EUROPEAN COMMISSION - PRESS RELEASE MEDIA and 'Creative Europe' in the spotlight at 65th Cannes Film Festival Brussels, 16 May 2012 - Eighteen films supported by the European Commission's MEDIA programme are in the Cannes Film Festival's 'Official Selection' this year, of which seven are in competition for the Palme d’Or, notably "Amour" by Michael Haneke, "The Angel's Share" by Ken Loach and "Jagten" (The Hunt) by Thomas Vinterberg (full list in annex). During the Festival, Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, will award the first 'Prix MEDIA' to Iranian film-maker Asghar Farhadi and will also discuss the Commission's proposed new 'Creative Europe' programme, which includes MEDIA, with film directors and professionals. The new programme, which focuses on the cultural and creative sectors, has received strong support from EU Culture and Audiovisual Ministers. "I am delighted that, once again, European films are out in force in Cannes. This is the best reward for our efforts and shows that Europe can, by means of targeted investment, bring considerable added value to the audiovisual and culture sectors," said Commissioner Vassiliou. "Our future 'Creative Europe' programme will help the European film industry to meet the challenges of digitisation and globalisation and will continue to safeguard and promote Europe's cultural and linguistic diversity. I am delighted that professional associations in the cinema sector, including renowned directors and actors, have given their support to our future programme." On 20 May, Ms Vassiliou will award the 2012 'Prix MEDIA' for the best European film project to the Iranian film-maker Asghar Farhadi and his French producer Memento Films Production (IP/12/353). The prize includes a grant of € 60 000 for the development of Farhadi's new film, which will be shot in Paris and its suburbs this autumn. In the evening, Commissioner Vassiliou will ascend the famous red carpet and stairs to attend a screening of one of the European films in contention for the Palme d'Or. On 21 May, the Commissioner and the President of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob, will host a public debate on the 'Creative Europe' programme which envisages a significant increase in EU funding for film and culture. Investment in the growth-enhancing culture and creative sectors is considered essential for helping to overcome the current economic crisis because of their economic importance and potential: the sectors currently contribute up to 4.5% of the EU's GDP and employ 8.5 million people in Europe. The European audiovisual market is alone worth more than €100 billion and provides 1.2 million highly qualified jobs in the EU. On 22 May, the Commission will also organise an event with representatives of national and regional film funds from Member States and third countries to discuss new funding tools available to the film industry. Over 20 years, films supported by the MEDIA programme have won 12 Palmes d’Or, 13 Grand Prix et 9 Best Director prizes at the Cannes Festival (see list below). IP/12/484 Background Since 1991, MEDIA (acronym for 'Mesures pour encourager le développement de l´industrie audiovisuelle' – Measures to encourage the development of the audiovisual industry) has invested € 1.6 billion in film development, distribution, training and innovation with the aim of enhancing the diversity and international competitiveness of European film and the audiovisual industry. Under the MEDIA programme 2007-2013, € 755 million is being invested in European film in order to enhance the distribution and promotion of European films and the competitiveness of the sector. Around half of the funding is allocated to distributors who show films made outside of their own national market; 20% is for the development of new film projects, and the remainder is earmarked for promotion and training. Production companies selected for funding receive subsidies of, on average, € 50 000. The Commission has proposed a budget of €1.8 billion for 'Creative Europe', of which more than € 900 million will be allocated to the MEDIA 'strand' (IP/11/1399). More information: The MEDIA