Europe's most prolific film producer France and the Caribbean minnow Cuba have signed a co-operation deal intended to strengthen the links between their film industries.

The deal was signed last month by David Kessler, head of France's Centre National de la Cinematographie (CNC) and Omar Gonzalez, chairman of Institut Cubain d'Art et d'Industrie Cinematographique (ICAIC). It follows five years of increasing co-operation by bodies including France's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Alliance Francaise and the Festival of French film in Havana.

The two countries say that they will now start a series of preparatory negotiations which are intended to result in the signing of a full bilateral film co-production treaty. That would allow Cuban films to be counted as French for the purpose of attracting subsidies and public sector support. Paris-based Europa Cinemas, a Media Plus-backed exhibition support body similarly now counts Cuban films as eligible for EU support.

That position stands in stark contrast to the official position taken by the US, which has maintained an embargo against the communist state since president Fidel Castro's revolution in 1959. But there are signs that US film-makers too are taking a growing interest in the country. Recent visitors have included Steven Spielberg's on a "cultural exchange" mission, Steven Soderbergh and Oliver Stone.