Audio-Visual Production as a Path of Cooperation in Europe. Eurimages Funds

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse co-production in Europe through the funds of the Eurimages program from its origin, in 1989 to 2016, and to determine a pattern of co-production among the main film producer nations in Europe: France, Germany, Italy and Spain. For that purpose, a statistical analysis is carried out using several data sources: the Lumiere database, the reports from the European Audiovisual Observatory, as well as those from several national film institutions (such as the ICAA in Spain, or the CNC in France), or even the webpages of the Eurimages program and the Ibermedia one. Among the main results, it should be underlined that Eurimages has contributed to the increase of European films through co-production, but not to the increase of film audience, being far from that of American films. Nevertheless, if compared to national films, Eurimages has favoured both the transnational circulation of films and their consumption. Moreover, the main reasons to choose partners to co-produce are both cultural and economic, based on language, geographical proximity, common history and having a more developed film industry with a generous film support. With this article we want to contribute to update the literature about co-production in Europe using Eurimages funds.