25/04/2008

"Cinéma, Dianying Yan, Kino, Chalchitra, Cine": the now traditional Europe Day – which will be held on May 19 as part of the 61st Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) – takes as its motif the word "cinema" written in several European, Asian and Latin American languages.

This choice chimes well with the theme on the agenda for European Union Culture and Audiovisual ministers: "ways to build relations between professionals and promote audiovisual collaborations with other countries or regions in the world."

Invited by Viviane Reding (European Commissioner for Information Society and Media), Gilles Jacob (president of the Cannes Festival) and Thierry Frémaux (delegate general), the ministers will share their thoughts with artists, intellectuals and professionals.

The subject of their discussion will be "the willingness to exchange, based on respect for diversity and the reciprocity of partnerships initiated between professionals and of collaborations developed between European countries and other major film territories."

A series of questions will also be included in the agenda: "How can we increase audiovisual exchanges between EU countries and film markets on other continents, whether established or emerging? How can we take advantage of the new generation of cooperation and trade agreements that the European Union is preparing to sign or negotiate with other countries or regions in the world? What mechanisms could be used to encourage joint initiatives between European exporters and those of third-party countries, between exhibitors and professional film training centres?".

All these issues will be debated during Europe Day, which this year occupies a more central place in the Cannes programming, after being relegated to the end of the 2007 edition of the festival.

(Translated from French)