Cinema

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has made cinema one of the focal points of its cultural policy.

• The Fonds Sud Cinéma
  Since it was established in 1984, the Fonds Sud Cinéma, funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Centre National de la Cinématographie (National Centre for Cinematography), has helped more than 400 theatrical feature films. This fund concerns directors from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the Near East, Asia (with the exception of Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan) and certain Eastern countries (Albania, countries of the former Yugoslavia and former Soviet Republics of Central Asia).
  The average aid granted is €110,000(for a maximum of €152,000). A portion of the grant (25-50%) must be earmarked for production costs in the eligible countries, and the other portion is intended for production or post-production work carried out in France.
  updated: 1/05/10

• The Fonds Images Afrique
  Created in January 2004 in the framework of the Plan Image Afrique, this fund supports motion picture and television production (all genres combined) in the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
  This aid for production or post-production, which may be spent on site, is awarded to the African producer by a committee composed of professionals in the audiovisual sector from the North and South.

• Assistance for underdistributed cinematography
  Funded since 1983 by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the CNC, the “Fonds d’Aide aux Cinématographies Peu Diffusées” (Assistance Fund for Underdistributed Cinematography) is intended to support the distribution in theatres in France of films from countries eligible for the Fonds Sud. It gives financial aid to the French distributor to acquire theatrical distribution rights and release costs. The films supported by the Fonds Sud automatically have access to this assistance, the amount of which varies according to the release plan proposed by the distributor.

• Assistance for festivals
  The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs partners festivals that contribute to the distribution of films from the South in France (Festival International du Film d’Amiens, Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, Cannes International Film Festival, CITA festival in Biarritz, etc) and in Africa (FESPACO in Burkina Faso, Ecrans Noirs in Cameroon, Image et Vie in Senegal, Dockanema in Mozambique, and the Real Life Documentary in Ghana).

• Assistance for training
  Each year, many training actions aimed at foreign students and professionals are organized in France or abroad, in collaboration with La Fémis (international competition, summer school), the Louis Lumière school and the Varan workshops.
  In addition, in the framework of the Plan Images Afrique, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs supports the Institut Supérieur de l’Image et du Son (ISIS) and the Centre de Formation Professionnelle Imagine de Gaston Kaboré, both based in Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. It also supports the organization of writing (see box) and digital production and post-production technique training programmes.

• Assistance for distributing African films in Sub-Saharan Africa
  Following the evaluation of the Africa Cinémas programme, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF, International Organization for the French-Speaking World) have defined new directions for supporting the producers, distributors and cinema owners of Sub-Saharan Africa in order to increase the programming of African films in African cinemas.
  In light of these new directions for assistance for distributing films in Sub-Saharan Africa:
  • Live support for distribution and operation projects on a national basis;
  • Supporting these operators in increasing their offering of African films;
  • Supporting and monitoring projects locally with the help of cooperation networks in the areas of training, expertise and advising.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie are setting up the following types of support:

• • Support for distribution equipment intended for production companies;
  • Scheduling support for cinema owners/distributors offering a selection of African films;
  • Support for strengthening professional skills in the sectors of film distribution and operation aimed at African professionals.

^{Updated on 01.05.10}