France

[FR] Creation of experimental fund for French works destined for non-European on-demand audiovisual media services

IRIS 2022-1:1/7

Amélie Blocman

Légipresse

Through a decision taken on 5 November 2021 amending the General Aid Regulations, the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image – CNC) set up an experimental fund to support the independent production of French audiovisual works prefinanced exclusively by non-European on-demand audiovisual media service platforms.

The investment obligations that now apply to foreign platforms result from the transposition of the European Audiovisual Media Services Directive through an ordinance issued in December 2020. The detailed rules governing these contributions to French audiovisual and cinematographic production were set out in the Decree of 21 June 2021.

The fund, with a budget of EUR 5 million, will be open until 30 April 2022 and will enable works financed by the platforms and produced by commissioned French producers to benefit from selective grants. The temporary funding is therefore available to French production companies that are independent of the platform commissioning the work.

Works are eligible if they promote French cultural heritage and have a particular cultural, social, scientific, technical or economic value. They can be works of fiction (excluding sketches), animations, creative documentaries or audiovisual adaptations of live performances, and must be produced entirely or mainly in French or a regional language spoken in France.

In order to qualify, works must meet various criteria, including the definition of independent works contained in the Decree of 21 June 2021. They must not be financed by one or more service providers (television channels or platforms) established in France. They must therefore be financed through an initial contribution from one or more foreign-based on-demand audiovisual media service providers worth at least 25% of the French contribution. The French contribution must represent at least 30% of the final cost and production costs in France must make up at least 50% of the French contribution.

The CNC decision also sets out how the funding will be awarded and distributed.