Film festivals at EU Delegations : feasibility study exploring different possible modus operandi for making available a package of European films : executive summary.
Date: 2016-02-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Subjects: EU relations, Union delegation, cinema, cultural event, cultural policy, feasibility study, film industry, film production, public relations

Film Festivals at EU 
Delegations 

Feasibility study exploring different 
possible modus operandi for making 
available a package of European films 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

A study prepared for the European Commission 
DG Communications Networks, Content & Technology by: 

Digital 
Agenda for 
Europe 

 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This study was carried out for the European Commission by: 

Internal identification 
Contract number: EAC-2014-0516 
SMART 2015/ 0095 

DISCLAIMER 

By the European Commission, Directorate-General of Communications Networks, Content & Technology.  
The  information  and  views  set  out  in  this  publication  are  those  of  the  author(s)  and  do  not  necessarily 
reflect the official opinion of the Commission. The Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of the data 
included in this study. Neither the Commission nor any person acting on the Commission’s behalf may be 
held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. 

ISBN 978-92-79-44442-5 
doi:10.2766/831757 

© European Union, 2015. All rights reserved. Certain parts are licensed under conditions to the EU.  
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Executive summary 
Towards the establishment of the programme ‘FILM FEST’ – Connecting 
and engaging through films  

In  today’s  globalised  world,  the  European  Union  should  be  equally  concerned  about 
deploying  its  cultural  and  creative  assets  as  it  is  about  asserting  its  political  and 
economic influence. In this context it should endeavour to fully embrace culture in the its 
diplomacy  in  order  to  reach  out  more  widely  in  the  world,  show  the  value  of  Europe’s 
artistic  expressions,  organise  collaborative  events  with  local  populations  in  order  to 
enhance the values and priorities of the EU abroad.  

Cinema is eminently a vehicle for the expression of identities and singularities capable of 
reflecting  the  state  of  a  society  or  a  community.  In  this  regard  Europe  has  successfully 
transferred its genetic make-up to its film industry: cultural, but also linguistic and ethnic 
diversity,  its  values  such  as  equality,  freedom  of  expression,  the  rule  of  law  and 
democracy, as well as its social model.  

The potential of cinema to communicate about Europe and the creativity that lies at the 
heart of European film production have been recognised by a number of EU Delegations 
(EUDs)  in  third  countries  that  regularly  organise  film  festivals  as  part  of  their  outreach 
activities. 

Indeed, more than half of the 139 EUDs (i.e. 76 EUDs) around the world are involved in 
the  organisation  of  film  festivals  and  other  film  events  with  a  view  to  promote  the 
European Union, showcase European culture and use film as a cultural diplomacy tool.  

Film  festivals  are  one  of  the  most  effective  instruments  to  reach  a  wide  audience  in  a 
given  territory.  This  is  in  particular  that  case  when  in  a  third  country  there  is  no 
infrastructure  for  film  distribution  or  when  European  films  do  not  have  a  ‘blockbuster’ 
status.  The  majority  of  these  film  festivals  can  be  considered  as  successful  diplomatic 
events. However, a number of obstacles prevent the diversity and excellence of European 
films  from  being  shown  in  the  best  conditions  in  many  third  countries:  lack  of 
professionalism, limited budgets and shortage of human resources.  

To efficiently build on existing initiatives and ensure that European cinema contributes to 
the EU’s external relations as well as the EU’s influence and attractiveness in the world, 
EU  Delegations  need  adequate  support,  in  particular,  assistance  to  strengthen  their 
actions  and  ensure  that  film  festivals  become  effective  diplomatic,  cultural  and  trade 
tools. 

After having scrutinised the current state of affairs among the EUDs as well as completed 
a  SWOT  analysis  of  the  EUFFs,  the  study,  proposes  a  set  of  strategic  and  operational 
recommendations  for  the  organisation  of  such  festivals  in  a  streamlined  and  cost-
effective way. The recommendations include improvements for: 

 
•  The  selection  of  films  -  to  propose  the  best  of  European  cinema  to  international 
audiences (European package of films). 

•  The  rights  clearance  process  to  screen  films  in  cinemas  and  other  venues  or 

digital platforms. 

•  The marketing and promotion strategies at central and decentralised levels. 

•  The engagement and support of film professionals including talents. 

  Organisation  of  side  events  to  increase  the  collaborative  dimension  of  the  films 

festivals with local population. 

These  recommendations  are  tailored  to  fulfil  the  three  identified  dimensions  of  the 
European  film  festivals  namely  Diplomacy  –  Culture  and  Audiovisual  –  Trade  (so-called 
triple D-CA-T dimension) that can add value to the activities the EUDs in third countries:  

This triple D-CA-T dimension of EUFFs needs to be taken into consideration if one wishes 
to develop a more coordinated approach for the organisation of attractive EUFFs.  

