1. Main Objectives

In general the MEDIA Programme of the European Union supports phases before and after never ends production of audiovisual works. The production phase is mainly financed by national and regional financiers but also finds funds in the private sector. MEDIA's main objectives are:

• to strengthen the development and the quality of European audiovisual works, reflecting and respecting Europe’s cultural identity and heritage
• to increase the circulation of European works within Europe and beyond
• to strengthen the promotion who competitiveness of European films
• to facilitate cooperation and networking and access to finance
• to encourage the development and use of digital technologies.

The target groups are that many different players of the audiovisual industries: Producers, distributors, sales agents, film schools, training providers, film festivals, film markets, cinema owners, technology providers and others.

2. Support Schemes

In order to obtain its objectives, the MEDIA Programmes offer a variety of support schemes:

Training MEDIA provides international professional training opportunities by co-financing over 60 courses in script and project development; management, legal and finance issues; marketing and distribution; new media and new technology; animation; and documentaries. Information on calls about Training on the MEDIA programme official website

Development fundingMEDIA supports independent European production companies in the development of animation, creative documentaries or fiction projects intended for European and international TV and theatrical markets. Support is provided for single projects or a slate of three to five projects. Similar support is available for interactive works developed specifically to complement an audiovisual project. Information on calls about Development funding on the MEDIA programme official website

Access to Finance “i2i Audiovisual” facilitates access to financing from banks and other financial institutions by subsidising part of the production-related financial costs, such as insurance, financial interest and completion bonds. Information on calls about "i2i Audivisual" on the MEDIA programme official website

MEDIA Production Guarantee Fund This fund facilitates access to private sources of financing for film producers by guaranteeing part of their bank loans. The scheme is implemented by the Institut pour le Financement du Cinéma et des Industries Culturelles in France and the Sociedad de Garantía recíproca para el Sector Audiovisual in Spain.

Support for television broadcasting This funding encourages independent European audiovisual production companies to produce work (fiction, documentaries or animated films) that involves the participation or cooperation of at least three broadcasters – and preferably more – from several Member States. Information on calls about Television broadcasting on the MEDIA programme official website

Support for Distribution MEDIA supports the circulation of European audiovisual works across MEDIA Programme countries. Financial backing is available as automatic or selective support for distributors, automatic support for sales agents, support for Video on Demand and Digital Cinema Distribution (VOD-DCD), and support to cinemas through the Europa Cinemas network. Information on calls about Distribution on the MEDIA programme official website

Pilot Projects Pilot projects ensure that the latest developments on the information and communication technology markets are introduced and taken up by the players of the European audiovisual sector. Information on calls about Pilot Projects and VOD on the MEDIA programme official website

Market Access MEDIA supports most major markets and co-production forums in Europe in order to foster the greatest possible diversity and quality of projects and works, as well as the mobility of professionals. MEDIA also provides an umbrella stand, advisory and logistic services for European professionals at the European Film Market (Berlin), MIPTV, MIPCOM and the Marché du Film at the Festival de Cannes Information on calls about Market access on the MEDIA programme official website

Festivals Every year the MEDIA programme supports nearly one hundred festivals in Europe notable for their particularly rich and varied programme of European films, their efforts to engage with the general public and their activities involving professionals in large numbers. Information on calls about Festivals on the MEDIA programme official website

MEDIA Mundus Launched in 2011, the MEDIA Mundus programme is a broad international cooperation programme for the audiovisual industry to strengthen cultural and commercial relations between Europe’s film industry and filmmakers from other countries. The EU was providing EUR 5 million of funding per year from 2011 to 2013 for projects submitted by audiovisual professionals from Europe in cooperation with their counterparts from the rest of the world. MEDIA Mundus finances training, networking and market events for professionals and encourages distribution and circulation of European and international films. Information on calls about MEDIA Mundus on the MEDIA programme official website

3. Budget

The division of the total budget across these five action lines shows that the distribution of European works is a clear priority. The goal is to increase their circulation outside their originating country and worldwide. The programme had a budget of €755 million for the 2007‒2013 period.^[1]
Budget line divide: Distribution 55%
Development 20%
Promotion 9%
Training 7%
Horizontal actions/ Pilot projects 5%/4%

4. Future Programme: Creative Europe

The Commission’s proposal for a Creative Europe programme for the period 2014-2020 brought the current culture and audiovisual programmes under a single umbrella with distinct identities. The newly proposed programme consists of three strands: one for MEDIA, one for Culture and a cross-sectoral strand to promote cross-border policy cooperation and foster innovative approaches to audience building and access to finance.

