As Cineuropa continues its European Networks series exploring the organisations shaping Europe’s audiovisual ecosystem, we turn our focus to the European Film Agencies Directors association (EFAD), which brings together public audiovisual funding bodies across the continent. We spoke with Sevara Irgacheva, secretary general of EFAD, about the organisation’s evolving mission, current policy priorities and the growing challenges facing European audiovisual creation.

Founded to support cooperation among national and regional film agencies, EFAD’s core mission has long centred on public funding for audiovisual works. “Supporting the financing of works has always been at the core of our members’ mission,” Irgacheva explains, stressing that public funding remains “extremely important” for ensuring that European works can exist and benefit from complementary financial support.

Yet today, EFAD’s focus increasingly extends beyond production alone. “The big question now is how do we make sure that these works are actually being seen,” Irgacheva says, pointing to discoverability and audience access as the most pressing challenges ahead. In a media landscape dominated by attention economy and platform-driven consumption largely controlled by US interests, EFAD members are asking how to accompany works throughout their entire life cycle – from development to circulation and audience engagement.

This shift requires earlier and broader thinking across the whole value chain. While distributors, sales agents and platforms play a key role, Irgacheva underlines that visibility must already be considered at the production stage. “We need to continue thinking about the whole life cycle of the works that our members support,” she notes, highlighting audience awareness as a policy priority.

EFAD currently counts 38 members, all public audiovisual agencies based in Council of Europe member states. Membership is open to agencies with a governmental mandate to support audiovisual works and contribute to policy reflection, with applications assessed by the organisation’s board. While historically focused on film, EFAD now reflects a wider scope, as many members also support series and, increasingly, video games.

Despite its broad reach, EFAD operates with a lean structure. The secretariat consists of two people, working closely with members through plenary meetings, steering committees and working groups. “The day-to-day work is done by the secretariat, but it’s always hand in hand with our members,” Irgacheva explains, emphasising the collective nature of the organisation.

One of EFAD’s most active policy areas concerns data transparency, particularly in relation to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD), currently under evaluation by the European Commission. According to Irgacheva, a lack of meaningful data makes it difficult to assess whether obligations on the prominence of European works are actually effective. “We do not have all of the necessary information to assess how visible European works really are,” she says, adding that understanding the link between promotion and consumption is essential for evaluating policy impact.

EFAD works closely with media regulators, whom Irgacheva describes as “crucial” to enforcement, and regularly contributes to consultations at the EU level. Better data, she argues, are also key to understanding what qualifies as a European work and how support schemes can be made more efficient.

Turning to Creative Europe, Irgacheva acknowledges the rationale behind the programme’s ongoing revision, particularly the growing emphasis on cultural sovereignty and values. However, she identifies several priorities that must be safeguarded: continued production support, stronger backing for distribution and discoverability, and – crucially – financial clarity. “If there’s too much flexibility without financial visibility, the sector will not be able to structure itself,” she warns.

She also stresses the importance of maintaining theatrical circulation as a cultural experience in its own right. While digital distribution expands access, Irgacheva cautions against reducing cinema to purely home-based consumption, underlining the social and cultural value of theatrical releases.

Beyond European-level programmes, EFAD remains firmly anchored in the defence of public funding as cultural policy. “Public funding is crucial because it is about cultural policies,” Irgacheva says, pointing to identity, representation and the preservation of European storytelling. While funding inevitably operates within an industrial framework, she insists that its purpose cannot be reduced to market logic alone.

At the same time, funding models must adapt to new formats and realities. Series and video games are now firmly part of the equation, alongside questions of private investment, enforcement of policy obligations and long-term sustainability. Throughout, visibility remains a recurring concern: supporting works also means ensuring that they reach audiences and generate impact.

EFAD maintains close contact with its members through three regular plenary meetings (in Berlin, Cannes and one rotating across Europe), online working groups and ongoing bilateral exchanges. The secretariat’s role, Irgacheva explains, is to gather this collective intelligence, translate it into best practices and feed it back into policy reflection.

Joint efforts extend beyond policy into areas such as sustainability, film education, gender equality and inclusion. EFAD runs dedicated working groups on each of these topics, combining strategic discussion with practical exchange. Recent initiatives include the annual European webinar on gender equality, and collaborations with the Lab Femmes de Cinéma and the European Audiovisual Observatory, as well as sustainability-focused reflections aligned with broader ESG objectives.

As the interview draws to a close, Irgacheva returns to a theme that underpins EFAD’s work: the importance of supporting independent production. “It is extremely important for producers to own the exploitation of their works, to be able to build their catalogues and IP libraries,” she says, stressing that independent production is where creative diversity can emerge freely, outside of pure market or editorial considerations. Supporting fair remuneration and balanced revenue-sharing, she adds, is essential for correcting power imbalances and ensuring long-term sustainability.

In an era marked by increasing global consolidation, Irgacheva offers a final reminder of EFAD’s raison d’être: “We need even stronger public policies that will preserve this diversity.” For EFAD and its members, keeping cultural diversity firmly on the political agenda remains both the challenge and the mission ahead.