Impact assessment of EUFFs 

Film festivals are one of the main public relations activities of EUDs on the five continents 
and are popular events among local audiences: while traditional on-site film festivals are 
estimated  to  reach  out  to  409,000  people  globally  each  year,  the  online  experience  in 
China  recorded  17  million  viewers  in  2012,  showing  that  EUDs  are  also  capable  of 
embracing digital tools to increase the dissemination of European films.  

Although each of the film festivals and events organised have similar objectives, there is 
no  fixed  model  for  setting  up  an  EUFF.  Their  management  varies  depending  on  the 
resources  available,  the  local  context,  partnerships  with  the  Embassies  and  cultural 
institutes of the EU Member States as well as industry stakeholders in the country. Some 
are  entirely  handled  by  the  EUD  while  others  are  organised  by  third  parties.  EUFFs  last 

 
 
 
from  three  days  to  several  months  and  can  be  held  in  various  cities  as  well  as  venues 
ranging from commercial cinemas to cultural centres and universities. 

Despite their great potential to reach out widely and mobilise a large amount of European 
and  local  stakeholders,  the  study  identifies  bottlenecks  that  prevent  EUFFs  from 
achieving full impact in relation to the above mentioned triple D-CA-T dimension: 

  71% of EUFFs are organised on a budget under €20,000 mainly coming from the 
Press  and  Information  Section  of  the  EUD.  With  such  a  limited  budget  EUDs 
seldom have the appropriate means to organise an effective and successful EUFF. 
They  often  rely  on  the  personal  commitment  of  the  staff  of  the  EUDs,  working 
extra hours to ensure the film festival takes place. 

  The  attractive  programming  of  film  festivals  is  a  complex  issue  and  professional 
support is needed. The success of EUFFs relies to a great extent on the ability of 
the programme of films to meet the tastes of the local audience. 

  The  survey  shows  that  EUDs  invest  very  little  in  terms  of  promotion  and 
marketing.  Therefore  EUFFs  sometimes  suffer  from  an  exclusive  and  elusive 
status, whereby only a narrow circle of people ever hears about them.  

  The  lack  of  engagement  of  the  European  cultural  and  audiovisual  sector  in  the 
organisation of EUFFs and the low visibility of the EUFFs among film professionals 
need to be addressed. 
EUFF partners: 

 
 
 
 
The  sector’s  support  is  essential  to  have  access  to  good  films  and  to  be  able  to 
organise activities that also benefit the diplomatic, cultural and trade stakeholders 
in the EU and third countries. 

These  weaknesses  need  to  be  addressed  as  they  are  detrimental  to  EU’s  image  abroad 
and capacity to connect and engage with the local population.  

Main needs and requirements  

To face these issues and create successful EUFFs, the needs of the EUDs can be split into 
four main areas: 

To  match  their  needs  and  address  their  difficulties,  89%  of  EU  Delegations  (whether 
currently  organising  EUFFs  or  not)  favour  the  idea  of  a  European  package  of  films 
with negotiated rights to gain access to recent quality films and become less reliant on 
the  embassies  and  cultural  institutes  of  the  EU  Member  States.  Access  to  good  quality 
films was for 60% of the EUDs the greatest difficulty when organising a EUFF. 84% of the 
EUDs also consider that such a package should come with a range of additional support 
activities.  Particularly  to  facilitate  subtitling  (70%  of  EUFF  organisers),  participation  of 
European  talents  (68%)  and  adequate  professional  promotional  and  marketing  support 
(55%). 

Best practices 

The study also highlights examples of good practices in the organisation of film festivals 
notably:  

-  European  film  festival  in  South  Africa:  a  ‘new  generation’  of  EUFF  i.e. 
professionally  organised  and  run  like  a  commercial  festival  with  a  festival 
organiser and a curator, an excellent selection of recent awarded films. 

-  European  Film  Weeks  in  Morocco:  one  of  the  highest  budgets  for  a  EUFF,  the 
organisation is subcontracted to a local agency working in partnership with Europa 
Cinemas in order to be able to offer a selection of the best recent award winning 
European films. 

-  German  film  festival  in  China  :  strong  budget,  industry  involvement  and  high 

sponsorship level.  

-  My French Film Festival  – good use  of digital technology to promote  first feature 

films on-line in 90 countries.  

 
 
Recommendations 

The  study  makes  recommendations  to  support  EUDs  in  organising  more  attractive  and 
professional EUFFs that are capable of getting a high level of (political) attendance from 
the host countries; reaching out to a wide local audience (including young people); going 
beyond capital cities whilst at the same time enabling the organisation of side events for 
networking  opportunities  and  matchmaking  between  local  and  European  audiovisual 
professionals as well as for collaborative activities with the local population.   

