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Third Workshop Report — 17 to 19 September, 2013 — Château de Limelette (Belgium)
Module 8 – Relations with higher authorities and producers
1. Relations with the political levels
Politicians expect funding bodies to be successful—that is, for funded films to gain high visibility at all levels, and for the money spent to have equally visible effects on the economy as on employment. How have political pressures been experienced in times of economic downturn and budgetary constraints?
How do public funds establish and maintain good communication with the politicians in charge and their respective administrations?
Note: This issue was not discussed among the participants
2. Relations with the producers
Relationships with producers (applicants) before, during and after the application process are of significant importance, since funding decisions can have a massive impact on the production companies, their collaborators and their employees. If negative, funding decisions can provoke frustration, anger and aggression.
Outcome of group discussions
- Can funds interfere and propose changes in projects?
- Where is the dividing line between “good communication” and “manipulation” or direct influence?
- How do funds maintain communication with sales and distribution?
Regarding the evaluation of their projects
Austrian Film Institute:
- It sometimes happens that no fund wants to be the first one to support a project, which blocks producers. Producers also apply to multiple funds, and they have to convince various financiers - broadcasters, national, regional funds, etc. These seek more transparency, credibility, reliability and continuity, so that their incomes can be more predictable.
- In Austria, we try to achieve a balanced number of different types of films (documentaries, features, children’s films, etc), and we evaluate this every year and during every decision-making session. The selection committee of the Austrian Film Institute decides which projects are going to be selected. But the CEO alone determines the amounts, so he can always adjust them. I give even more money when I really like a project. But our policy in general is to give producers the amount they ask for. Only if there is a really obvious mistake in their calculation do we give them less than they ask for. But we never give less money just because we want to give money to more projects; that creates budget gaps and frustrates producers.
Swiss Federal Office of Culture:
- We do not control producers. We respect their professionalism. The experts are not allowed to give them less money than the amount they ask for. But if the experts find out that a budget is too high, then they simply reject the project. Producers can re-apply to prove why they need the amounts they are asking for.
- It sometimes happens that a project has a budget of 3 million at the moment of financing, and that in the end the budget turns out to be only 2 million or less. If a producer cannot explain why this has happened, we take the difference back from them. That is why we need an expert in the matter: someone to take a close look at the budget beforehand, so as to avoid this problem.
- We also want to know how a production company stands, how many projects it is really running and how big those projects are.
German Federal Film Board /FFA:
- By the end of the session, we very often realize that we have 15 selected projects and not enough money left. Then we have the choice between either selecting 7-10 out of 15 projects, or giving smaller amounts of money to all 15 projects.
Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein GmbH:
- We have a very good expert in our fund—someone who has been working on contracts for 33 years. She examines budgets most carefully. Producers sometimes calculate too much money, and we decide to simply give them 20% less. We call on a producer, and submit an offer that they are not obliged to accept. In addition, sometimes we also decide to support more projects, slightly cutting down our support to each. However, we try to minimize this practice.
Producers sitting on the committees
- Cineforom: We change producers after every session. There are 2 out of 7 on the committee, and they never know which of them will be sitting in on the next session.
- Norwegian Film Institute: We have one selection committee for the market support program, and we always invite four producers to carry it out. It is also a way of sharing knowledge in business. Although it is a confidential task, people learn about each other and about each other’s projects.
What about the delay for starting production
- Austrian Film Institute: Production must start within 9 months after the amount is allocated, but this can be extended to 15 months maximum. Producers have three years to fulfill the financing plan.
- Norwegian Film Institute: In Norway, it is 6 months. If they need 9 months, this is also possible, but afterwards we take our money back. We invest a lot of money in a single project, a big percentage, so we cannot keep our money blocked for too long. We need to exert some pressure on producers to render them more active and efficient.
- Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein GmbH: We say 6 months in the beginning, but if you can provide credible evidence that you need more time, this can be extended to 12 months. It depends on how complicated a project is.
- Croatian Audiovisual Center: Everything depends on other sources of financing and the situation in an individual country. Sometimes the only other sources are sponsorships, co-productions with TV and international co-productions, all of which take quite a lot of time. The competent Ministry in Croatia earmarks the money for 6 years.
- Centre du Cinema/Brussels Wallonia Federation: We allow 3 years, and the reason for that is that our program is designed mostly for first-time majority co-productions. You need time to get a co-producer, and sometimes you need to have financing in place to go to on to other schemes.
- Cine-Regio: Here too, it depends on the stage of financing. Some funds ask that a certain percent already be secured, so that completion of the financing can take less time.
Impact of Digital in Film Business and Production
- Introduction — The Perfect Storm/The Workshop Method — PEST analysis
- Module 1 — Should we support less films for an overcrowded market, or focus on ensuring that the films we select find audiences on new platforms?
- Module 2 — How does the dramatic increase in audience data and a demand-driven economy affect our decision-making processes?
- Module 3 — How far do we need to adapt to new business models, and how far can we seek to protect traditional industrial structures?
- Module 4 — Conclusions
Decision Making Processes
- Module 5 — Goals and selection processes/methods
- Module 6 — Selection criteria
- Module 7 — Profiles of experts, consultants, selection committee members
- Module 8 — Relations with higher authorities and producers
Illustrations by Jean-Philippe Legrand – called "Aster"
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