European Film Awards

LEADING UP TO THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS: 26 BROADCASTERS HIGHLIGHT EUROPEAN CINEMA IN EUROVISION FILM WEEK 

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and 26 of its Members, with cooperation from the European Film Academy (EFA) have joined forces to launch EUROVISION FILM WEEK - the most accessible film festival anywhere, and the first ever based exclusively on TV and radio. 

In the week leading up to the European Film Awards (7 December)*, these public service media will devote their schedules to the rich cultural phenomenon that is European cinema. 

As well as airing top quality European films, the 26 broadcasters have scheduled interviews with luminaries of European cinema, debates and an array of other programmes related to film. Radio stations will also be a key pillar, airing programmes on film music, interviews and behind-the-scenes reports. 

As Europe’s hub for public service media, the EBU has set up a film exchange platform on its EUROVISION SHOWCASE platform, where the EUROVISION FILM WEEK participants can share rights-free films in broadcast quality. There are 25 films in the pool, and any participating broadcaster is at liberty to show whichever films appeal. Twenty-two of the participating Members have announced they will broadcast films from the exchange, while three will show films from their own archives. 

EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot said EUROVISION FILM WEEK would highlight the strong ties between Europe’s film industry and public service media.

He said: “Public Service Media (PSM) are key partners of the film industry, in terms of financing, promotion and broadcasting of films, but also often as the commissioning parties. We want to celebrate this contribution and highlight European cinema's close ties to public service media. This partnership gives rise to a very rich cultural offering, both in Europe and beyond. And at a time when funding of European cinema and public service media is under threat, we want to find ways to ensure this can continue.” 

German director Volker Schlöndorff, deputy chairman of the European Film Academy Board, underlined the project’s important aspect of cultural exchange.

He said: “The big problem for European cinema is that the films are not exchanged between one country and another. Nowadays we observe that the cultural borders have been closed. Everything is nicely separated into compartments and everyone has their own national drawer. And that is a task for European films to tackle!” 

EUROVISION FILM WEEK has drawn strong support from four prominent European filmmakers, namely Costa Gavras (France), Agnieszka Holland (Poland), Jiří Menzel (Czech Republic) and Volker Schlöndorff (Germany). 

Berlin & Geneva, 25 November 2013 

* France Télévisions has scheduled EUROVISION FILM WEEK during the last week of November.    

The European Film Awards 2013 are presented by the European Film Academy e.V. and EFA Productions gGmbH. Public supporters: FFA German Federal Film Board, German State Lottery Berlin, German State Minister for Culture and the Media, MEDIA Programme of the EU, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg. Private partners: 40seconds, Aveda, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, GLS, Hôtel Concorde Berlin, M∙A∙C, Mast-Jägermeister SE and ŠKODA AUTO Deutschland GmbH. 

EFA PATRONS 2013: CATALAN INSTITUTE FOR CULTURAL COMPANIES FROM THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE OF CATALONIA ★ CENTRE DU CINEMA OF THE FEDERATION WALLONIA BRUSSELS ★ CHIMNEY ★ DANISH FILM INSTITUTE ★ EURIMAGES ★ EUROPEAN FILM BONDS (EFB) ★ FILM FINANCES SCANDINAVIA AB ★ FILM FUND LUXEMBOURG ★ FLANDERS AUDIOVISUAL FUND (VAF) ★ HUNGARIAN NATIONAL FILM FUND ★ ICELANDIC FILM CENTRE ★ IRISH FILM BOARD ★ ISTITUTO LUCE / CINECITTÀ s.r.l. ★ KOSOVA CINEMATOGRAPHY CENTER ★ MACEDONIAN FILM FUND ★ MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND CULTURE OF CYPRUS (CULTURAL SERVICES) ★ NETHERLANDS FILM FUND ★ POLISH FILM INSTITUTE ★ SEVILLE EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL, A PROJECT OF ICAS, ORGANISED BY SEVILLE CITY COUNCIL ★ SWEDISH FILM INSTITUTE ★ SWISS FILMS ★ TELEWIZJA POLSKA S.A. (TVP)