The  guiding  principles  for  the  organisation  of  EUFFs  are  set  with  a  view  to  ensure 
minimum  quality  standards.  EUFFs  organisers  would  endeavour  to  implement  these 
guiding principles for film festivals and related events to achieve their diplomatic, cultural 
and  trade  objectives.  Therefore  the  study  recommends  that  EUFFs  should  be  organised 
on the basis of the following principles: 

  Contribute to portray a diverse and creative Europe  
  Professionally organised 
  Respect the industry’s commercial imperatives  
  Mobilise EU’s and Member States’ highest diplomats in the host country  
  Count on sufficient financial resources  

Following  these  guiding  principles,  as  minimum  quality  standards,  EUFFs  should 
involve: 

The  study  shows  that  in  large  countries  around  the  world  it  is  difficult  to  organise  an 
EUFF aiming to meet these essential quality requirements on a budget below €60,000 to 
100,000. Only this level of funding is likely to trigger sponsorship from private donors. 

To assist EUDs to implement good quality EUFFs the study proposes a series of support 
measures to be implemented on the one hand at central level (EU Headquarters) and on 
the other hand at the local level (EUDs). 

In addition, recommendations are also made in the study for EUFFs to be held online, in 
combination with onsite EUFFs (not included in the budget mentioned below). 

1.  Centralised support measures  

These measures would be provided centrally by an External Service Provider (ESP) hired 
by the European Commission/EEAS and consist of:  

  Managing  a  stakeholders'  board  to  foster  strategic  development  and 
engagement  (Leadership  Board)  with  representatives  of  European  public 
stakeholders such as the EEAS, relevant European Commission services as well as 
national  film  or  cultural  institutes  and  other  bodies  organising  film  events  at 
European  level  (for  example  the  LUX  Film  Prize  of  the  European  Parliament);  as 
well  as  representatives  of  private  stakeholders  (e.g.  sales  agents  and  promotion 
agencies for European cinema). 

 
 
 
  Preparing  a  European  package  of  15  to  30  European  films  (selection  of 
films, negotiation and acquisition of rights) based on a number of criteria (recent, 
quality,  award-winning  films  as  well  as  box  office  hits);  subtitling  the  selected 
films  in  at  least  ten  major  world  languages;  setting  up  a  database  with 
information on the selected films to facilitate EUDs’ access to good quality films. 
  Setting  up  a  selective  support  scheme  (maximum  €40,000  per  EUD)  to 
reward EUDs proposing the best marketing and promotional plan for the EUFF to 
comply  with  the  quality  standards  described  above.  The  different  types  of 
measures  qualifying  for  additional  funding  support  would  be  promotional  and 
marketing  activities,  engaging  a  curator,  additional  screening  fees  and  subtitles 
(not covered in the European package of films) and side events. 

  Supporting  the  professionalization  of  EUFFs:  in  the  field  of  marketing  and 
promotion,  support  in  organising  side  events,  coordinating  the  exchange  of 
information  among  EUDs,  setting  up  a  help  desk,  preparing  a  DIY  guide  for  the 
organisation of EUFFs. 

2.  Decentralised support measures  

EUDs  will  retain  the  freedom  and  flexibility  to  organise  EUFFs  that  fit  best  their  local 
context.  However,  the  quality  standards  set  above  and  the  support  of  the  ESP  will 
contribute  to  assist  the  EUDs  in  making  their  EUFFs  more  attractive  and  capable  of 
reaching  wider  audiences.  A  second  set  of  measures  should  then  be  implemented  by 
EUDs at the local level.  

  Minimum and diversified funding to support local promotion to comply with 

quality standards; 

  Curator  and  festival  organiser  to  select  films  matching  the  audiences’  taste 

and to deal with the logistics and organisation of the EUFF; 

  Subtitling (when not available in the European package) and share the subtitles 

with other EUDs to create synergies and reduce costs; 

  Screening  films  in  local  cinemas  to  reach  a  wider  audience,  to  build 
partnerships  and  promote  the  event  and  to  show  exhibitors  the  potential  of 
European cinema; 

  Seek  local  partnerships  to  pool  resources  to  widen  the  impact,  access 

additional funding and engage with local sponsors; 

  Organise  side  events  (market,  political,  educational,  with  young  people)  to 
discuss EU values and relevant priority policies with the local population, to foster 
intercultural  dialogue  and  to  promote  the  distribution  of  European  films  or  co-
production activities; 

  Evaluate  the  impact  to  better  assess  the  results  of  the  festival  as  regards  the 
triple  D-CA-T  dimension  and  improve  future  editions  and  to  better  communicate 
and engage with relevant stakeholders. 

Budget for centralised support services 

The organisation of an EUFF is a complex undertaking that requires specific professional 
skills  if  one  aims  to  have  an  effective  event  that  serves  the  EU’s  diplomacy,  cultural  as 
well as trade interests.  The cost to  establish a European Film Festival Programme  ‘FILM 
FEST’  –  Connecting  and  engaging  through  films  is  estimated  at  €2.5  million  over  two 
years  for  the  centralised  support  services.  The  Partnership  Instrument  of  the  Foreign 
Policy Instrument would be the most suitable funding instrument. 

 
 
 
European Commission 

Film Festivals at EU Delegations 
Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union 

2015 – 6 pages  

ISBN 978-92-79-44442-5 
doi:10.2766/831757 

 
 
 
 
 
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doi:10.2766/831757       ISBN 978-92-79-44442-5