FNE: What is the percentage of distributors from Central and Eastern Europe applying for and receiving Distribution support?
JOHN DICK: There are a high percentage of distributors applying for support but there is also a wide variation in the rate at which the different territories apply.
In the Cinema Selective, Hungary and Romania lead the way with +/-60 applications each per annum. They are followed by Slovenia and Czech Republic, then the Baltic States, then Bulgaria. The lowest number comes from Slovakia – 18 in 2012.
In overall terms they applied 353 times in 2012 (30% of the total) and were successful 168 times (which is 28% of the total).
FNE: Do distributors from Central and Eastern Europe apply more often for Automatic or Selective support?
JOHN DICK: As we see there is a high rate of applications for the Cinema Selective and they also have a high rate of uptake of the Automatic funds – more than 90% - but it is difficult to make sense of the "rate of applications" as it depends on the individual choice of each company. Some will apply with high value Module 3 Release costs (therefore low numbers of applications) while others will apply for low value Module 2 Minimum Guarantees (therefore high numbers). There is no real relevance in the territory rates.
FNE: Distributors from which countries from Eastern Europe apply for and receive Distribution support more often?
JOHN DICK: As I said earlier, the selection rate is 28%. This is very considerably lower than the average, which is closer to 50% but can be understood by the fact that Selective support is often critical to the chances of releasing a film in these territories and therefore the companies tend to apply much more often than other territories and often for films that have little or no chance of support.
FNE: Films from which countries do distributors from Eastern Europe prefer (France? Germany? Other countries?)
JOHN DICK: They are difficult distribution territories as a whole so there is a focus on the more commercial titles in general but well balanced with quality art house films. France leads the way (as in all territories), with around 30% of the applications, followed by the UK with around 20%. There is a strong showing from Scandinavia +/- 20% and Germany +/- 10%, with the rest varying depending on the films available. Spain, Italy and local titles would be next.
FNE: Do distributors from older member countries apply for Distribution support for films coming from Central and Eastern Europe? From which countries are the films they prefer?
JOHN DICK: Yes they do but they tend to focus on specific directors. Romanian films attracted the most applications in the Selective in 2012 with 35, followed by Poland 21, Hungary 12 and Estonia 10. There are more scattered single choices in the Automatic.
FNE: In your opinion, are distributors from Central and Eastern Europe well integrated in the system? Could they do more?
JOHN DICK: On balance I would say they are well integrated. Many of them are battling specific circumstances with difficult markets and very radical changes in the theatrical landscape in recent years, which limit access to art house theatres. Then there is the relatively small size of most of the markets and a high level of piracy, which makes earning revenues in ancillary markets such as DVD and TV sales very difficult. We would hope that the market conditions would improve over time and I think that most of the companies have been making significant efforts to adapt to the local changes. You could always do more but it would be unreasonable to criticise companies which are investing so much of themselves in difficult circumstances.
FNE: What issues are the most important for the distributors of European film in the smaller countries of Europe - especially Central and Eastern Europe?
JOHN DICK: The key issues I have touched on above. The changes in the theatrical landscape, with the rapid spread of multiplexes, have been problematic. It has often led to the disappearance of more traditional cinemas, which were more open to European films. In the short term this trend is drawing to an end as the market is saturated with multiplexes so we can (albeit hopefully) look forward to some improvements as cinemas adapt (especially perhaps with the development of specialised "miniplexes") their offers and become more open to European films.
