I fondi audiovisivi spagnoli
di CARTOON (European Association of Animation Film)
- Intervista con Manuel Cristobal, produttore di cortometraggi. Dà un’idea dei fondi audiovisivi spagnoli e si concentra sui principali mutamenti avvenuti nel panorama spagnoli degli audiovisivi negli ultimi anni. Viene anche descritto il ruolo della TVE (la televisione nazionale spagnola).
Manuel Cristróbal was coordinator of the
Media Business School, manager in AGAPI and
producer of several short films shot in 35mm.
From 1999 till 2005 he was the Executive
Producer of Dygra Films, production company
of the CGI animation feature films The Living
Forest and Midsummer Dream. In January
2005 he joined Zinkia as Head of Development
& Distribution working with the animation
series Pocoyo (52x11) and Shuriken School
(26x26).
He created the Galicia based company
Perro Verde Films in September 2006 and is
developing several audiovisual productions.
He is also partner in 6 sales, a Madrid based
sales agency specialised in animation features.
He is Vice President of New Technologies and
Member of the Board in FAPAE (Federation of
Spanish Audiovisual Producers).
What has been changing in the Spanish
audiovisual landscape in the last few years?
There have been many changes in the business. The first big change is the restructuring of the
national television, TVE. The national broadcaster
had an enormous debt that was absorbed by the
Government in 2007. Parliament approved a new
law in 2007 and we have now a whole new system. We have now a President of the Spanish radio and
television and a management team that stays for
six years and will not be affected by the changes
of the Government. In the previous years we could
have a new manager of TVE every two years, making
a long term policy very difficult.
Is there a policy concerning animation
within national television?
Not yet. The producers’ associations are working
with the new TVE management to create a strategy. We
had an agreement with TVE that ran for 4 years which now has expired. The amount of the
agreement was €12 million.
What are the first measures
of the new TVE management?
In 2007 TVE acquired 55 Spanish feature films. In
2008 TVE will only buy 37. The policy is to increase
the amount of money they will put in each film,
but choose more carefully the films they want to support.
TVE is confronted to a reduction of revenues. The advertising allowed on TVE has been reduced. In
2007 it was 12 minutes per hour, in 2008 it will be
11 minutes, in 2009 it will be 10 minutes and in
2010 it will be 9 minutes.
Is there in Spain the same fragmentation
of the TV landscape we see in other
European countries?
Yes, we will have for example DTT in 2011 and we
are starting to see the effects. TVE has now four
DTT channels, one of them being devoted mainly
to animation with 12% of market share.
Are the broadcasters obliged to invest
in independent production?
Yes, every broadcaster that broadcasts films to
audiences younger than 7 years old, is obliged to
invest 5% of his turnover in film production (3%
in Spanish production and 2% in European production). This obligation represents more or less
€120 million a year.
Films like Asterix are getting
license fees from the Spanish broadcasters. The
obligation goes for theatrical features, TV films
and mini series. Animation series are not included
in this obligation. To access the subsidy, the film
must be in production. There is a non written
norm that imposes the producers to spend the
money in Spain.
How much can a producer have from TVE?
A producer can get a contribution from €400.000 to
€2 million mainly in TV rights. The most active broadcasters
in animation are TVE, Antena 3 and Tele 5.
How strong are the regions in the Spanish
audiovisual landscape?
The regions are very active. The most advanced
ways of investing are born in the regions. We have
€67 million from the national Spanish institute
fund and €40 million from the different regions.
The most active regions are Catalunia, Andalucia,
Galicia, the Basque Country and Murcia. The best
regional broadcaster is the Catalan one, which has
to invest 1% of its turnover in animation series.
The Spanish Parliament approved a new
audiovisual law in December 2007. What
are the main elements of the law and how
does it work for animation producers?
Producers can receive up to €50.000 for the development
of pilots. The system allows the production
of two feature films a year, allowing a budget
of €400.000 per film. The law created the automatic system. The producers
have to comply with certain conditions and
can benefit subsidies up to €1 million.
The main novelty is that we have a definition of the
independent producer, which is very important. Independent producers must have a limitation of
30% in the company’s capital from a broadcaster.
Another novelty of the law is the project to transform
the Spanish film centre into an agency.
The fund for audiovisual will go from €65 million
to €100 in four years. We opened the possibility to have not only money
for developing animation series, but also funding
for the production of animation series and T V films.
The law also foresees a tax shelter system of 18%
that includes features and series, but it is too early
to measure the results.
Is piracy in Spain a major concern for the
audiovisual sector?
Out of the Western European countries, Spain is our
biggest concern, with a piracy rate of over 32%. It is a
huge problem. It is not only affecting DVD sales and
the VOD business, but it is also seen as a problem
for investors. Thanks to the French initiative, we will
be having a solution to this phenomenon.
According to a large study conducted by LEK
Consulting, an international consulting firm, the
total loss to the Motion Picture Association members
due to piracy is 6 billion dollars annually. About half of this is internet-related and I am fairly
sure that the internet figure has exceeded the
optical disc piracy rate which makes up the other
half of the figure I’ve just quoted. We are dealing
with both optical disc piracy and internet piracy
but we realise that internet piracy is growing and
is perhaps the bigger concern. Globally, the consumer
spending loss to the motion picture industry
in 2005 came to about 18 billion dollars.
Cartoon Master Munich, Germany, June 2008
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