Study: Joint European films ‘most successful’

European co-productions are released in more EU countries and fare better at the box office than their entirely national counterparts, revealed a study published by the European Audiovisual Observatory (EAO) on 11 September.

“European co-productions travel better than their 100% national counterparts,” the study found, which was presented at a Council of Europe forum on film policy in Kraków last week (11-13 September). 

Indeed, “on average, co-productions get released in more than twice as many markets as national films,” with 77% shown in at least one non-national market compared to 33% for entirely national films”. 

Revenues are also higher for multinational films, with European co-productions attracting an average of 2.7 times as many viewers as their national counterparts. Similarly, co-productions are seen by more people outside of the countries concerned, as “non-national admissions account for 41% of total admissions to co-productions compared to 15% for entirely national films”.

Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding gave a boost to the EU industry by unveiling the MEDIA 2007 programme last year, making over €750m available to filmakers over a seven-year period (EURACTIV 12/02/07). Meanwhile, the EU executive’s Media Mundus scheme will invest €60m from 2011 to help increase the share of European movies in the global market (EURACTIV 11/06/08). 

The study cites the larger budgets and higher production values, better access to international broadcasters and distributors and wider cross-border appeal of European co-productions among the reasons for their success. It particularly stresses that having a well-balanced cast between local and international actors is instrumental in securing success outside the countries concerned. 

Examples of recent cross-border successes highlighted by the EAO include Perfume – The Story of a Murder, Der Untergang (Downfall), The Pianist, The Queen and Elisabeth – the Golden Age, all of which involved production teams from more than one EU country. 

Meanwhile, three films are competing for the ‘LUX ’08’ prize for European cinema, worth €87,000. Awarded by the European Parliament, the prize aims “to facilitate the circulation of European films and give a boost to cinematic work within the EU”. 

Nominated films must “illustrate the universality of European values and/or the diversity of European culture,” or give “insight into the debate on the process of building Europe”. Chosen by an independent panel of cinema professionals, the winning film will be subtitled in all 23 official languages of the EU. 

This year’s finalists are Delta by Kornél Mundruczó (Germany, Hungary), Le silence de Lorna by Jean- Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Belgium, UK, France and Italy) and Obcan Havel by Miroslav Janek and Pavel Koutecký (Czech Republic). 

The winner will be announced on 22 October. 

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