIA 2007, the successor to four previous programmes (MEDIA I, II, Plus and Training), simplifies the programme's administration but certainly not its objectives:
- a stronger European audiovisual sector, reflecting Europe’s cultural identity and
- increased circulation of European audiovisual works inside the European Union and
- a more competitive European audio-visual sector through easier access to finance, in particular for SMEs and the use of digital

What is the budget for achieving this?
MEDIA 2007's budget of €755 million spans 2007-2013. Although limited in absolute terms, the Community budget has a strong knock-on effect in terms of investments in the audiovisual sector: each euro from the Community budget generates about €6 in private investment from industry.
MEDIA therefore draws in considerably more private and public money. It meets the challenges of a rapidly growing and changing sector shaped by new technologies, new players and participating countries, market fragmentation and lack of private investment.

How is the money spent?
MEDIA 2007 concentrates on the pre- and postproduction phases of filmmaking. It does not fund the production itself. Its five action lines are

Training
scriptwriting techniques; economic, financial management; digital technologies)

Development
(single projects, catalogues, new talent, coproductions, other financing)

Distribution
(distributors, sales agents, broadcasters, cinema exhibitors, digitising works)

Promotion
(market access, festivals, common events,heritage)

Horizontal actions/Pilot projects

The division of the total budget across these five action lines shows that the distribution of European works is a clear priority.

Examples of films with MEDIA support
- Adam’s Apples by Anders Thomas Jensen
- Auberge Espagnole by Cederic Klapisch
- Cache/Hidden by Michael Haneke
- Dogville by Lars von Trier
- Eight women by François Ozon
- Goodbye Lenin by Wolfgang Becker
- Head On by Fatih Akin
- In this World by Michel Vinterboom
- La meglio gioventu by Marco Tullio Giordana -
- La vita e bella by Roberto Begnini
- Le Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
- L'enfant by the brothers Dardenne
- Les choristes by Cristophe Barratier
- Mar adentro by Alejandro Amenábar
- March of the Penguins by Luc Jacquet
- Sophie Scholl by Marc Rohemund
-The Lives of Others by Florian Henckel vonDonnersmarck
- The Pianist by Michael Haneke
- The Wind that Shakes the Barley by Ken Loach
- Volver by Pedro Almodovar

Did you know that…?
Every year 300 new European film projects are supported by MEDIA.
Half of the European films you watch at the cinema are shown with the support of MEDIA.
Every year, 2.5 million cinema-lovers watch over 15,000 European screenings in more than 100 festivals funded by MEDIA.
Two thirds of the projects supported by MEDIA come from countries with traditionally low audiovisual production capacity.
MEDIA supports the distribution of 9 out of every 10 feature films in Europe that are distributed outside their originating country.
By increasing investment in distribution, MEDIA aims to raise the market share of nonnational European films from 10 to 20% over the next 7 years.
Each euro from the Community budget generates about €6 from private investment in the industry.