Europe has an undisputed long cultural history in all forms of art and filmmaking. European filmography is not as known as Hollywood. Still, it has steadily produced high-quality works of art through the years, largely unconventional and uncensored.
The US and EU cinema have significant differences between them. On the one hand, American cinema is primarily profit-driven, following the blockbuster formula of big studios. At the same time, the latter usually comes from small independent directors with state or European funding for culture, often leaving more room for artistic expression.
If you are also looking for EU funding opportunities for your audiovisual projects, you should keep an eye on the open calls published by the Creative Europe programme under the MEDIA strand.
The beginning of the European film industry
Nobody has ever claimed to have invented cinema. However, the first successful prototype of moving pictures called Kinetoscope appeared in 1891 in the US. Since then, the rest became history. It was not long after in 1895 that the Lumière brothers projected moving pictures to a paying audience in Paris with a device of their design.
This viewing in Paris was the first step of cinematography in Europe that helped it spread like fire to the rest of Europe. By 1914, many national film industries had sprung up around Europe, growing the film audience and the input of innovations to the film industry.
What is the Creative Europe programme?
Today, the cultural and creative sectors are those affected the most by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With a budget of € 2.44 billion, the Creative Europe programme 2021-2027 invests in actions that enhance cultural diversity and respond to the needs of the cultural and creative sector.
The primary objectives of Creative Europe are:
- to preserve, develop and promote the diversity in European languages and heritage
- to enhance the competitiveness and economic potential of cultural and creative sectors, particularly the audiovisual sector
Open calls from the Creative Europe programme contribute to recovering these sectors to help them become more inclusive, more digital, and more sustainable. To make all these happen, Creative Europe is divided into three strands:
- The CULTURE strand: Initiatives to promote and enhance artistic and cultural cooperation at the EU level
- The MEDIA strand: Actions that encourage competitiveness, innovation and sustainability of the audiovisual sector in Europe
- The CROSS-SECTORAL strand: Initiatives to promote innovative actions and collaborations across the audiovisual and cultural sectors
The Creative Europe MEDIA strand
The Creative Europe programme's MEDIA strand assists European cinema and audiovisual businesses in developing, distributing, and promoting European works in today's digital context. Moreover, it stimulates collaboration across the audiovisual industry's value chain and at the EU level to scale up enterprises and European content globally. Additionally, it nurtures talents – wherever they come from - and engages consumers of all ages, particularly the younger generations.
The aims of the Creative Europe 2021-2027 programme are built around four clusters to enable greater flexibility in the actions funded and stimulate interaction among the various sections of the audiovisual value chain.
The clusters that the Creative Europe MEDIA strand is built around are:
- Content
- Business
- Audience
- Policy support and awareness-raising
Find out more about the Creative Europe MEDIA strand on the official website.
5 Creative Europe Open Calls from the Creative Europe MEDIA strand
Title: TV and online content
Programme: CREA-MEDIA-2022-TVONLINE
Budget: € 22,000,000
Description:
Deadline: 05/04/2022
Title: European Film Distribution
Programme: CREA-MEDIA-2022-FILMDIST
Budget: € 33,000,000
Description: The objective of the support to TV and online content is to increase the capacity of audiovisual producers to develop and produce strong projects with significant potential to circulate throughout Europe and beyond, and to facilitate European and international co-productions within the television and online sector.
The action aims to strengthen the independence of producers in relation to broadcasters and digital platforms, to enhance collaboration between operators, including independent producers, broadcasters, digital platforms and sales agents, from different countries participating in the MEDIA Strand, in order to produce high quality programming aimed at wide international distribution and promoted to a wide audience including commercial exploitation in the multi-platform environment. Particular attention will be given to projects presenting innovative aspects in the content and in the financing that show a clear link with the envisaged distribution strategies.
Deadline: 05/04/2022
Title: Video games and immersive content development
Programme: CREA-MEDIA-2022-DEVVGIM
Budget: € 6,000,000
Description: The objective of the support to Video games and immersive content development is to increase the capacity of European video game producers, XR studios and audiovisual production companies to develop video games and interactive immersive experiences with the potential to reach global audiences. The support also aims to improve the competiveness of the European video games industry and other companies producing interactive immersive content in European and international markets by enabling the retention of intellectual property by European developers.
Deadline: 12/04/2022
Title: European slate development
Programme: CREA-MEDIA-2022-DEVSLATE
Budget: € 18,000,000
Description: The objective of the European slate development support is to foster the competitiveness of European independent production companies and to increase their economic weight on the market. The aim is also to increase the capacity of audiovisual producers to develop projects with the potential to circulate throughout Europe and beyond, and to facilitate European and international coproduction.
The support will also provide an entry point for emerging talent, giving them the opportunity to direct a short film supported by the strong foundation provided by experienced companies.
Deadline: 27/04/2022
Title: Fostering European Media Talents and Skills
Programme: CREA-MEDIA-2022-TRAINING
Budget: € 22,366,966
Description: The objective of the Skills and Talent Development support is to foster talents and skills of the audiovisual sector professionals. Strengthen the capacity of audiovisual professionals to adapt to new creative processes and new business models with a view to maximize and fully exploit the opportunities of digital innovation across the value chain.
Initiatives will aim at reinforcing the capacity to fully exploit the creative and commercial potential of the digital transition in all formats and for all platforms. Particular focus will be put on the acquisition of entrepreneurial skills, and awareness on market and digital technologies developments, data analytics, sustainable business models, internationalization, marketing, promotion, audience development, restoration of film heritage, greening of the industry, including training of green consultants to increase the know-how in the sector
Deadline: 04/05/2022
To find all open calls for EU funding from Creative Europe or any other European Programme, register for free to the EUcalls platform. Being a member, you can find all open calls for European funding and a community of thousands of experienced EU project partners to collaborate with.
