Reports Previous Workshops
Ninth Workshop – 25 to 27 September 2019 in Potsdam, Berlin
Module 5: Sustainability: Surviving the 21st Century
Introduction
Never have we produced nor consumed as much audiovisual content as today. The industry is growing by the minute. New technologies, the opening of borders, and new distribution windows have made audiovisual storytelling a very attractive profession. Public funds are unable to keep track of the increased number of producers and studios.
The public film funds are limited to giving money to projects not to producers to develop professionally. Some funds are not allowed to do that due to political reasons. Some have partners who do this job for them. Many funds established professional training programs (mainly for producers), but it still does not seem enough. Furthermore, there is a lack of what is being taught in film schools in regard to the actions that the current market demands (i.e. in regard to international co-productions, how to deal with platforms, digitisation of production processes).
The questions are:
- How do funds deal with this complexity?
- Are there any strategies in place?
- What measures are valuable and really needed according to the funds’ experience?
- Are the film funds the ones who should fill this educational gap?
During Module 5, MEDICI participants discussed and exchanged their own experiences in regard to the professional training and other initiatives intended for sustaining the film industries in the fast-changing world. What follows is an overview of the participants’ discussions.
The outcomes of the panel discussion
- Federal Office of Culture: In Switzerland, the Ministry is in charge of training programmes while our institution is not in the position to receive the funding for professional development of film workers. We still manage somehow to organise some training programmes when we sell them as “networking events”. However, it is obvious that producers need more consultancy and other forms of help, not just funding for their film. Luckily enough, in Switzerland we have FOCAL that deals extensively with all forms of professional training in the audiovisual sector. Also, I believe that public TV should be involved in the training initiatives. They have their own education for TV commissioning editors and do not mingle with the film professionals, which is a pity.
- SODEC: We normally fund screenwriting, production and distribution. However, this year we could finally give some money to the producers and different associations to help themselves grow professionally by paying for special consultants, audience designers and marketing experts whenever needed. Still, such initiatives are difficult to implement according to the existing rigid rules. We need more flexible regulations because the things are changing too fast. In the meantime, we can only find a way to have a generous interpretation of very strict rules and thus squeeze in some training events.
- Telefilm Canada: The only thing we do is assigning the company score to every company based on their track-record. The companies with the highest score become “fast-track companies” and get a preferential treatment when it comes to funding. For example, we have the system that enables the first-time directors of futures-films to receive the funding much faster for their next film if their debut or short films do well at festivals.
- ICA – Portuguese Film Institute: New talents in Portugal needed our help regarding international co-productions and networking. Since we have the co-production treaty with Germany in place, we organised a meeting between Portuguese and German producers in Munich where they networked and presented their projects to each other. The same will happen soon with the Spanish producers. We also try to send our producers to as many festivals with networking sections as possible in order to internationalize them. Some of them, for example, have been in Locarno this year and pitched their projects to other international producers.
Producers do not have a lot of experience with IP rights, so when they engage in co-productions, they do not really know how to define things in the co-production contracts and protect themselves. They need much more legal advice. Therefore, funds should start organising conferences and workshops in this area.
- FFA: Funds need to encourage producers to obtain more entrepreneurial skills. We also need to clarify or redefine the notion of “independence” and “independent producer”. What does it actually mean? Be independent form broadcasters, platforms, from whom? What criteria determine independence?
- Swedish Film Institute: In Sweden, we lack producers. A lot of line-producer are becoming producers and for that reason and they need training. Last year, we launched a support scheme within which two organisations could apply together for funding, and we received a lot of applications from early-career producers. This year, we have decided to launch it as a scheme for emerging producers.
- Lithuanian Film Centre: Before you initiate any training development and sustainability support schemes, you need first to study your industry very well and learn about their needs. This is particularly important in small countries where it is very difficult to create any big platform for professional development due to tiny industries and markets.
- Austrian Film Institute: Producers graduate from film school without sufficient knowledge about the market and the industry. Thus, the funds need to help them gain necessary knowledge before they engage in complex productions. We organise some co-production platforms for young producers. It is not only about giving them money, it is also about transferring to them some new knowledge. Emerging producers should be familiarised better with, for example, the commitments and obligations they need to follow if they receive development and production funding. However, the problem does not stop here. Experienced producers also need constant development and further education, which is even more challenging for film funds.
- VAF: We finance personal, tailor-made coaching for early-career producers. We actually pay for a number of coaching hours that the selected producers can use for what they need. Sometimes those coaches stay longer in the project, to give feedback and help more continuously. Sometimes they only work very intensely for a couple of days.
- nordmedia: We have different programs for young producers who want to get to the market. For example, there is a support scheme for groups of up to five people from different areas of the audiovisual industry who decide to develop a project together. We provide them with coaches and different development experts from creative industries, and expect them to provide some results within nine months. However, we do not see many new formats developing out of this, even though that was the main objective.
- SODEC: The training programs should support early-careers producers. However, these programs should not be linked to the age, but to the level of experience only. Also, film professionals need consultancy during all phases of film value chain, from development to distribution. For example, producers need to be coached about how to fill in the budgets and different forms, scriptwriters need script-doctoring, etc.
The public film funds’ experiences with new players and forms of content, their impact on funding schemes and their responsibility towards the industry in the 21st century
- Module 1 – Platform Economy
- Module 2.1 – New Formats
- Module 2.2 – Group Exercise: Format Development
- Module 4.1 – Digitisation From Application to Distribution
- Module 4.2 – Blockchain as a part of the workflow
- Module 4.3 – Group exercise: block chain as part of new funding schemes. Supporting new formats and platform distribution
- Module 5 – Sustainability: Surviving the 21st Century
- Module 6 – Free Flow: What Do You Think?