EU Copyright Directive

20/05: How to Implement Article 17 DSMD? Have Your Say! - Kluwer Copyright Blog

A pilot debate organised on June 13 to discuss Article 17 (ex-13) of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive (DSMD) and its implementation.

20/05: Open Letter: Copyright Working Group Must Include NGO Voices - Civil Liberties Union for Europe

The open letter signed by Liberties and more than 40 other human and digital rights organizations calls for their inclusion in the implementation process of the EU Copyright Directive.

EU Online Broadcasting Directive

17/05: Creativity Works! reiterates the importance of territorial exclusivity for the creation, financing, production and distribution of creative content - Creativity Works!

Following the final adoption of the Online Broadcasting Directive, Creativity Works! issued a statement to reiterate and stress the importance of the territoriality of copyright and exclusive licensing to the creative sectors in Europe and to protect these principles going forward.

Audiovisual Policy - Council conclusions

22/05: Draft Council conclusions on improving the cross-border circulation of European audiovisual works, with an emphasis on co-productions - Council of the European Union

The Audiovisual Working Party has prepared the draft conclusions with a view to their adoption at the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council.

EU Single-use Plastics Directive

21/05: Council adopts ban on single-use plastics - Council of the European Union

The EU is cracking down on plastic pollution. The Council adopted a directive which introduces new restrictions on certain single-use plastic products. The formal adoption of the new rules by the Council is the final step in the procedure.

EU Elections

27/05: Voter turnout in EU elections up 10 per cent on previous vote - The Parliament Magazine

EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has sounded a note of caution over the larger-than-expected turnout in the European elections.

27/05: 2019 European election results - European Parliament

The election results including seats per political group and country are presented.

Culture

20/05: Joint Statement by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Tibor Navracsics on the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development - European Commission

Events

7 June: European Film Forum @ Transilvania International Film Festival (Cluj-Napoca)
12-13 June: International Forum on IP Enforcement, Paris 
13 June: IPKat/BLACA – 'The EU DSM Directive: End of the Story?', London
13 June: European Copyright Roundtable: 'How to implement Article 17 DSMD?'
17-20 June: CineEurope 2019, Barcelona
19-20 June: Conference on New Challenges regarding Copyright in the Digital Single Market, Bucharest
20-21 June: European Council Summit
24 June: Composition of European Parliament political groups
1 July: Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU
2-4 July : First European Parliament Plenary, Strasbourg
15-18 July : Second European Parliament Plenary, Strasbourg
- Possible election of European Commission President
21-24 October: Election of new European Commission

The North Macedonia Film Agency has become the 34th member of the European association of Film Agencies, the EFADs, as of May 2019.

The North Macedonia Film Agency joins the EFADs as an associate member, a status open to any film agency located in a country member of the Council of Europe. It allows it to take part in all activities of the association and have partial voting rights.

“We strongly believe that the North Macedonia Film Agency would greatly benefit by becoming a member of the EFADs association, which contributes to the actualization of European policies and initiatives by focusing on promotion and distribution of European works and the challenges of the European film industry. Joining the association enables us to exchange information, to share experiences and to strengthen our common aims for European audiovisual industries, by targeting key issues on digital change, copyright, fight against piracy and media literacy. I hope that our collaboration will enable a greater visibility and more intensive collaboration in the years to come.” declared Gorjan Tozija, Director of the North Macedonia Film Agency.

ABOUT THE NORTH MACEDONIA FILM AGENCY

The North Macedonia Film Agency as a governmental body, established under the Film Industry Law officially began its operation in 2014 as a legal successor of the Macedonian Film Fund.

• The overall responsibility of the Agency is to ensure growth of Macedonian film industry, film tradition and film culture through continuous support of its development, production, distribution, exhibition and promotion. In order to achieve its goals the Agency aims at providing a continuous support to the production of films of national interest, stimulating international filming co-productions (majority and minority co-production), encouraging expert and professional education of film industry professionals, stimulating the creation of national screenplays, promoting Macedonian cinematography at renowned international film festivals, promoting North Macedonia as a filming location as well as administering the Film Production Incentive Programme, aimed to encourage and stimulate investments in film/television projects.
• It is funded by the grant-in-aid from the Government and through contributions such as broadcasters, cable operators, Internet providers, cinema exhibitors and distributors.

