Film Funding Conference in Montenegro Announced

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Mon, 05/18/2015 - 11:34 -- Nick Dager

The European Audiovisual Observatory and Montenegro’s Agency for Electronic Media have announced that they will organize a joint conference – Film Funding Schemes – A European Overview – on Thursday June 11 in Podgorica. The conference will take place from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the Hotel Podgorica, Ul. Svetlane Kane Radević 1, Podgorica. Montenegro holds the 2015 Presidency of the Observatory, which is part of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

The conference is open to all Montenegrin media professionals, journalists, and academics. The full program can be found here and the registration form can be downloaded here. The Observatory will set the scene with a presentation of current trends in public film funding in Europe and perspectives on its economic impact. The legal basis for actually financing a film fund will also be examined by the Observatory. Focusing on the national context of Montenegro, the legal framework for cinematography and the expectations and challenges for Montenegrin broadcasters will then be presented.

A panel discussion will allow other European countries to share their experiences of film funding. A range of countries including Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will explain how they got to grips with finding resources to start their film funds, establishing funding criteria and conditions, not to mention possible repayment conditions. The panel will also look at the effects of their respective funds on promoting co-productions with other countries.

Representing the Montenegrin presidency, Jadranka Vojvodić, deputy director of the Agency for Electronic Media said, “this conference could not come at a better time”. She added, “Montenegro is in the process of setting up its own film fund and we believe in the potential of our country as a production location and coproduction partner. So the time is ripe for us to be sharing best practices with other countries.”

Executive director of the Observatory, Susanne Nikoltchev said, “Sharing European experiences between the Observatory member states is one of the most positive results of our work.” She said she hoped that the planned conference would “provide the European context” for the creation of a film fund in Montenegro.

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