CNC Meeting: Co-production Agreement
January 21st 2016, The Lebanese Ministry of Culture in partnership with the Fondation Liban Cinema –FLC- and the French Institute – IFL-Embassy of France in Lebanon, held a roundtable concerning the revitalization of the coproduction agreement between Lebanon and France in the presence of the International Project Manager at the CNC, Mr. Julien Ezanno.
Mr.Rony Arayji opened the session in the presence of the principal producers, writers, directors and major distributors in the film sector in Lebanon.
Mr. Ezzano recalled the principal terms of the co-production agreement and its mechanisms. 11 Lebanese films were officially co-produced since the signing of the agreement in 2000, the agreement must be revisited and Mr. Ezanno proposed few ideas to modify certain articles.
According to Mr Ezzano, some articles can be abolished and other updated so it can be suitable for the 2 parties.
Ezzano also mentioned another supporting fund to help the Lebanese films in Arabic benefit from it: the “Cinema du Monde” fund.
The French Institute and the FLC with the support of the Ministry of Culture, will soon host a networking system that will bring together Lebanese project owners with French producers.
And finally, Arayji and Ezzano promised to do their best to revise and modernize the coproduction agreement.
Round Table: Finance mechanisms
The same day, a second meeting brought together representatives of governments, financial institutions and television channels in the presence of the leading producers and distributors in Lebanon. It focused on the different methods available in some States to support the film industry and their respective limits.
Ezanno listed the various financial mechanisms applied in the world. With BDL’s officials and other public agencies joining their thinking to those of financial institutions in the market, we studied the potential adaptability of these support mechanisms to the Lebanese system
A specific instrument for cinema should be considered, (maybe another circular 331…) and set up a financing fund.
Positive results of these two meetings:
- Willingness of the two parties to renegotiate the agreement
- Creation by the Lebanese Central Bank of a loan rate subsidized at 80% guaranteed for the sector of film production
- Willingness of the main operating cinema theatres to donate a percentage of their tickets’ selling to create a fund that would support the Lebanese film production .. The
sector should nevertheless come together to define the modalities and feasibility to this fund.
Remarks:
- The FLC will be the only interlocutor of the CNC to monitor the files submitted to them for the benefit of the co-production agreement before transferring them to the Ministry of Culture, the competent authority for signing.
- The Minister of Culture declared publicly his opposition to the censorship of films in Lebanon