Cinema and audiovisual - Council of Europe

The Council of Europe took an early interest in building a European audiovisual space that allied human rights, cultural diversity and political pluralism. All the Organisation's activities in this field are based on the right to freedom of expression enshrined in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Images play a crucial role in our democracies. Over the last fifty years the European audiovisual landscape has undergone some brutal changes. In those troubled times people needed reference marks, the member states needed to know exactly what the stakes were in the battle that was being waged. So the Council of Europe set up specialised bodies and produced legal instruments to show the way.

In 1988 the Council of Europe set up Eurimages, the first European fund for the co-production, distribution and exhibition of European cinematographic works. Its purpose is to promote European cinema by fostering production and distribution and encouraging co-operation among film professionals.

In 1992 the Council of Europe mandated the European Audiovisual Observatory to foster greater openness in the audiovisual sector in Europe and cater for the information needs of audiovisual professionals.

The Partial Agreement of the Council of Europe Eurimages has welcomed as a new member state, Georgia, as of 18 October 2011.

Co-production projects involving a co-producer from Georgia can therefore be submitted to Eurimages for examination at forthcoming meetings.

As Georgia does not have access to the support mechanisms of the EU’s MEDIA Programme, distributors from Georgia can apply for support from Eurimages. Exhibitors from Georgia will also be eligible for Eurimages programmes of support for theatres (exhibition and digital equipment).

No less than ten films supported by the Eurimages Fund were present in the different selections of the Cannes Film Festival. Six of them are in official competition:

Once upon a Time in Anatolia by Nuri Bilge Ceylan (a co-production between Turkey and Bosnia Herzegovina), Le gamin au vélo by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (a co-production between Belgium, France and Italy), La source des femmes by Radu Mahaileanu (a co-production between France, Belgium and Italy) Habemus Papam by Nanni Moretti (a co-production between Italy and France), This Must Be The Place by Paolo Sorrentino (a co-production between Italy, Ireland and France)and Melancholia by Lars Von Trier (a co-production between Denmark, Sweden, France and Germany).

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On the occasion of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival the European Audiovisual Observatory releases its first estimates for European cinema attendance in 2010. The Observatory estimates that total admissions in the European Union dropped by 2.0% to around 961 million tickets sold. (more...)

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