European filmmakers turn to Venice for funding opportunities

Filmmakers from across Europe are gathering at the on-going 72nd Venice International Film Festival looking for investments to close the funding gap of their film projects.

The European Gap-Financing Market (EGFM), a sideline event lasted from September 4 to 5, was one of their opportunities to impress industry professionals and hopefully secure a deal.

Sponsored by the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Commission, the EGFM is intended to support the European producers to seek the final financing of their projects.

The main criteria to participate in the event is to have 70 percent of the financing in place, and all candidates must go through a selection process.

Each filmmaker, once selected, will receive a 30-minute one-to-one meeting with potential and appropriate international professionals, such as producers, sales agents, distributors and broadcasters, who will then decide whether the project is worth investing or not in the coming days.

This year, 15 projects from 12 countries, including France, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia and Holland, were chosen to participate. The investors received detailed proposals from the candidates before meeting them at the festival.

This new rendez-vous platform was established last year. The first edition successfully organised 186 one-to-one meetings between project teams and decision-makers.

Those who were not chosen by the EGFM can attend other seminars and forum organised by the Venice Film Market, a broader financing fair organised throughout the 10-day festival, where they will also meet potential investors and propose their projects.

The 72nd edition of Venice International Film Festival kicked off on September 2 in the island of Lido, with 21 films competing for the Golden Lion and 15 making world premieres. Endit