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The head of Germany’s state film promotion organization German Film says European film agencies, film festivals and organizations can do more to support Ukrainian filmmakers.
Simone Bauman, managing director of German Film, which promotes national filmmakers at film festivals and events around the world, says she will support Ukrainians at film festival panels and industry gatherings. Although there is a lot of talk, he says there is little financial backing.
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“Festivals, especially the Berlinale, try to help Ukrainians by offering them discounts on booths at the European Film Market, but there are not many other organizations that will help with their costs,” says Bauman. .
“It could be better. Last year at Cannes, it was Estonian and German films that supported the Ukrainian pavilion. Poland also supported, and many Ukrainian (and Belarusian) filmmakers went into exile in Poland. We are also looking to cooperate with the project.”
An example of good practice, she said, is the European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Producers, which will invest €1.3 million in 2023 in projects where Ukrainians have co-producers in one of the 16 EU member states. $1.4 million) was available. The Film Fund is supporting this project.
The scheme supports “completed films by Ukrainian directors”, with a maximum of 25,000 euros for documentaries and 50,000 euros for fiction and animation.
“It’s not a lot of money, but it covers all kinds of projects at all stages of development. Production requires other resources to produce. The Ukrainian film industry has a lot of money that producers can’t find resources for. There is a certain danger that it will disappear and collapse at a certain moment,” Bauman added.
Ukrainian filmmakers agree that better, more united support could exist.
Kiev-based producer Igor Savichenko said the situation had been “complicated” but that since the Russian invasion two years ago, grants to independent filmmakers under the FilmBoost project supported by the Polish Film Institute He said there were a number of programs set up by donors, including money. and Netflix will each give up to €8,500, and Netflix will give grants of up to $15,000 each to 48 documentary and fiction projects. Various residencies, presentations and delegation support have been offered by festivals such as Tallinn, Toronto, Sarajevo and Karlovy Vary. USAID, the US overseas aid agency, also supported a number of projects.
In 2022, the Warsaw Film Festival hosted the Odessa Film Festival, he added. The Ukrainian project he was also commissioned by BBC Storyville, and the Ukrainian project he received development support from Eurimages.
Domestic support for Ukrainian filmmakers has been suspended since the invasion, but the National Film Agency of Ukraine (USFA), which was recently officially allocated a budget that included more than 10 million euros for production costs, said it would not be able to support a “significant number of Ukrainian films. There was internal opposition from the producer. He is now said to have been “obstructing” competition to win grants.
Julia Sinkevich, former director of the Odessa Film Festival and current director of the Ukrainian Film Producers Union, said that the distribution of funds is difficult because many Ukrainian filmmakers are opposed to the current management of the USFA. Agree to be blocked.
More than 700 filmmakers, including director and former Russian prisoner Oleg Sentsov, signed an open letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, announcing that the agency’s budget (10 million yen earmarked for production subsidies) A total of 16 million euros (including euros) was “better utilized.” In the army. ”
“The letter states that the agency is not trusted by filmmakers, even though film is so important in times of war and supporting the arts and film should be a priority.” says Sinkevich. “No one trusts that this money will be distributed in an honest and transparent manner.”
The controversy surrounding the National Film Agency also reached Europe. Tina Rok, head of Tallinn’s Black Nights film festival, told Ukrainian news website LB.UA that she considers the head of the organization, Marina Kuderchuk, to be “totally incompetent in film.”
Sinkevich said he was conflicted about support for Ukrainians at festivals such as the Berlinale. EFM reportedly gave the USFA a discount for this year’s stand even though it had a budget for such an event. At the same time, the Ukrainian producer’s presentation at EFM’s Producer Hub, which she was organizing with USAID support, had to be paid in full.
“Some Ukrainian filmmakers asked if there was a discount for recognition at this year’s Berlinale, like last year, but we were told there was none. It’s the same kind of treatment that people are treated with,” Sinkevich added.
Dennis Lu, head of EFM, said that although the market has tried its best to support the Ukrainian film industry, it will have to make tough choices this year. “The 2023 activity was funded by the Goethe Institute, the Medienbode Berlin-Brandenburg, USAID and German Film. However, for 2024, in response to my initial inquiries, I received funding from Ukraine and Germany. There was no specific funding from German funding agencies, ministries or institutions other than support from German Film to promote co-productions and corresponding opportunities on the Ukrainian stand.
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