The potential of cinema to convey information about Europe and its creativity has been recognised by a large number of EU delegations in third countries. Today, more than 90 out of the 139 EU delegations around the world organise EU film festivals, as this is one of the most effective tools in reaching out and making Europe, its values and its stories known.

In November 2018, the European Commission began a project to support the creation and enhance the quality of European film festivals organised by the delegations of the European Union. The project is managed by a consortium formed by the Goethe-Institut (lead), the Institut français and Cineuropa, the portal for the promotion of European cinema. The initiative offers delegations a variety of services to help them put on European film festivals. They are as follows:

1. Film repository. The consortium created a repository of feature and short films and secured their worldwide, non-commercial rights. The team produces and distributes DCPs and Blu-rays to the delegations.
   Films currently in the repository:
   
   1. Any Day Now
   2. Dating Amber
   3. Dodo
   4. Easy Living
   5. Even Mice Belong in Heaven
   6. Extracurricular
   7. Gentle
   8. Gods of Molenbeek
   9. Imad's Childhood
   10. Io Sto Bene
   11. Kratt
   12. Lola
   13. Luxembourg, Luxembourg
   14. Luzzu
   15. Mikado
   16. Miss Viborg
   17. Mitra
   18. Murina
   19. My Grandfather's Demons
   20. My Love Affair With Marriage
   21. Never Gonna Snow Again
   22. Oskar & Lili
   23. Our Struggles
   24. Pause
   25. Ramona
   26. Runner
   27. Sanremo
   28. Shadow Country
   29. Schoolgirls
   30. Servants
   31. Sisters Apart
   32. The Big Hit
   33. The Naked Truth About Zhiguli Band
2. Subtitles. The films are subtitled in a wide range of languages. The consortium also provides additional tools, such as dialogue lists and time codes, to allow EU delegations to independently implement the subtitling in local languages;
3. Side events. The initiative provides technical and financial assistance for the organisation of "side events", such as invitations for film crews (filmmakers, producers and actors) to take part in Q&A sessions, workshops and master classes, networking meetings between European and local professionals, co-production meetings, film education activities involving schools and teachers, co-operative actions with local film schools and universities, pitching training sessions and audience awards;
4. Support for delegations. Several delegations have received additional and direct support from the consortium when organising a European film festival, through the hiring of curators, the researching of local sponsorship and partnerships, and the renting of theatres and other relevant facilities;
5. Common visual identity. The consortium has developed a common visual and graphic identity. The graphic identity is a tool to help delegations to create catalogues and other promotional material;
6. Training. The consortium offers several online and offline training sessions for delegation officials on the subject of film-festival management;
7. Do-it-yourself guide. The consortium has produced a do-it-yourself guide to support the organisation of festivals.

For more information, please contact:

• VALERIO CARUSO
  Team leader, Cineuropa
  caruso@cineuropa.org
• EMMA VIGAND
  Project assistant, Cineuropa
  vigand@cineuropa.org

In the context of this project, Cineuropa has made several videos addressing festival organisers. These videos are interviews with festival managers and specialists from around the world. They explain how to run and promote a film festival, and offer practical tips and advice.