Daniel Toscan du Plantier’s desire to strengthen relations between France and Germany is coming to fruition: an association of Franco-German movie professionals is expected to be launched in June this year.
The ground plan for the Franco-German association was presented at the Unifrance stand at Cannes Wednesday, in the presence of Brigitte Sauzay, advisor to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, and Isabelle Huppert, French movie representative, as well as numerous representatives from German organizations. The project represents one step further in the development of a strong European movie industry, after the setting up of the Franco-German Film Academy.
The association intends to tackle a series of all-important issues such as the battle against piracy, the role of public and semi-public institutions in film financing, the taxation system, the responsibilities of television channels and the harmonization of aid schemes for production, distribution and development.
Association members plan to hold an annual meeting in order to support their wish for a better circulation of films, an increase in the number of Franco-German co-productions and to deal with urgent problems together. The first of these meetings has already been scheduled for October this year, at the opening of the Beaune Film Forum in France. Thanks to this revitalization of bilateral cooperation, France and Germany will be able to consider tackling difficult markets such as China.
In association with the magazine Le Film français
