Macedonian Film Agency announced public Call for support for international promotion and promotion and distribution of domestic films and minority co-productions for the first time since its founding as a film fund in 2008. The support is given for participation on festivals and events and promotion and distribution of the films in Republic of Macedonia and abroad.

The main condition is that the films are in post-production phase at the moment of application or completely finished and are not previously, on any grounds, supported by the Macedonian Film Agency. The applicants can submit an application for international promotion if the film has been released no longer than one year.

The Call is opened and lasts throughout the year.  The application is an integral part of the Call and should be downloaded from the website of the Macedonian Film Agency.

EU Copyright Directive

27/06: Europe’s cultural and creative sectors call on MEPs to uphold the mandate on copyright in plenary – UNIC Website

“We represent 4.5% of EU GDP and 12 million European jobs. We are the heart and soul of Europe’s plurality and rich identities. On July 5 we ask for you to back the mandate adopted by JURI on 20 June which is the result of long and intense negotiations” highlights the main message of the Europe’s creative and cultural sectors to the MEPs.

29/06: CW! asks MEPs to uphold JURI mandate on Copyright Directive – Creativity Works!

Creativity Works! has joined 93 organisations from Europe’s creative and cultural sectors that are asking Members of the European Parliament to support the Legal Affairs (JURI) mandate on the Copyright Directive report during the Plenary vote on 5 July.

20/06: Copyright: MEPs update rules for the digital age – European Parliament

Plans to update of EU copyright rules for today’s online world and ensure fair pay for artists and journalists were backed by the Legal Affairs Committee.

20/06: Joint Press Release: The European Parliament’s report on the Copyright Directive in the Digital Single Market: a first good step for audiovisual authors – SAAFERA & FSE

The Federation of European Film Directors (FERA), the Federation of Screenwriters in Europe (FSE) and the Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) welcome the vote of the Legal Affairs’ Committee in favour of a new Article -14a establishing a principle of fair and proportionate remuneration for authors and performers.

Copyright Enforcement

26/06: Press Release: AAPA Launches Anti-Piracy Award – Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance

At this year’s Europol Intellectual Property Crime conference, the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) announced the winner of it first award for a successful initiative to tackle audiovisual piracy. The winner was Grupo de Antipirateria of the Policia Nacionale (Spain), led by Inspector Marlene Álvarez Vicente. The award recognised the Grupo de Antipirateria’s successful operations in large scale illegal streaming cases, many of which affected AAPA members.

Digital Single Market

/07: European Commission Communication on completing a trusted Digital Single Market for all – EAO Newsletter

 In the Communication, the Commission provides an overview of the legislative proposals it has made over the last three years, reviews the progress of their adoption and implementation, and calls on its co-legislators - the European Parliament and the Council - to accelerate their work in order to meet the European Council’s goal of concluding the DSM Strategy by the end of 2018.

Council of the European Union

01/07: Austria takes over presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July 2018 – Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU

On the first of July, Austria took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the next six months.

Competition

15/06: Mergers: Commission clears Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Sky under EU merger rules – European Commission

The European Commission has approved unconditionally under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Sky by Comcast, a US based global media, technology and entertainment company. The Commission concluded the transaction would raise no competition concerns in Europe.

Gender Balance

19/06: Working report on gender representation in the audiovisual media sector – European Commission

A short working report, outlining the national measures and initiatives to support the place and image of women in audiovisual media, both on- and off-screen, has been published.

Events

5 July: Vote in Plenary - EU Copyright Directive16 July: Creative Europe MEDIA Stakeholder Meeting 24-27 September: FNCF Congress 2018 - Deauville 26 & 27 September: EUIPO Plenary Meeting 2018 - Alicante 15 & 16 October: UNIC Cinema Days - Brussels 

Europe’s cultural and creative sectors ask for your support uphold the mandate on copyright in plenary vote.

TBILISI: Marisa Romanov, an American series created by Miranda K. Spigener-Sapon and produced by SPT France and Noirtainment for Amazon Prime Video, will be filmed in Georgia and Los Angeles starting around 1 September 2018. It is a beneficiary of the tax incentives scheme.

KARLOVY VARY: FNE teamed up with KVIFF and critics attending the festival to rate the films in the Main Competition and East of the West Competition giving the films 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 stars. 5 is the best and 1 is the worst. The ratings give an overview of critics’ opinions from a large number of countries and provide insights into what critics in many different countries think about the programme.

Film Centre of Montenegro announced Public call for co-financing of the minority co-productions.

PODGORICA: The Film Centre of Montenegro announced a public call for co-financing of minority coproductions. The deadline for submitting the applications is 30 July 2018.

KARLOVY VARY: HBO Europe will produce in the Czech Republic an original six-part espionage drama Oblivious, which will be directed by Ivan Zacharias.The announcement was made during an HBO Europe special panel at the 2018 Karlovy Vary IFF.

KRAKOW: Krakow Film Festival has been included in the Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival List. The Golden Horn laureates will now be eligible to submit for Oscar consideration.

Krakow, 29th June 2018 - Krakow Film Festival has been included on the Documentary Feature Qualifying Festival List. The Golden Horn laureates will now be eligible to submit for Oscar consideration.