13/10/2008

The Flemish Audiovisual Minister, Bert Anciaux, last week announced his intention to allocate a further €2,850,000 for the Flemish Audiovisual Fund in order to boost audiovisual, and in particular television, production. An initial announcement was made concerning the 2009 projected budget for the Vlaams Audiovisual Fund, which stands at €13,784,000. The total budget has thus been increased considerably.

The decision to provide additional support for television production is not insignificant, and testifies to the concern felt across the country: audiovisual professionals really depend on television to make the sector more attractive, in particular by contributing to the development of a star system which may benefit film productions.

This announcement comes at just the right time in Flanders, where professionals were recently worried about the disappearance of the requirement imposed on private networks to produce TV dramas. Whereas in French-speaking Belgium, broadcasters are obliged by the legislation to invest a certain amount in audiovisual productions and co-productions, the situation is less regulated in Flanders.

The new fund – which aims to encourage collaborations between the independent sector and private networks – will have the objective of enhancing the quality of TV drama productions. Funding will be selective and awarded on merit.

Moreover, the resulting increase in production will enable the creation of new jobs and thus contribute to the structuring and stabilisation of the sector. And perhaps it will even lead to the future creation of a Flemish-produced series that achieves the international acclaim of The Sopranos or Six Feet Under, as the Vlaams Audiovisual Fund clearly hopes.

(Translated from French)