ABOUT THE EFADs

The EFADs is the voice of European Film Agencies, bringing together 34 organisations. European Film Agencies champion European film across different formats and platforms. Their mission is to enable local cultures and different language communities to see their lives represented on screen and for powerful, culturally expressive films to deeply affect hearts and minds to the benefit of the well- being of society across Europe.

EFADs members promote film literacy and storytelling in support of freedom of expression and film culture to ensure filmmaking, film heritage and film as art are accessible and relevant to the many, not the few

List of EFADs’ members: http://www.efads.eu/members/all-our-members.html

@Sufferosa, a Mystery Adventure in III Acts, is an interactive Instagram series that reflects on youthfulness, beauty, and the sense of being lost in a maze you can’t escape. Watch the trailer here.

Thematically, @Sufferosa is a neo-noir thriller and a satire on the cultural obsession with beauty and youth in the present-day world. The story follows a private eye Ivan Johnson looking for a missing woman. His investigation leads him to Carlos von Braun’s Clinic. This is when the interactive part begins - the user becomes the detective and unfolds the story piece by piece adding suspense and intrigue to a narrative.

In this artistic, non-commercial storytelling experiment the directors duo The Kissinger Twins strive to create a new kind of serialized storytelling in social media. @Sufferosablends original footage with samples from classic film, literature, and music (Glass Candy, Sonic Youth), taking influences from adventure games. 

Find a woman trapped in a clinic perfecting eternal youth. Explore all twenty-four accounts of Carlos von Braun’s clinic with videos, stories, carousels, captions, and IGTV.

Act I out now @sufferosa www.instagram.com/sufferosa 

The Kissinger Twins are the directors duo and new media artists. They directed

award-winning interactive experiences and films for Samsung, Channel 4, Philips as well as art projects, such as Webby Awards winning The Trip or SXSW finalist Forget Me Not.

www.kissingertwins.com

OPEN CALL FOR BALTIC SEA DOCS 2019

23rd BALTIC SEA FORUM FOR DOCUMENTARIES (Riga, Latvia, September 3 – 7, 2019)

23rd Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries (Baltic Sea Docs) is looking for talented and daring new documentary projects!

Every year, the Baltic Sea Docs gathers over 100 professional filmmakers from the Baltic Sea region, as well as from Northern, Eastern and Central Europe. Participating in the forum (preparatory workshops, public pitching sessions and seminars) is an invaluable way for filmmakers to find funding for the production of their projects and to further ensure that their films reach a wide audience across Europe and beyond.

Who can apply	·         Independent production companies from the wider Baltic Sea Region countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden) ·         Independent production companies from developing democracies of the former socialist countries of Europe; ·         Independent production companies from other European countries if the documentary subject relates to the wider Baltic Sea Region or former Soviet Union.
What kind of projects	Producers may enter up to 3 feature length projects each. Apart from traditional documentaries the BSD also provides a platform for cross media projects and documentary animations. One project may be sent in for selection up to 3 times. Projects pitched in the previous editions are ineligible. Priority is given to projects having some financial commitment from broadcasters or film institutions. Projects by first time filmmakers are also eligible.
Application Deadline	Sunday, June 9, 2019
Application Documents (must be submitted in English)	The on-line Application Form, including:·         short description of the production company, producer and director (max 150 words each), ·         long synopsis of the project (max 350 words), ·         one print quality photo representing the project and the producer and other filmmakers pitching the project, ·         a link to the trailer/visual material of the current project. Click here to access the Submission form!

Submit: http://project.balticseadocs.lv/

Guidelines: http://balticseadocs.lv/industry/guidelines-2019/

The forum is held in English and participation is free of charge.

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The BSD is organized by the National Film Centre of Latvia. The largest financial support comes from the EU funded Creative Europe Media program.