EFAD - European Film Agency Directors association (a.i.s.b.l)

🎬 EFAD expresses deep disappointment with the PACE Opinion on the Council of Europe Convention on the co-production of audiovisual works in the form of series. EFAD - European Film Agency Directors association (a.i.s.b.l) is deeply concerned by the Parliamentary Assembly’s Opinion, which frames the Convention as a competitiveness instrument rather than a cultural cooperation framework. "EFAD members are very disconcerted by the PACE opinion framing the Convention as a competitiveness instrument,” said chris marcich, EFAD Chair. “The Council of Europe’s mission is to uphold and promote cultural diversity, democratic cooperation, and freedom of expression. Calling for a market impact assessment is deeply unsettling and misaligned with this mission.” Born from the Budapest Drama Series Process, the Convention was created to strengthen collaboration among creators and empower independent producers — ensuring that audiences across Europe continue to enjoy the richness and plurality of European storytelling. EFAD members therefore call on the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to safeguard the original spirit and objectives of the Budapest Declaration and to preserve the Convention’s cultural focus. Protecting Europe’s creative diversity means protecting its stories, its voices, and its values. 🎥🇪🇺 #EFAD #EuropeanSeries #CulturalDiversity #Coproduction #CouncilOfEurope #BudapestProcess #EuropeanCulture #Series Council of Europe https://lnkd.in/eaM-9nxf

Mr. President, the first victim of your decision will be American cinema. You can count on us to defend our cultural sovereignty with our powerful laws.

🇺🇦 We are proud to share that To the Victory! by Valentyn Vasyanovych, a project supported twice by the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Films #ESFUF (development in 2023 and finalisation in 2024), has just been awarded at the 50th #TorontoInternationalFilmFestival in the Platform section. Over the past two years, ESFUF-supported films have been selected at international festivals including Cannes, Berlinale and Venice. This award in Toronto marks the first prize won by an ESFUF-supported film at a major international festival- a powerful recognition of both the resilience of Ukrainian cinema and the importance of European solidarity. The film is a co-production between production companies from Ukraine and Lithuania, highlighting how cross-border collaboration brings Ukrainian stories to international audiences. Since its launch in February 2023 by EFAD members, ESFUF has supported 57 Ukrainian film projects at development or production stage, with many already reaching top European festivals. 🎬 Learn more about this latest success: https://lnkd.in/eJCdX_Wr #EuropeanCinema #UkrainianCinema #ESFUF #EFAD #TIFF2025 #ToTheVictory! #ValentynVasyanovych #FilmFestivals #CulturalDiversity #FilmCoProduction #FilmPolicy #CulturalPolicy #PublicFunding

EFAD - European Film Agency Directors association (a.i.s.b.l) Vice President and CEO of Norwegian Film Institute Kjersti Mo reminds the essential role of #publicfunding in preservation and development of the art of #cinema in The Guardian #filmpolicy #audiovisualpolicy #nfi #norwegianfilminstitute #creativepolicy #culturaldiversity #filmfunding #film #efad

🌟 Yesterday in #Strasbourg we had the honour to discuss the use and impact of #AI in the #film industry from the perspective of an independent #audiovisual and #digital production company, at the crossroads of #creativity and #AIinnovation. 🇪🇺 The roundtable, organised by EFAD - European Film Agency Directors association (a.i.s.b.l), was hosted by shadow rapporteur Laurence Farreng and the rapporteur Axel Voss, with interventions by Nela Riehl, Chair, Emma Rafowicz, Vice-Chair, and Hannes Heide, Coordinator of the #CULT Committee. We are grateful for our estemeemed guests committment to call for a proper framework ensuring #copyrightprotection in line with #EUvalues. We are particularly grateful to Ms Laurence Farreng for bridging the #CULT #JURI and #filmindustry, and bringing us together 🎤 Jonathan Ho' s(Wavery / ARKANUM PICTURES) presentation focused on an ethical approach to AI development and training in #filmmaking, reminding the importance of #creatorscontrol over the use of their work, #copyright #enforcement, including by prioritising an #optin approach, and the need to overcome the sterile opposition between innovation and creativity & respect of #IPright. 🎞️ thank you to our guests and partners Society of Audiovisual Authors FERA - Federation of European Screen Directors CEPI - European Audiovisual Production Association EUROPEAN PRODUCERS CLUB - CLUB DES PRODUCTEURS EUROPEENS EUROCINEMA, Association de producteurs de cinéma et de télévision and our member Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) Hugo Salek Leonie Dufournet Joachim Taïeb Eva Sanjuan Carlo Bittarelli Anamaria Antoci Julie-Jeanne Régnault Pauline Durand-Vialle Cécile Despringre Juliette PRISSARD Margaux Chielle Thomas Gomes Anamaria Gjorgova Aurélie Champagne Sevara Irgacheva (she/her)

