The National Film Centre of Latvia announced the following grants on 5 May 2021.

Today marks the start of the 23^rd edition of the One World International Human Rights Film Festival throughout the Czech Republic. This years slogan – “Connection Lost” – refers to one of the phrases most frequently encountered by people meeting with the use of the technological options offered by the internet. “It is a message informing us of a weak connection or other technical difficulties that negatively affect our technology-based communication. At the same time, these words perfectly describe the situation that many people have found themselves in during the pandemic,” explains Festival Director Ondřej Kamenický. One World will screen 101 documentaries from 50 countries, and viewers can look forward to more than 40 discussions within the One World Live programme. The complete programme is accessible at: www.oneworld.cz/2021/program 

Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries (BSD) is the most importantdocumentary training and pitching event in the Baltic countries, taking place in Riga, Latvia. The 25th edition is scheduled to take placein a hybrid form from 1 – 12 September 2021, with the industry events held mostly online. The call for projects is open now and will close on 11 June.

The documentary film THIS RAIN WILL NEVER STOP (Ukraine, Latvia, Germany, Qatar, 2020, directed by Alina Gorlova) is the winner of the Golden Lily (endowed with 10,000 euros in prize money), the main award at the 21st edition of goEast – Festival of Central and Eastern European Film in Wiesbaden. The international jury chaired by Saodat Ismailova explained its selection in a statement praising Alina Gorlova for her daring use of cinematic stylistic elements to focus attention on a man who finds himself trapped in worlds of conflict in Syria and Donbass.  “Gorlova's vision, outwardly stoic and full of empathy, pushes at simple boundaries by using image and sound as sensory experience", as the jury expounded on its decision.

At the Annecy International Animated Film festival (https://www.annecy.org/programme/index:film-20210714), the jury selected film program from over 3,000 films from 95 countries. Among the favorites is Mariam Kapanadze's debut, 14 minute animated film "Abandoned Village"  Official selection, in the Perpectives short films section.

The film will be present at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival for the second time. In 2016, the first Georgian French Swiss coproduction "The Pocket Man" (https://vimeo.com/207443131) was shown. 

The CEE Animation Forum, the leading regional pitching, financing and co-production event, was held online from 26 April to 6 May 2021. The award ceremony marked the grand finale of the 2021 extended two-week edition showcasing 40 animated projects in 5 categories — selected from 116 submissions. International juries composed of globally renowned experts from the film industry awarded various prizes in the total amount of EUR 15,000 in cash and free scholarships or direct access to prestigious European events.

COVID-19: Cultural and Creative Sectors 

30/04: Coming months will be ‘vital to existence’ of Europe’s arts and culture industry, says industry alliance – The Parliament Magazine

Warning comes in letter to European Commission from organisations representing culture sector, including organisers of large-scale live events.

23/04: Last push for dedicated amount to the cultural and creative industries in the Recovery and Resilience National Plans – UNIC

Europe needs a new #CulturalDealEU, a transversal, overarching framework to demonstrate the EU’s political commitment to place culture at the heart of the European project.

COVID-19: EU response

03/05: Recovery and Resilience Facility: Poland submits official recovery and resilience plan – European Commission

01/05: Recovery and Resilience Facility: Belgium, Italy, Austria, and Slovenia submit official recovery and resilience plans – European Commission

30/04: Recovery and Resilience Facility: Denmark, Spain, Latvia and Luxembourg submit official recovery and resilience plans – European Commission

29/04: EU COVID-19 certificate must facilitate free movement without discrimination – European Parliament  

Parliament adopted its negotiating position on the proposal for a certificate to reaffirm the right to free movement in Europe during the pandemic.

29/04: Commission publishes analysis to highlight the quality of public administration as key success factor towards COVID-19 recovery and the green and digital transitions – European Commission

The Commission has adopted its Staff Working Document “SUPPORTING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS IN EU MEMBER STATES TO DELIVER REFORMS AND PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE”; it elaborates on the importance of public administrations for meeting EU’s objectives and on the Commission’s experience in helping them boost their performance and capabilities.

23/04: Council reaffirms Team Europe's commitment to the global fight against the pandemic – Council of the EU

The Council approved conclusions reaffirming Team Europe's full commitment to the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and its health, social, economic, humanitarian, security and political impacts.

Antitrust

30/04: Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Apple on App Store rules for music streaming providers – European Commission

The European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that it distorted competition in the music streaming market as it abused its dominant position for the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store. The Commission takes issue with the mandatory use of Apple's own in-app purchase mechanism imposed on music streaming app developers to distribute their apps via Apple's App Store.

Digital tax

29/04: MEPs lay out plans for a fairer tax system fit for the digital age – European Parliament

Outdated international tax rules need to be overhauled, including a minimum effective corporate tax rate; the EU should go it alone if global negotiations fail.

European Parliament

29/04: EP group leaders’ statement on the Conference on the Future of Europe – European Parliament

The Conference of Presidents recalls the importance of an adequate composition and role for the plenary of the Conference.

Hungary

30/04: Hungarian Cinemas Reopen for Immunity Certificate Holders – Film New Europe

A wide range of services will reopen in Hungary, including cinemas, when the number of vaccinated people reaches 4 million, which is expected to be reached on 30 April 2021. 

Slovenia

29/04: Slovenian Cinemas Choose Not to Reopen Under New COVID Restrictions – Film New Europe

Slovenian cinemas refused to re-open after a recent decision of the Government to ease restrictions only till 2 May 2021. The only exception is Kinodvor, which re-opened on 26 April 2021.

Events

5 - 6 May: Presidency Conference on Culture, Cohesion and Social Impact
 
10 May: CULT meeting
 
10 – 11 May: JURI meeting
 
17 – 20 May: European Parliament Plenary
 
17 – 18 May: Consilium meeting of culture ministers
 
26 May: EU Copyright Law: State of Play and Future Directions – Conference
 
May 2021: Porto Social Summit

Film New Europe continues to invite leaders of innovative AV projects to share their projects directly with its readers. Today, our guests are Anke van Diejen and Noortje van de Sande, owners of the PR, marketing and distribution company Herrie Film & TV. They write about the Virtual Cinema platform for independent cinemas picl.nl, which has now grown to be the art house platform in the Netherlands. Picl is funded by the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme.