Since 1984 the Fonds Sud Cinéma programme has promoted film diversity in the world. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Ministry of Culture (Centre National de la Cinématographie - the national centre for cinema) both participate jointly to its budget. This selective aid has helped the production of more than 400 feature-films from Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Near East and Middle East and some Eastern countries since 1997 (see box with the list of countries eligible for funding below).

Funding is exclusively aimed at feature-films (either fiction, animation or documentary films) intended for theatrical release made by nationals from Southern countries and mainly filmed in the eligible geographical zones.

Applications are examined by a commission comprising movie professionals and renewable every 2 years. It gives an opinion on each application according to the artistic quality of the project and its feasibility. In January 2008, Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun replaced the former chair of the Fonds Sud Cinéma commission, French filmmaker Régis Wargnier.

The programme budget is 2,000,000 euros. Average funding per film is 110,000 euros and cannot exceed 152,000 euros. Part of this aid must be earmarked for production costs in eligible countries.

With a will to promote projects with a strong cultural identity intended to be distributed worldwide, Fonds Sud Cinéma has been involved in many films highly acclaimed in the greatest international film festivals.

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