21/06/2007

Henning Camre – who will host a farewell party in Copenhagen this afternoon in his honour, in celebration of his “reign” at the Danish Film Institute for the last nine years – has announced the names of the founding board of the Think Tank on European Film and Film Policy that he will preside over starting July 1.

The founding board of the Think Tank will consist of Veronique Cayla from the CNC in France, Fernando Lara from Spain’s ICAA, John Woodward from the UK Film Council, Agnieszka Odorowicz from the Polish Film Institute, Anders Geertsen from the Danish Film Institute, Danish producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen and Camre.

Currently based in Copenhagen, the Think Tank has secured core funding from the Danish government as part of the new Film Agreement, and will also rely on contributions from European film bodies to cover the costs of local seminars that will take place across Europe over the upcoming year.

“The Think Tank is not just a Danish initiative but a real European initiative,” said Camre. “We’re aiming at setting up Think Tank events that can have an impact on how European countries set up their own support systems and try to avoid mistakes. We’re also creating links with US independent cinema (Sundance) and planning various events with them. The Think Tank will be a unique collaboration between the industry and the public institutes where we will try to place our destiny into our hands”.

Among the key issues that will be discussed at the Think Tank are the use of public funding, co-production rules, the true quality of European films and how to improve their market share.