A: The series can be a drama, documentary, or animation project. The season should have a maximum of 10 episodes and should not exceed 600 minutes (700 minutes for animations with no number of episodes limitation). The series shall be a co-production between an independent production company established in a Contributing Country and at least one other independent production company established either in another Contributing Country or in a Eurimages member state.

A: The applicant must be an independent audiovisual production company established in a Contributing Country at the time of application. A company is considered independent when less than 25% of its capital is held by a single audiovisual media service or less than 50% when several audiovisual media services are involved. It must also be majority-owned by nationals of the Contributing Countries and/or Eurimages member states.

A: For the 2024 call for projects, the expected Contributing Countries are indicated here. Applicants should check the definitive list of contributing countries when the call for projects opens. The list of Eurimages member states is available here.

A1: The co-production contract must specify the percentage share of rights, the respective financial contributions, cost sharing, territory sharing and the recoupment plan. The co-producers must jointly hold all rights to the completed work, including the rights to the finished work, and if the case also rights to produce spinoffs, prequels, sequels, interactive media and novelisations. The production company submitting the application must hold a minimum of 10% of these rights. Co-producers in each co-producing country must hold at least 5% of these rights. If more co-producers are based in the same country, they should collectively hold a minimum of 5% of the rights. Independent co-producers must not sell these rights to third parties for at least 12 months after the first broadcast.       

A2: The applicant company should appear as the initiator of the project, which is an eligibility criterion. As a minimum requirement, the chain of title must confirm the status of the applicant as initiator and be coherent with the coverage of writing costs in the budget. The series must benefit from creative contributions from the co-producing countries. Each co-producer must make an artistic and/or technical contribution to the project. Purely financial co-productions are not eligible. The level of creative cooperation between the co-producers is one of the criteria used to assess the projects.

A: Independent and non-independent companies from third countries (non-contributing countries and non-members of Eurimages) may take part in the co-production provided that their share of the rights is less than 30%.

A: At the time of application, the project must have at least 60% of the total funding confirmed at the time of the application. This funding must include:

                For fiction projects:

a)            in the applicant’s country: a broadcaster (linear audiovisual media service) and/or streaming service (non-linear audiovisual media service) established in that country; in case no broadcaster or streaming services are established in the applicant’s country, a broadcaster or a streamer that specifically targets that country;

b)           in each co-producing country: either public funding (including production incentives), a broadcaster (linear audiovisual media service), a streaming service (non-linear audiovisual media service), equity or a distributor established in that country. Confirmed producer’s own investment, in-kind or deferrals do not count towards meeting the minimum eligible financial contribution required by this rule;

c)            a licensing agreement in at least one other Eurimages member state (for instance, pre-sale, distribution or international sales agency agreement).

- For animation and documentary projects:

a)            a broadcaster or a streamer established in an Eurimages member state attached to the applicant;

b)           in each co-producing country: either public funding (including production incentives), a broadcaster (linear audiovisual media service), a streaming service (non-linear audiovisual media service), equity or a distributor established in that country. Confirmed producer’s own investment, in-kind or deferrals are not considered as financing sources fulfilling the minimum requirement under this paragraph;

c)            a licensing agreement in at least one other Eurimages member state (for instance, pre-sale, distribution or international sales agency agreement).  

In-kind investments and deferrals may be accepted as confirmed sources of funding, but only up to a maximum of 15% of the total confirmed funding.

A: The applicant production company may request financial assistance of €250,000 or €500,000.  The choice is up to the applicant company and must be included in its share of the financing plan as not confirmed.

A: The financial assistance will be paid in the form of a non-refundable grant into a bank account held by the applicant company. However, it may not exceed 25% of the total production cost of the project.

A: Only costs incurred during the implementation period are eligible. The estimated budget attached to the application should clearly indicate which specific costs should be covered by the grant. The grant may only cover production costs, excluding development costs.

A: You can apply via the online application system. Applications may be submitted in either English or French, although some elements must include a compulsory English translation.

A: The application form must be completed online and must be accompanied by a number of supporting documents, including an extract from the trade registry, a project bible, a pilot or sample script, a producer's statement, a production schedule, a list of cast and technical crew, co-production contracts, a budget (development costs must be clearly separated from production costs), a financing plan, proof of confirmed financing, rights’ ownership summarised in a letter from an independent lawyer indicating as well the chain of title, a statement of exclusion criteria (available on the project submission platform) and a declaration of independence (available on the project submission platform). The applicant is also required to provide information on sustainability production practices envisaged or adopted by the co-producers and on the project's engagement with artificial intelligence.

