02/02/2007

At a press conference on Tuesday attended by the Minister of Culture, Audiovisual and Youth Fadila Laanan, members of the Film Commission, the Secretary General of the Communauté française Henry Ingberg, as well as several film industry professionals and representatives of various associations, an assessment of activities of the Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Communauté française de Belgique was drawn up before a public that was enthusiastic at times and defiant at others.

With over €27m allocated to the audiovisual sector in 2006 (€2.3m more than 2004), more than €9m for production, 117 films backed by the Communauté française (including 22 features, among which seven first films) and nearly 100 awards at international festivals the overall assessment was positive.

While admitting that budgets for the audiovisual sector remain insufficient, the Minister stated they had increased by 21% since she took office. She also announced the creation of a €100,000 fund for experimental cinema, equal to the support for the new Arthouse and Experimental network DIAGONALE (see news), an increase in the promotion and distribution budget (€230,000 for films, just under €60,000 for festivals), and the transferral of sums not spent in 2006 to 2007.

A range of other measures are also on the drawing board, such as the drafting of a decree on audiovisual and media education; discussions initiated with the RTL-TVI channel, which has relocated to Luxembourg because of the Television Without Borders directive; and efforts to prevent French tax credit from being an obstacle to talented film professionals.

However, Mr Ingberg emphasised that a third of films made in Belgium were produced by the Flanders Audiovisual Fund and were also the most successful at the box office. Congratulating the fighting spirit of all professionals in the sector, the Minister said: "Each film, each project is a real battle, an adventure but, unfortunately, our cinema is not widely known in its own country". (See news Box Office I & Box Office II.)

It is therefore important to continue supporting national promotion and distribution initiatives for French-speaking Belgian cinema (such as the Prix des Lycéens, a students’ prize in French-speaking Belgium that gave young audiences an opportunity to meet actors and directors).

Other concerns are the necessity to regain consensus within production among all the audiovisual operators given the rapid change in this sector (emergence of new operators, delocalisation, etc.), the thorny tax shelter issue (intermediary companies in particular) and, lastly, the urgent need to evaluate – and indeed legislate – new means of audiovisual distribution (digital and Internet) before being caught unawares.

(Translated from French)