24/03/2010

While distribution was a much-discussed topic, the annual report was also an opportunity for reviewing the activities of the Film Selection Committee, and the overall backing provided by the Belgian French Community for audiovisual production.

In 2009, just over €23m was invested in the audiovisual sector by the Belgian French Community. A sum of €9.835m was earmarked for financing the Film Selection Committee (CSF), while €9.935m was invested in production by television editors and distributors. The Committee granted funding to 27 features during its 2009 sessions (including 18 majority features).

The year 2009 also saw the creation of a joint committee of the French Community Film Centre and the Vlaams Audiovisual Fund, with the aim of backing three co-productions every year, with up to €150,000 per film. A similar system will be introduced for documentaries.

But 2009 also marked the end of the third committee system, whose budget was reserved for fourth and fifth films, with a much higher amount allocated per project. In fact, these two changes heralded an overhaul of the Committee.

This overhaul will be supervised by current President, Dan Cukier, who will be replaced in January 2011 by Joëlle Levie (SODEC, ING Tax Shelter). As of April, the CSF will be split into three divisions: short film, documentary, and feature film. Each division will be independently run, under the aegis of the CSF President (also president of the feature film division).

This separation of different genres will make it easier to take into account the specificities of each format, and ensure there is a balance in investment. Moreover, a major study on documentaries was carried out in 2009, culminating in the organisation of a round table. This gave rise to numerous recommendations which are expected to be applied in the coming months.

In 2010, the Film Centre will launch a new study on short films, a genre that appears to have come to a standstill in recent months.

(Translated from French)