30/05/2006

Cannes 2006 – Europe MEDIA films awarded "I am proud about this impressive performance of Europe's filmmakers", stated European Commissioner for Information and Media Viviane Reding, referring to Ken Loach, Bruno Dumont and Pedro Almodóvar, whose latest films, which came out victorious at last Sunday’s closing awards ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, had been co-financed by the EU’s MEDIA Programme.

Loach's Golden Palm winner The Wind That Shakes the Barley [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ken Loach
interview: Rebecca O’Brien
film profile] received €313,141 for its development and distribution; Dumont's Grand Prize-winning Flanders [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] was allocated €9,000; while Almodóvar's bittersweet comedy Volver [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agustín Almodóvar
interview: Carmen Maura
interview: Pedro Almodóvar
interview: Pénélope Cruz
film profile], which won the Best Screenplay Award and saw its six actresses recognised with the Best Actress prize, received over €1.8m for its distribution in 10 territories.

The three films emerged from a total of 18 European titles supported by MEDIA, which were selected for several Cannes sidebar sections, transforming this year’s edition into one of the most successful so far for the European film industry.

"Europe's filmmakers have received this accolade from the international community, there can be no doubt that our industry can compete with the best in the world. And that the EU MEDIA Programme is truly European money well spent", concluded Reding.

The upcoming MEDIA 2007, which will support the European film industry from next January until 2013, has recently been given a budget of €755M (see news).