programme: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/media/index_en.htm The Cannes International Film Festival: http://www.festival-cannes.fr Creative Europe video Site web de Mme Androulla Vassiliou Twitter: @VassiliouEU Contacts : Dennis Abbott (+32 4 989 592 58) Dina Avraam (+32 2 295 96 67) Le Rendez-vous Européen au Festival de Cannes: Pierre Laporte / Laurent Jourdren +33 (0)1.45.23.14.14 /+336 42 82 15 33 /+336 21 04 45 79 [email protected]; [email protected] 2 Annex I: MEDIA films at the Cannes Film Festival 2012 IN COMPETITION AMOUR (LOVE), Michael Haneke (France, Austria, Germany) THE ANGELS’ SHARE, Ken Loach (UK, France) DE ROUILLE ET D’OS (RUST & BONE), Jacques Audiard (Belgium, France) HOLY MOTORS, Léos Carax (France, Austria, Germany) JAGTEN (THE HUNT), Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark) PARADIES: LIEBE (PARADISE: LOVE), Ulrich Seidl (Germany, France, Austria) V TUMANE (IN THE FOG), S. Loznitsa (Germany, Netherlands, Belarus, Russia, Latvia) 'UN CERTAIN REGARD' 7 DÍAS EN LA HABANA (7 Days in Havana), Benicio Del Toro, Pablo Trapero, Julio Medem, Elia Suleiman, Juan Carlos Tabío, Gaspar Noé, Laurent Cantet (USA, Spain, Argentina, Palestine, Cuba, France) À PERDRE LA RAISON, Joachim Lafosse (Belgium, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg) CONFESSION OF A CHILD OF THE CENTURY, Sylvie Verheyde (France) DJECA (CHILDREN), Aida Begic (Bosnia-Herzegovina, France) ELEFANTE BLANCO (WHITE ELEPHANT), Pablo Trapero (Argentina, Spain) Special Screening DER MÜLL IM GARTEN EDEN (POLLUTING PARADISE), Fatih Akin (Germany) 3 THE DIRECTORS' FORTNIGHT ERNEST ET CÉLESTINE, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner (France, Belgium, Luxembourg) SUEÑO Y SILENCIO (DREAM AND SILENCE), Jaime Rosales (Spain) YEKKHANEVADEH-e-MOHTARAM (A RESPECTABLE FAMILY), Massoud Bakhshi (Iran, France) CRITICS' WEEK Special Screenings AUGUSTINE, Alice Winocour (France) J'ENRAGE DE SON ABSENCE (MADDENED BY HIS ABSENCE), Sandrine Bonnaire (France, Luxembourg, Belgium) 4 Annex II: Prize-winning MEDIA films at Cannes since 1991 Palme d'Or winners 1992 Den goda viljan (The Best Intentions) Bille August, Denmark 1996 Secrets & Lies Mike Leigh UK 1998 Mia eoniotita ke mia mera (Eternity and a Day) Theo Angelopoulos, Greece 1999 Rosetta Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium 2000 Dancer in the Dark Lars von Trier, Denmark 2001 La stanza del figlio (The Son's Room) Nanni Moretti, Italy 2002 The Pianist Roman Polanski, FR/DE/PL/UK 2005 L'Enfant (The Child) Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium 2006 The Wind That Shakes the Barley Ken Loach, UK 2007 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) Cristian Mungiu, Romania 2008 Entre les murs (The Class) Laurent Cantet, France 2009 Das weiße Band (The White Ribbon) Michael Haneke, Austria Grand Prix winners 1991 La Belle Noiseuse Jacques Rivette France 1992 Il Ladro di bambini (The Stolen Children) Gianni Amelio Italy 1993 In weiter Ferne, so nah! (Faraway, So Close) Wim Wenders Germany 1995 To Vlemma tou Odyssea (Ulysses' Gaze) Theo Angelopoulos, Greece 1996 Breaking the Waves Lars von Trier, Denmark 1998 La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful) Roberto Benigni, Italy 1999 L'humanité (Humanity) Bruno Dumont, France 2001 La Pianiste (The Piano Teacher) Michael Haneke, Austria 2002 Mies vailla menneisyyttä (The Man Without a Past) Aki Kaurismäki, Finland 2006 Flandres (Flanders) Bruno Dumont, France 2008 Gomorra Matteo Garrone, Italy 2009 Un prophète Jacques Audiard, France 2010 Des hommes et des dieux (Of Gods and Men) Xavier Beauvois, France 2011 Le gamin au vélo (The boy with the bike) Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium Best Director winners 1993 Naked Mike Leigh, UK 1994 Caro diario (Dear Diary) Nanni Moretti, Italy 1995 La Haine Mathieu Kassovitz, France 1998 The General John Boorman, UK/IE 1999 Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother) Pedro Almodóvar, Spain 2004 Exils Tony Gatlif, France 2005 Caché (Hidden) Michael Haneke, Austria 2007 Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) Julian Schnabel, France 2010 Tournée (On Tour) Mathieu Amalric, France 5 .