April 15-18  2010, Luxembourg

Participants 2010
The 30 selected participants come from 23 countries. Thanks to the support of MEDIA International, 8 of them are from Non-EU countries:

• Halina Agapejev, Panis Et Circenses Producoes, Brazil
• Isabel Arouca and Filipa Gallis, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual, IP, Portugal
• Georges Birtschansky, B.R.M., France
• Alberto Botelho, Novos Sonhos Audiovisuais, Angola
• Enrica Capri, GraffitiDoc, Italy
• Jean-Laurent Csinidis, Minotaurus Film, Luxembourg
• Jinane Dagher, Orjouane Productions, Lebanon
• Peggy Driessen and George Van Breemen, The Netherlands Film Fund, Netherlands
• Julia Gebauer and Jonas Sörensson, Way Creative Films, Sweden
• Michael Hofegger, AWS-Wirtschaftsservice, Austria
• Agata Jujeczka, Vision House, Poland
• Albena Kovatcheva, Actink, Bulgaria
• Victoria Lupik, Anniko Films, Armenia
• Jean-Christophe Massart, Caviar, Belgium
• Jossy Mayor, Rishon Films, Luxembourg
• Gael McLaughlin, Bigger Pictures, UK
• Peter Oda, Odavision, Bulgaria
• Knut Ogris, Knut.Ogris.Films, Austria
• Arturas Pozdniakovas, Osmo Production, Finland
• Eva Rohrmann, Forum Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Nick Rollinger, Equinox Productions, Luxembourg
• Nandita Solomon, Apparat, Malaysia
• Daniela Stankowska, Macedonian Film Fund, Macedonia
• David Vashadze, Georgian National Film Center, Georgia
• Roberts Vinovskis, Locomotive, Latvia
• Minna Virtanen, Vertigo Productions, Finland

 

In a time when it is not getting any easier to close the finance of a film, producers need to meet the right contacts, master the intricacies of film financing and manage complex financial and contractual issues in order to make their film happen.

The Film Finance Forum provides an exploration and update of the latest financial developments and funding sources in Europe. It includes sessions on public and private finance, co-production, tax incentives, the sales and distribution market, banking services and new industry trends. Since most films produced in Europe are made with low to medium budgets, the Finance Forum will focus on its participants’ real financial situation and provide them with solutions adapted to their needs and projects.

The Film Finance Forum takes the form of an inclusive round table with presentations on various up-to-date topics followed by open discussion with the participants and leading industry experts from the finance and film businesses.

In order to achieve a maximum level of interactivity the total number of participants is limited. This enables an approach focused on a small group and the specific needs of each participant as well as facilitating networking between participants and experts.

We are proudly announcing the new experts & topics on the 2010 programme!
Academy-Award winner Max Wiedemann / Wiedemann & Berg Film will elaborate on the producer´s risks and chances in the revenue waterfalls. Joelle Levie / independent finance expert will give an overview on European Film Finance and talk about tax mechanisms and tax shelters in Europe. A co-production case study by Jani Thiltges / Samsa Film on his latest project QUARTIER LOINTAIN will provide a practical approach to the subject. Katrine Schlüter-Schliermann / JSA will cover the Legal Aspects of Co-Production.
Chris Paton / Fortissimo Films will talk about the latest developments in sales & distribution.

These sessions are complemented by the established expert-team of the Film Finance Forum: Bernie Stampfer / Deutsche Bank, Christian Kmiotek, and Stéphane Cordier / Cofiloisirs who will update participants of the latest financial developments and funding sources in Europe.

All experts will be available for private tutorials offering tailor-made advice.

Max Wiedemann (D) / Wiedemann&Berg Film, is producer and CEO of Wiedemann & Berg Film Germany, together with his partner Quirin Berg. The first theatrical feature THE LIVES OF OTHERS has been awarded with numerous prizes, among them the Oscar (c) for best foreign film.

Katrine Schlüter-Schlierbeck´s (DK) key qualifications are Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Law. She is the lawyer of the Danish Producer Association and handles the principal court and arbitration cases.

Chris Paton (UK) is Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Development at Fortissimo Films. He is based in London.

Jani Thiltges (L) is co-founder, partner and CEO of Samsa Film in Luxembourg. He is also partner of Artemis Productions (B), Fado Films (P) and Liaison Cinématographique (F).

Bernie Stampfer (D) is Vice President and Head of the Expert Group Media, the Deutsche Bank’s internal advisory service in the Corporate and Investment Banking division.

Christian Kmiotek (L), Head of training of the EAVE Film Finance Forum, is partner and Chief Financial Officer of Luxembourg-based Samsa Film production group and he sits on the Board of the Benelux-exhibitor Utopia.

Stéphane Cordier (F) is General Manager of Cofiloisirs, a financial institution specialized in financing the film and television production industries by granting loans to mainly French but also European or Canadian production companies in order to help them to cash flow their productions.

Joelle Levie (F) is the former Director of Business Affairs, Head of the Television Unit and Director of Operations for Québec at Telefilm Canada. From 2001-2007, Levie was the General Director for Cinema and Television at SODEC. In 2008 she continued her work in finance and production through becoming the Head of Operations for Tax Shelters (Feature Films) at Tax Shelter sprl, an affiliate of the bank ING Belgium. She is working as an independent finance expert specialized on international co-productions.

EAVE is a leading training, development and networking organization for producers and associated industry professionals. In addition to the well established European Producers Workshop and Film Marketing Workshop, we are involved in a variety of programmes in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

EAVE is co-financed by the MEDIA Programme, MEDIA Internationals and Film Fund Luxembourg. The financial support of these partners enables us to offer a high-profile event at very low cost.

Producers and associated film industry professionals, members of the financial and legal communities, policy makers, and consultants.

The Film Finance Forum is open to non-EU applicants and with the support of MEDIA International we are able to offer 8 scholarships to non-EU participants covering 80% if the total costs of attending the Forum including travel and accommodation.

Please note that the working language is English only.

The selection of the candidates is based on the application file submitted by each applicant according to the form provided. EAVE evaluates the quality of the candidate’s company, his/her and the company’s track record and the level of professional background of the candidate(s). Priority is given to applicants working within independent and/or small and medium sized companies.

The participation fee for the Film Finance Forum is:

• First Delegate (full fee) 1,300 EUR
• Second Delegate of the same company 600 EUR

The full fee is lowered to 900 EUR for graduates of the EAVE European Producers Workshop and Film Marketing Workshop.
These amounts include accommodation costs in Luxembourg (hotel & half-board on a maximum 3-day basis) and administrative and management costs. Travel arrangements have to be made and paid for by the participant(s).

The participation fee is payable after successful selection, immediately upon receipt of an invoice issued by EAVE and in any case before the first day of the event. This document is not contractual.

Rates for non-EU participants:
First Delegate (full fee) EUR 1.800,-
Second Delegate EUR 1.200,-
EUR 1.500,- for graduates of other EAVE programmes.

Please download application form here!

EU participants: EAVE allocates 4 European scholarships for each Film Finance Forum. A priority is given to professionals working in areas or regions with small production capacity or reduced geographic or linguistic markets or to those candidates whose countries don’t have a proper support mechanism in place.

Non-EU participants: Thanks to the support of MEDIA International we are able to offer 8 scholarships to non-EU participants covering 80% if the total costs of attending the Forum including travel and accommodation.

EAVE encourages participants to first apply for financial support (scholarship) to their national authorities.

For further information or application forms for the Film Finance Forum, please contact members of the EAVE team.
Download the brochure here!