BUCHAREST: Film and audiovisual production will resume in Romania after the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Health published in the Official Gazette their regulations for preventing the spread of the SARS- CoV-2 in film production on 30 May 2020. On 29 May, President Klaus Iohannis announced that open air and drive-in screenings will also be allowed starting 1 June 2020.
COVID-19 - EU response
19/05: EU Ministers of Culture and Audiovisual discussed the impact of COVID-19 crisis on the cultural and creative sectors – EU2020HR
The videoconference focused on the consequences that the COVID-19 crisis continues to have on the cultural and creative sectors. The ministers shared their plans regarding next steps that should be taken in the context of re-opening of cultural venues and restart of artistic events and productions.
20/05: European Semester Spring Package: Recommendations for a coordinated response to the coronavirus pandemic – European Commission
The Commission has proposed today country-specific recommendations (CSRs) providing economic policy guidance to all EU Member States in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, focused on the most urgent challenges brought about by the pandemic and on relaunching sustainable growth.
Remarks from Vice-President Dombrovskis & Commissioner Gentiloni.
18/05: Covid-19: the EU plan for the economic recovery – European Parliament
The EU is preparing massive investments to support people and businesses as Europe battles a deep economic recession due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
19/05: COVID-19: Council adopts temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency (SURE) – Council of the EU
The Council today adopted SURE, a temporary scheme which can provide up to €100 billion of loans under favourable terms to member states. The instrument enables member states to request EU financial support to help finance the sudden and severe increases of national public expenditure, as from 1 February 2020, related to national short-time work schemes and similar measures, including for self-employed persons, or to some health-related measures, in particular at the work place in response to the crisis.
Digital Services Act
/05: The legal framework for e-commerce in the Internal Market – EP Research Service
The study presents an overview of the current state of play in the area of e-commerce. It discusses the existing legislative framework of the Digital Single Market as well as the technology driven changes of market and economy that have taken place over the last twenty years. The analysis identifies areas prone to producing a positive reaction to legislative intervention.
EU Eastern Partnership policy
11/05: Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020: Council approves conclusions – Council of the EU
The Council approved conclusions on the Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020, reaffirming its strategic importance, and the joint commitment to building a common area of shared democracy, prosperity and stability.
Events
17 & 18 June: CineEurope Online convention – Registration is open
May/June: EU public consultation on Digital Services Act (postponed)
15 July: Postponed CJEU opinion on the YouTube copyright case
Recent Studies
Renaissance numérique - Réguler les plateforms numériques: Pourquoi? Comment? - May 2020
OECD - Evaluating the impact of COVID-19 containment measures on economic activity - April 2020
EAO - Admissions to European films outside Europe dropped by 15% in 2018 due to lack of European blockbusters in China - March 2020
Preparations for EFF SCANORAMA 2020 continue seamlessly: call for submissions now open
Festivals 29-05-2020
Grazina Arlickaite
For the 11th consecutive year, European Film Forum Scanorama invites young filmmakers to participate in the New Baltic Cinema international short film competition programme. By announcing the call for applications, Scanorama is expecting works from nine Baltic Sea Region countries, to be judged and awarded by an international jury, led by distinguished European film professionals.
The following grants were announced by the Georgian National Film Center (GNFC) on 22 May 2020.
FNE Podcast: Festivals in Crisis: Archil Khetaguri Director of CinéDOC-Tbilisi Film Festival
Georgia 29-05-2020Archil Khetaguri talks about the tough decisions he faced when the COVID-19 crisis forced him to postpone CinéDOC-Tbilisi, which was scheduled for 23-27 April. He also discusses the creative possibilities offered by online and hybrid solutions for films festivals in the future.
WARSAW: The New Horizons IFF will present five Polish films at the online edition of Marche du Film Goes to Cannes on 22 June 2020.
KRAKOW: Six Polish short animated films in the last stage of production will be pitched online as part of the Krakow Film Festival on 2 June 2020.
Ex Oriente has announced its first tutors for 2020
Look forward to 24th Ji.hlava!
Five months are left for the 2020 edition of Ji.hlava IDFF to kick off. We very much hope that the situation at the end of October will be more favourable, yet we are working with several scenarios of future development. However, a cancellation of the upcoming edition is not an option for us. We don’t want to see 2020 go down in the history of filmmaking as a grey zone with numerous “abandoned films” – that will have been erased by the pandemic or that were not lucky enough to reach their audiences. Read more information here.
