Two new agreements were signed on Thursday, May 17, between France and Germany, with the aim of encouraging coproductions between the two countries.
Strengthening their commitment to "building a Europe-wide movie industry", French Culture Minister, Catherine Tasca and her German counterpart Julian Nida-Rümelin, both in Cannes for the Film Festival, got together on Thursday, May 17, to sign two agreements designed to encourage coproductions. One is a new coproduction agreement, and the other, a funding agreement establishing selective bilateral aid for films coproduced by the two countries.
The coproduction agreement will replace the accord signed in 1974, while the funding agreement will set up a system of selective bilateral aid for coproduced films, benefiting from recent funds from the "avance sur recettes" scheme (funds derived from taxes on movie tickets), both aimed at developing joint projects.
France and Germany will each contribute around 1.5 million euros annually to the financing of coproductions. Funding requests will be examined by a commission composed of industry professionals from both countries.
These two agreements are the first achievements of the Franco-German Film Academy, which met for the first time in June 2000, under the aegis of French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerard Schroeder.
Other initiatives targeting bilateral cooperation have already been undertaken, such as the organization of a "Masterclass", bringing together the Ludwigsburg Film School and the FEMIS Film School (Paris).
