The main objectives are to raise the profile of Europe's diverse culture on the world stage and to increase the competitiveness of our audiovisual industry. MEDIA 2007 will ease the European film industry's access to finance, and this will help small firms in particular. It will also support greater use of digital technologies through training professionals, modernising cinemas and developing distribution channels.
The new programme concentrates on the pre- and post-production phases of filmmaking, but does not directly fund the production process itself. The budget is spread across five key areas: distribution (55%), development (20%), promotion (9%), training (7%), horizontal actions and pilot projects (9%).
The MEDIA programme has been in action since 1991 and has supported thousands of European films across the continent. Examples include: L’Auberge espagnole, Goodbye Lenin, Le Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain, March of the Penguins, The Pianist, Das Leben der Anderen and Volver.
On 1 January 2007, Romania became the 31st member of the MEDIA programme (EU27 + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland).
Did you know that the MEDIA programme:
- supports 300 new European film projects every year?
- supports half the European films you watch at the cinema?
- funds more than 100 film festivals across Europe every year?
- supports the distribution of 9 out of every 10 feature films in Europe that are distributed outside their country of origin?
Every MEDIA euro is matched by about €6 from private investment in the industry.
If you are interested in the funding opportunities please contact a national or regional MEDIA desk.
More information on MEDIA
See also: MEDIA factsheet
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