To mark the occasion, Fadila Laanan, Minister for Culture, Audiovisual Activities, Health and Equal Opportunities for the French-speaking Community, and President of the “Culture” wing of the “Education, Youth and Culture” Council of the European Union over the second half of 2010, welcomed some 150 directors, producers, writers, representatives from European institutions, political officials, delegates from Member States and the various Film Centres.
Film-makers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne and the director and Chairman of the Civil Society of Producers, Directors and Writers, known as ARP, Radu Mihaileanu among others, took part in the work of this symposium.

Discussions and reflections from the symposium entitled “From the AVMS Directive to Film communication: towards a global, consistent approach to European Film” touched on:

• - highlighting European works on video on demand (VOD) platforms
• the requirement of public support at all stages in the film creation process, from creation through to distribution
• the co-existence, complementary nature and multiple facets of the various aid systems in Europe.

The promotion of European works on VOD platforms is essential
The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (“AVMSD”) provides explicitly for the possibility of the Member States to adopt measures aimed at encouraging on-demand services, promoting the circulation and production of European works as well as facilitating access to them.
Video on demand (VOD) is developing rapidly and represents an essential springboard to raise awareness of these works and increase their profile in terms of the European public.

Though the presence of a significant number of European films on these VOD platforms is an issue, the promotion and operating conditions of these European works on the platforms will be the next fight to win so that European film-makers can meet their audiences on this new media platform.
In the French-speaking Community in Belgium, an initial assessment of the implementation of this system will be carried out by the Higher Audiovisual Council, or CSA, in 2011.

The evolution of film requires changes to the rules
The film industry, which is continuously changing, requires constant adaptation of the instruments governing it.

That is why Film communication, which paves the way for the guidelines used by the European Commission to analyse the compatibility of public aid systems for film with Community legal rules, set to be renewed at the end of 2012, must take account of these changes.

Public aid at all stages in the film creation process

Though the majority of aid granted concerns the film production phase, all professionals agree on the importance of having access to a range of public support facilities at all the other stages in the creation, distribution and operation chain.

Effectively, each stage has a direction, plays a specific role and ought to be supported. Appropriate help given by the authorities to each link in the creation and distribution process will ensure the success of European film.

Complementary nature of the various aid systems

Audiovisual activity does not just target cultural creation. It is also an industry which creates jobs and sizeable added value for the European economy.

With this in mind, development conditions which are favourable to the film industry must be created. A wide and diversified range of accepted aid, whether traditional so-called 'cultural' aid or that of a more economic nature, or tax incentives, must continue to be developed.

Co-existence of these diversified systems effectively allows cultural products to be created, but also consolidates an industrial backdrop which is essential to ensuring the longevity of European film.

In connection with the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Fadila Laanan “intends to encourage the inter-dependent relationship between audiovisual creation and the cultural industry”.

Next steps for 2012 Film communication

Minister Fadila Laanan has taken ownership of two of the main themes of this symposium, which she intends to pass on to her European counterparts and the European Commission during this Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

This symposium ultimately showed that, in contrast to the symposium of 2001, the new 2012 Film communication should take into account public aid at all stages in film creation and distribution (writing, development, production, post-production, distribution, operation, promotion, digitisation of film theatres), not just during production.
Specifically, fears about distorted competition between the technical industries of Member States cannot prevent the authorities from also supporting the links essential to the manufacture of a film work like post-production.

This symposium also highlighted the necessity at a European level of adopting an approach which is adapted to the various aid systems which co-exist today, allowing our film to be continuously re-invented, whether these systems are cultural, economic or tax-based. It must be said that some film support systems are purposefully designed to create cultural works while others target the development of an audiovisual economic fabric.

Taking both these aspects into account will allow the new 2012 Film communication to be in phase with the reality in the audiovisual sector and to defend cultural diversity in European film.

Mobilisation is important in order to consolidate public institutions' support for film, especially within the Belgian audiovisual world, and this symposium showed that the latter is not alone in this respect.