Public Film and TV Funds in Europe Face Crisis as Streamers, Other Forces Upend Traditional Business Models
variety.comAngus Finney As Europe’s multitude of film agencies prepare to plant their flags atop Cannes’ pavilions, a host of public servants are mindful that they face an existential crisis in the bruising battle for cinema’s hearts, minds and future political support.
Under attack from Ministers of Culture (Germany), losing top box office status in their home markets (France) and most recently an acknowledgment of institutional racism at the British Film Institute (U.K.), the guardians of the European filmmaking ecosystem valued at more than $3 billion is facing a reckoning like never before.
The timing is acute. A powerful array of streaming platform and studio-driven streaming commissioners have been muscling into Europe for a long time.
The scale of commissioning engulfing larger European territories was illustrated by Netflix’s recent revelation that it will have spent $6 billion in just four years in the U.K.
Read more on variety.com