New report looks at the health of the current European film industry.

EU Culture Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou will kick off today’s EU audiovisual policy conference by presenting a new communication, ‘European film in the digital era’, which looks at the health of the current European film industry and identifies challenges that lie ahead. 

One key point in the communication is the disparity between the health of European film productions and their success with distribution.

The report states: “While Europe is good at producing a high number of diverse feature films, most European films do not reach all their potential audience in Europe and even less so in the global market.

“For the most part, films stay on national markets but, even there, some never reach the cinema screen or and fail to secure any other distribution channels.”

Other hot topics in the report are the need for integration of new players such as VOD services in the film ecosystem; the need to sustain and nourish talent and professional skills in the European film industry; and learning more about audiences and how they are changing in the digital era.

The Commission wants to engage the panEuropean industry in more continuous discussion about issues and as such is launching a ‘European Cinema Forum’ for dialogue year-round.

The Commissioner’s speech will be followed by two panel discussions, ‘Creating a European audience’ and ‘Reaching out to a European audience’.

Experts speaking on the panels include Wild Bunch’s Vincent Grimond, Unifrance’s Jean-Paul Salome, Vue Cinemas CEO Tim Richards, and TrustNordisk’s Rikke Ennis.