The policy of internationalisation of East European film industries: east-west co-productions 2009–2019

Abstract

Only ten years ago, producers in Eastern Europe could apply to one-two sources of production financing in their home countries. If they failed to receive financing from these sources, they would close down the project and move to another one. Also, it was impossible to co-produce without securing domestic production financing first, which kept co-producing a privilege of the few auteurs and producers of high national (and transnational) reputation. During the past decade, however, we have witnessed a surge of supranational script labs, training programmes, co-production markets and co-development funds across Europe. They diversified sources of financing for films and led to the emergence of the new class of young East European producers who think internationally already while developing their projects and do not give up on their projects when they face rejections from film funds in home countries. This article will examine the solutions that the policy of internationalization, which targets film projects at the development stage, brought vis-à-vis financial and political challenges that traditionally surround East European cinemas. The analysis will rely on the data I generated while preparing the report on co-productions between Eastern and Western Europe ordered by the co-production market When East Meets West.