Brussels, 02/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Five EU-funded films are competing in the prestigious 72nd Venice International Film Festival, which started on 2 September and ends 9 September. The films in question are Marguerite, A Bigger Splash, L'Hermine, Krigen (A War) and Taj Mahal. The European Commission has invested at total of around €260,000 through the Creative Europe MEDIA programme to support these films. With the support of the European Commission, the Venice Film Festival will also host the fourth event of the European Film Forum, a platform for promoting dialogue between policymakers and professionals of the film industry.
The participants at the European Film Forum will look at ways of further developing cooperation between the different stakeholders involved in how this cooperation could help the development and prosperity of the European film industry. There will also discuss the challenges and opportunities provided by the digital revolution in the film sector. Other events supported by the Commission will also be on the Venice Festival agenda, such as funding for European projects and arthouse cinema.
Every year, MEDIA supports around 2,000 European film and television projects, including series and other audio-visual works, which are distributed in cinemas, on television and through video-on-demand. Overall, through its MEDIA programme, the Commission will invest more than €100 million in the European cinema and audio-visual industries in 2015.
As part of its Digital Single Strategy, presented on 6 May, the Commission aims to strengthen the European cultural and creative sector further, a powerful driver for growth and job creation. This will include new initiatives to fight piracy, facilitate access to legal online content across the continent and to ensure the promotion of European works. (Isabelle Lamberty)