🇲🇪 #EFAD had the pleasure of ending the summer with the second edition of the #MontenegroFilmRendezvous, organised by the Film Centre of Montenegro. 🎞️ With our members from the Southern-Eastern Europe region, we had in-depth discussions on dynamic industry development and most pressing challenges in order to shape concrete future actions. We were also honoured by the presence of the Montenegrin Minister of Culture and Media (Ministarstvo kulture i medija), dr Tamara Vujović, who shows strong support for national cinema and the wider audiovisual sector. As part of the Film Rendez-vous, our members from the Slovenski filmski center/Slovenian Film Centre, Nataša Bučar, and Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC), Julien Ezanno, as well as #EFAD Secretary General Sevara Irgacheva (she/her) held a panel discussion “European Film Distribution: Strategic Alliances Across Markets of Different Scales”, moderated by our host Aleksandra Božović: - 🇸🇮 Nataša Bučar highlighted the challenges of small markets – from limited production capacity and costly translations to the lack of distributors, while showcasing Slovenia’s strong film education strategy - 🇫🇷 Julien Ezanno stressed the importance of supporting European films, pointing to CNC’s direct support for sales agents and long-running school programmes bringing students to cinemas. Together with EFAD, they stressed the importance of the role film agencies in: - Supporting the dual approach of building cinema infrastructure as the first layer, and developing audience strategies as the second;  - Encouraging regional cooperation, including supporting films with cross-market appeal; - Supporting the development of an independent  distribution sector in the region through training and dedicated support. #filmpolicy #filmfund #publicfunding #culturaldiversity #cinema #distribution #filmproduction

📽️Back from the summer break, EFAD - European Film Agency Directors association (a.i.s.b.l)’s Secretary General Sevara Irgacheva (she/her) attended the #SarajevoFilmFestival and #Cinelink Industry Talks, with a focus on AI impact on the film industry - a discussion that is not ready to go quiet.  🤖 She stressed the importance of identifying the status of AI-produced works - where to draw the line between AI assisted and AI generated work -  and highlighted the need for #Europeancontent to be reflected in the AI development, and the challenge of protecting the diversity of cultural expressions against the uniformisation that wide use of AI tools may bring. Thank you Maša Marković, Cécile Despringre, Klemen Dvornik, Marta Krzeptowska, Ada Solomon, Snezana van Houwelingen, Matjaž Gruden, Georg Szalai, Alex Traila, Phd. for the high quality discussions! 🇧🇦 #EFAD also met with our BiH EFAD member Fondacija za kinematografiju Sarajevo (https://lnkd.in/egFXwCuU) represented by board member Emina Ganic. 🗞️ Take a look at the great articles from the Hollywood reporter and Screen Daily for the summary of the discussions: https://lnkd.in/eaDhMQtD https://lnkd.in/eqxsxguB

🇲🇾 We can’t believe it’s already been a month since the #ASEAN FILM and TV Summit 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, organised by FINAS Malaysia in partnership with the #AFAN, Asian Film Alliance Network.   🎥 The event brought together more than 150 participants from Asia and Europe, reinforcing the collaboration between the two regions. 🎞️ Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) Deputy Director of European Affairs Aurélie Champagne and EFAD - European Film Agency Directors association (a.i.s.b.l) Secretary General Sevara Irgacheva (she/her) spoke at the #AFANPolicyRoundtable, presenting the European model of film and audiovisual policies. They also showcased successful examples of cross-regional co-production collaborations schemes, such as #CNC Cinema du Monde Programme and the #EFAD & #CAACI Dale Award — a co-development grant fostering partnerships between the two regions - its next edition will soon take place at the #SanSebastian Film festival!   🙏 Thank you so much for the invitation Lorna Tee and #FINAS! Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA), KoBiz (Korean Film Council), IMDA ,Thai Film Archive - Thailand Creative Culture Agency (THACCA), Cinema and Cultural Diffusion Department - Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Cambodia, TIFFCOM - Tokyo International Film Festival Content Market , Culture and Information Division - The ASEAN Secretariat #MYASEANChair2025 #aseanfilmandtvsummit2025 #afanspotlight #europeanfilmagencies #coproduction #filmpolicy #culturaldiversity

🥳 We have a new team member! ✨ EFAD - European Film Agency Directors association (a.i.s.b.l) is pleased to welcome Anamaria Gjorgova as its new Policy and Communications Manager. 🎞️ With a background in public affairs, EU policy, and communications, Anamarija brings a valuable experience in the intersection of audiovisual and IP policy, technology, stakeholder engagement, and strategic communication. 👏 Based in Brussels, Anamarija will contribute to EFAD’s policy and communications work, supporting the organisation’s mission to promote the independent European film and audiovisual sectors. 🇲🇪 She is kicking it off at the #MontenegroFilmRendezVous, hosted by #EFAD member the Film Centre of Montenegro and it's director Aleksandra Božović chris marcich Kjersti Mo Sevara Irgacheva (she/her)

🇧🇦 #EFAD has arrived to the #SarajevoFilmFestival for the #CinelinkIndustryDays 🎤 Tomorrow, our Secretary General Sevara Irgacheva (she/her) will discuss: 🎬 #AI, solidarity and author's rights from the 🇪🇺 neighbours perspective, with Cécile Despringre, Marta Krzeptowska and Klemen Dvornik at the panel moderated by Georg Szalai from the The Hollywood Reporter 🎞️ The intersection of #cinema, #democracy and #artisticfreedom in the digital world, with Ada Solomon, Matjaž Gruden and Snezana van Houwelingen, at the talk moderated by Council of Europe's Alex Traila, Phd. 👋 Join the discussion, and if you are in Sarajevo, come and say hello!