5. Supported Films

MEDIA supported films include:^[2]

5.1. 1991

• Europa
• Delicatessen
• Les Amants du Pont-Neuf

5.2. 1993

• The House of the Spirits
• Orlando

5.3. 1994

• Nattevagten
• Il Postino

5.4. 1995

• Land and Freedom
• Flamenco

5.5. 1996

• Trainspotting
• Drifting Clouds
• Secrets & Lies
• Hamsun
• Farinelli
• Breaking the Waves

5.6. 1997

• La promesse
• La vita è bella
• Smilla's Sense of Snow
• Western

5.7. 1998

• On connaît la chanson
• The Full Monty
• Festen
• Fucking Åmål
• Idioterne
• Kirikou et la Sorcière
• My Name Is Joe

5.8. 1999

• Todo sobre mi madre
• East Is East

5.9. 2000

• 101 Reykjavík
• Dancer in the Dark
• Italiensk for begyndere
• Englar alheimsins

5.10. 2001

• Amélie
• La Pianiste
• Billy Elliot
• Elling
• Ničija zemlja
• La stanza del figlio

5.11. 2002

• The Pianist
• Être et Avoir
• Mies vailla menneisyyttä
• Habla con ella
• Lilya 4-ever
• The Hours
• 8 Femmes
• Respiro
• Hundstage

5.12. 2003

• Les Triplettes de Belleville
• Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Good Bye, Lenin!
• Dogville
• La meglio gioventù
• In This World
• Nói albinói

5.13. 2004

• Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage
• La mala educación
• Der Untergang
• Gegen die Wand

5.14. 2005

• L'Enfant
• Mar adentro
• Caché
• Habana Blues
• Paradise Now
• Va, Vis et Deviens
• Match Point
• La Marche de l'empereur

5.15. 2006

• The Lives of Others
• Volver
• This Is England
• The Wind That Shakes the Barley
• Efter brylluppet
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Zwartboek
• Taxidermia
• Lotte from Gadgetville

5.16. 2007

• Auf der anderen Seite
• Die Fälscher
• 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile
• Persepolis
• Irina Palm
• Joulutarina
• Control
• Funny Games
• Le scaphandre et le papillon
• Fly Me to the Moon

5.17. 2008

• Gomorra
• Slumdog Millionaire
• Entre les murs
• Niko - Lentäjän poika
• Le silence de Lorna
• Vals Im Bashir
• The Queen
• Séraphine
• Rabbit à la Berlin
• 33 sceny z zycia
• Hunger

5.18. 2009

• Das weiße Band, Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte
• Un prophète
• Antichrist
• An Education
• The Good Heart
• Videocracy
• Drottningen och jag
• Los abrazos rotos
• 3 sezóny v pekle
• L'Illusionniste

5.19. 2010

• Des hommes et des dieux
• Illégal
• Hævnen
• The King's Speech
• Submarino
• Sound of Noise

5.20. 2011

• 30 Minutes or Less
• Pina
• Hodejegerne
• Le Havre
• Le gamin au vélo
• Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro
• Melancholia
• Oslo, 31. august
• The Iron Lady
• Polisse
• We Need to Talk About Kevin

5.21. 2012

• En kongelig affære
• Play
• Shame
• Amour
• Babycall
• Barbara
• Jagten
• De rouille et d'os
• Paradies: Liebe
• To Rome with Love

6. Members

MEDIA Participation The MEDIA Programme addresses in particular small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in the participating countries. In addition to the 28 EU-countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, UK), also Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are members of the MEDIA Programme. MEDIA Desks and Antennas have been established in all participating countries. These are national offices for promotion, information and guidance – and constitute in itself a valuable network of knowledge and cooperation within the European audiovisual industries.

7. Festivals

Yearly nearly one hundred film festivals receive MEDIA support. Among them: Brussels Film festival/ Kraków Film Festival/ Zagreb Film festival/ Semaine de la Critique de Cinema, Cannes/ Nordic Filmdays, Lübeck/ DOK.fest, Munich/ Thessaloniki Film Festival/ Gothenburg International Film festival.

8. Markets

Markets are opportunities for professionals to meet, exchange ideas, learn and network. The MEDIA Programme invests some EUR 10 million annually in the development of a coordinated framework of regional and international markets. Amongst them are: Marché du Film, Cannes/ MIPTV & MIPCOM, Cannes/ European Film Market, Berlin/ The European Film Awards/ European Film promotion/ Cartoon Movie/ European Documentary Network/ New Nordic Films/ IDFA, Amsterdam.

9. Training

MEDIA provides international professional training opportunities by co-financing over 60 courses in script and project development, management, legal and finance issues, marketing and distribution, new media and new technology, animation and documentaries. The courses share a common goal: the collaboration and competitiveness of the European film industry. ACE/ Focal/ Erich Pommer Institute/ EAVE/ Berlinale Talent Campus/ Cartoon Masterclasses/ Power to the Pixel.

10. Administration

MEDIA is an abbreviation from French: Mesures pour Encourager le Développement de L'Industrie Audiovisuelle - "measures to support the development of the audiovisual industries. The MEDIA programme used to be jointly run by the European Commission Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) and the Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency (EACEA Unit P8), which was in charge of the operational management of the MEDIA programme. Since 2014, it is run by the European Commission Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CONNECT).^[3]