WROCLAW: The 20th edition of the New Horizons IFF has been postponed following the 14 April 2020 announcement that all cultural events in Wroclaw are cancelled through the end of August.
Ex Oriente and East Silver Caravan films will have screening slots at the online edition of Visions du Réel.
LIMASSOL: The Three of Us from director Suela Bako and producer Sabina Kodra from Erafilm in Albania won the Best Project award of the first special online edition of Dot.on.the.map Industry Days presented 9 – 11 April 2020 under the framework of the 18th Cyprus Film Days International Festival. The festival itself was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 crisis.
WARSAW: The 4th edition of the Kids Kino Industry (previously known as Warsaw Kids Film Forum), an international pitching forum for films and series aimed at a young audience, is accepting submissions from 20 April until 5 June 2020. The event will take place 30 September - 2 October 2020 in Warsaw during the Kids Kino International Film Festival.
CANNES: The 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival will not take place in late June and early July, the festival announced in a statement on 14 April 2020. The announcement followed a statement by the French President Emmanuel Macron extending restrictions on large gatherings into July.
BUCHAREST: The pilot of the first Romanian sitcom about COVID-19, Discutabil, has had more than 80,000 viewers since it was aired on Facebook and YouTube on 27 March 2020. Director Vlad Zamfirescu, scriptwriter Alexandru Popa and producer Cristina Dobrițoiu are planning a first season with 12 episodes.
BRUSSELS: The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC) has issued a comprehensive report on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on cinemas across the 38 countries it represents.
COVID-19 & AV sector
UNIC is collecting detailed information on the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak on the cinema industry across the 38 territories it represents – please see public version here
The research includes detailed information on national closure processes, support mechanisms, measures relating to employment, taxation, rent and related costs. as well as a selection of key box office figures shared by Comscore.
07/04: Global Cinema Federation Calls for Unity and Support – Global Cinema Federation
The Global Cinema Federation is committed to working with national and international institutions and partners through the weeks and months to come to ensure that cinemas survive this testing time and once again become the vibrant home of culture and community that they always have been.
08/04: Joint Film and Audiovisual Sector COVID-19 Statement - UNIC
The film and audiovisual sector in Europe calls for urgent action by EU and Member State decision-makers to safeguard the future of the sector in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, following in the footsteps of initial emergency measures announced at national level, including by film funds and other bodies.
European Commission
06/04: Coronavirus: Commission and European Investment Fund (part of EIB Group) unlock €8 billion in finance for 100,000 small and medium-sized businesses – European Commission
The European Commission has unlocked €1 billion from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) that will serve as a guarantee to the European Investment Fund (EIF), part of the European Investment Bank Group. This will allow the EIF to issue special guarantees to incentivise banks and other lenders to provide liquidity to at least 100,000 European SMEs and small mid-cap companies hit by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, for an estimated available financing of €8 billion.
09/04: Coronavirus: Commission Statement on consulting Member States on proposal to further expand State aid Temporary Framework to recapitalisation measures – European Commission
The European Commission has sent to Member States for consultation a draft proposal to further extend the scope of the State aid Temporary Framework adopted on 19 March 2020 to support the economy in the context of the coronavirus outbreak.
09/04: Remarks by Commissioner Gentiloni at the Eurogroup press conference – European Commission
08/04: Coronavirus: Commission invites Member States to prolong restriction on non-essential travel to the EU until 15 May – European Commission
The Commission invited Schengen Member States and Schengen Associated States to prolong the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU until 15 May. The experience of Member States and other countries exposed to the pandemic shows the measures applied to fight the spread of the virus require more than 30 days to be effective.
European Parliament
08/04: Sassoli to EU governments: Rise to the challenge. Find new shared ways to finance our recovery – European Parliament
14/04: MEPs to discuss how to better protect consumers in times of COVID-19 – European Parliament
The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee will discuss EU measures to protect consumers and safeguard their rights with Commissioner Didier Reynders.
Council of the EU
09/04: Report on the comprehensive economic policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic – Council of the EU
The report includes the coordinated actions taken so far at the level of the Member States, the EU and the euro area and additional crisis response instruments to prepare the ground for the recovery.
08/04: COVID-19: Council gives go-ahead to further use of cohesion resources – Council of the EU
EU ambassadors agreed the Council’s position on a second package of measures in less than a month aimed at freeing up more money from EU structural funds for crisis-related operations. Given the unprecedented challenges facing member states, the proposed changes were endorsed without amendment in order to speed up the legislative process.
Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU
08/04: Ministers of Culture and Media discussed measures aimed at assisting the cultural and creative sector – EU 2020 HR
Ministers of culture at a video conference examined the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemia on the cultural and creative sector and discussed possible measures for mitigating negative effects of the crisis.
Events:
14 April: Commissioner Gabriel participates in a videoconference with EPP members of the European Parliament's Culture and Education Committee
14 April: Extraordinary IMCO Committee meeting
15 April: President von der Leyen to present an update on EU’s Coronavirus exit strategy
15 April: Commissioner Gabriel participates in a high-level videoconference with chief scientific advisors, ministers and leaders of international partners on COVID-19
15 April: Commissioner Kyriakides participates in a videoconference of the informal EPSCO Council organised by the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU
16 April: Commissioner Kyriakides participates in a videoconference of the G7 Health Ministerial Coordination Meeting on COVID-19 developments
16 April: High-level videoconference of Foreign Affairs Ministers
16 April: High-level videoconference of Economics & Finance Ministers
16-17 April: European Parliament Plenary
19 April: Commissioner Kyriakides participates in a teleconference of the G20 Health Ministers
20-21 April: European Parliament JURI Committee meeting, Brussels
Postponed IMCO reports – please see here
23 April: EUROGROUP meeting to discuss EU economic recovery package and exit plan
15 July: Postponed CJEU opinion on the YouTube copyright case
Cancellation Is Out of the Question! goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film Will Take Place from May 5th to 11th 2020: with Select Programme Highlights Online and On-Demand // Symposium and Competition Films in Cinemas Later This Year, Because: Film Art Belongs on the Big Screen! // Accreditation and Press Conference
The film and audiovisual sector in Europe calls for urgent action by EU and Member State decision-makers to safeguard the future of the sector in the wake of the COVID- 19 outbreak, following in the footsteps of initial emergency measures announced at national level, including by film funds and other bodies.
