France

[FR] Support for cinematographic and audiovisual production - recommendations by the Court of Auditors

IRIS 2014-5:1/17

Amélie Blocman

Légipresse

On 2 April 2014 France’s Court of Auditors (Cour des Comptes) published a report on support for cinematographic and audiovisual production. The Court has been checking whether the objectives of the policies for providing public financing for cinematographic and audiovisual production, which date back to 1950 and 1980 respectively, have been achieved, whether the results of the past ten years are in keeping with the increased resources implemented, and whether the support mechanisms are still appropriate. It noted that the general recent trend has been for a very substantial increase in public aid (+88% over the past ten years, an increase four times that of State spending), without calling revision of the model into question, and without the results obtained making it possible to attest to their complete relevance today. The Court has drawn up 21 recommendations, aimed more particularly, with regard to the general economy of the support system, at controlling the evolution of the amount of tax allocated to the national centre for the cinema and moving images (Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée - CNC), by compiling a multi-year trajectory of expenditure based on an evaluation of needs, and lessening the overlap of aid mechanisms. In the cinematographic production sector, the Court recommends capping payment of the top remunerations funded by public support and making ineligible for public funding those films which make use of the early payment of additional remuneration in the form of rights in respect of using a person’s image. The rules on the number of days during which cinematographic works may not be shown on television should also be made more flexible. On support for audiovisual production, the report encourages a tightening up of the qualification criteria for documentaries likely to receive aid and counted as part of the channels’ obligations. Another recommendation covers the drawing up, in the form of an inter-professional agreement, of a standard estimate for the production of audiovisual works in which the producer’s remuneration is indicated. Lastly, the Court recommends dropping the present defensive posture in the face of the upheavals in the international context, by refocusing aid for exports on more concentrated selective support, devoted to innovation and prospecting, and by making room for new editors of on-demand video services supplied on subscription.