23/06/2003

The two-day conference organised by European Film Festival Coordination in Brussels on 19 and 20 June was a success with over 100 participants. The event also saw the launche of numerous initiatives launched to strengthen the links between the network’s 200 European festivals and encourage exchanges with peer events in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Coordination, a frontline defence of European cinema, encourages organised coorperation between its members, although that by no means hinders its welcoming collaboration from the global film industry. Created to maintain contacts with festivals taking place in the Southern hemisphere, the two-day Brussels event hosted numerous industry operators from South America, Africa and Asia.
The agenda included debates with their European peers, exchanges of information, experiences and programming all aimed at developing the diffusion of Southern hemisphere productions both locally and in Europe. The Coordination also intends to start twinning festivals in Europe and the Southern hemisphere in the near future and, based on a deontological approach, hopes to establish an internationally valid plan for ethical cooperation.

(Translated from French)