France gains €17MN from EU MEDIA Programme

Pascale Paoli-Lebailly | 14-01-2013

Last year, €77.5 million was distributed by the MEDIA Programme to help EU film and audiovisual industries, a 4.5% rise compared to 2011, with around €17 million (20.7%) going to French organisations, according to Media Desk France.

The global breakdown shows that MEDIA poured €8.7 million into 66 European training projects, including ten from France for a total €1 million budget.

Funding to independent productions represented €34 million in 2012, out of which €9 million went to French producers, who benefited from 26% of the Euro aid.

MEDIA also contributed €22.2 million to development and gave €4.2 million to French production companies to help them set on track 36 projects (dramas, documentaries, animations, and interactive productions) and 16 catalogues of six projects.

European production companies also received an additional €10 million to produce 62 programmes dedicated to Euro channels. French organisations were given €4.2 million (40% of the funding) for 22 shows.

MEDIA also distributed cash for the promotion (€11.2 million) and distribution (€12.3 million) of European productions.

New technologies weren't forgotten either, as funding reached €11.3 million in 2012. French operators were subsidized with €2.8 million to launch the VOD platforms UniversCinι, Medici.tv and FilmoTV, the digital movie distribution project European Digital Cinema Library, two pilot projects, and to help with the digitalisation of nine movie theatres.