A: 75% of the grant will be paid after the grant agreement has been signed. The balance will be paid after the first delivery to the receiving audiovisual service, on the basis of the actual expenses incurred and after acceptance by the Council of Europe of the final narrative report and final financing plan and production cost report.

A. The grant agreement should be signed at the latest six months after the notification of the support decision.

A: The following documents are required

-              Description of the project ( as Appendix I of the grant agreement)

-              Final financing plan (as Appendix II of the grant agreement)

-              Final budget (summary and breakdown per co-producer, in national currency and €, exchange rate of the application to be applied) with specific indication of costs to be covered by the grant (as Appendix III of the grant agreement)

-              Definitive long form co-production agreement

-              Declaration of all independent co-producers that the rights to the finished work and the rights to produce spinoffs, prequels, sequels, interactive media and novelisation will not be transferred to third parties for a period of at least 12 months after the first broadcast of the project

-              Full chain of title contracts

-              Existing contracts with broadcasters, streamers, distributors and sales agent

-              Financing contracts (public funding, equity investments, evidence of tax incentives granting)

A: An interim narrative report is required six months after the grant agreement is signed. No later than 3 months after the first delivery to the receiving audiovisual service the applicant should provide a final financial report, a secure link to download the supported series (one season) and a final narrative report on the implementation and distribution of the project (including, f.i., additional partners, broadcasting and licensing agreements), a description of how distribution rights articulate (territory exclusivity, release windows) and any available information on further planned distribution.

A: For the purposes of the present call, the implementation period of the series project starts the day of the deadline for submission of applications and ends the day of the 1st delivery to the linear or non-linear audiovisual media service recipient. Only costs incurred during the implementation period are eligible. As regards projects whose principal photography started prior to the date of the deadline for submission of the applications, or prior to the date of signature of the grant agreement, only those costs incurred after the deadline for submission of the applications will be eligible.

A: No. Multiple applications from the same applicant are not accepted. However, an applicant may be a co-producer in other projects submitted by other applicants.

A: Principal photography of the series should start no later than 6 months after the date of the deadline for submission of applications. If it has started prior to the date of the deadline for submission, no more than 80% of total shooting should have taken place before that date in the case of documentary series, and 50% in the case of fiction and animation series.

A: No. The Council of Europe has no editorial line, nor prioritisation of certain topics or themes; it supports freedom of artistic expression and cultural, linguistic and geographical diversity. The selection criteria reflect the quality and originality of the artistic materials, level of creative and technical contribution of the co-producing countries, distribution potential, consistency and level of confirmed financing, diversity and gender balance and measures put in place to reduce the environmental impact of the co-production, and with respect to the general Programme’s aims to increase the geographical and thematic diversity. However, projects of a blatantly pornographic nature or those advocating violence or inciting a violation of human rights are not eligible.

A: One call for applications each year.

A: No. The number of contributing countries may change. Additional countries may join the Programme at any point during its duration. Any changes shall be made publicly available within a reasonable period before announcing future calls for applications.

A: There is no specific requirement as to the duration of audiovisual media services attached to the project exploitation rights.

A: The grant is compatible with EU Creative Europe – Media Development support and TV online content scheme.

A: There is no exact requirement or format for the bible. It goes about 15-25 pages, title, creators, duration of season and episodes, overarching synopsis and eventually synopsis for each episode, presentation and declaration of intentions of the creators, theme, characters, plot map, aesthetics and style. This list is not exhaustive.

A: There is no specific template. The grant is allocated in total to the financing share of the applicant company.

A: Yes, whenever non-independent company (including broadcasters and streaming services) owns a share to the finished work, including rights to produce spinoffs, prequels, sequels, interactive media and novelization they should appear as non-independent co-producers and included as such in the application.

A: The letter by the independent lawyer should summarize with clarity how the rights to the finished work, including rights to produce spinoffs, prequels, sequels, interactive media and novelization and the exploitation rights are shared among the co-producers (independent and non-independent) at national and international level. It should also include the chain of title.

The independent lawyer (individual/firm) should be based in the applicant's country.

A: The full application may be previewed including everything that was filled and what should be in next steps filled by using the preview/download function as depicted in the screenshot.

A. A co-production between independent producers within the same group based in different countries is eligible, provided that also the other eligibility criteria are satisfied, such as, amongst others, that the applicant company must be based in one of the Contributing Countries and be the initiator of the project.

A: If you were a co-producer for any of the projects submitted under previous calls, you can use your existing account (for recovering password use forgot password function). Please follow the instructions provided in the images below :