‘Monica’ by Andrea Pallaoro Premieres in Competition at the Venice Film Festival 2022: Interview with Producer Eleonora Granata-Jenkinson

 

‘Monica’ Premieres at the Venice Film Festival 

‘Monica’ begins in extreme closeup of a beautiful but unhappy woman. We do not know what makes her so unhappy; she is quiet, uncommunicative and lives in a sort of darkness, using her cel phone to call and to talk to people who do not answer her calls.

Opening as she is in a sun-tanning machine, the cinematography promotes the physical aspects of her life as her reality. She goes to her red convertible in a palmy sun-soaked Los Angeles and drives into middle America, her dyed red hair blowing in the breeze.

The film’s stillness, its low tenor dialogue when there is any, and the near lack of action make us gather pieces of the story more by induction than by its narrative. The moodiness of the story sets us into a receptive state to understand Monica is returning home to a world she has long left behind. She has a brother with a young wife and three young children. She has a mother who is dying. She also has a numbness to her that makes us feel numb ourselves.

We see her world and learn that she left home when a teenager and her mother left her off at the bus station and told her she could no longer be her mother. She returns not knowing if her mother will acknowledge her or even recognize her. But in the course of returning and connecting to her brother’s family, she finds a healing and the family finds a reconciliation of the sort we would all wish to make before our parents or siblings die. Solace comes from the everyday moments, normalcy in a time of despondency for all as the mother is dying but still living.

Trace Lysette is Monica

Andrea Pallaoro, the film’s director has a quiet and very sophisticated subtle way of delivering what we see as normal details in a way that delves into Monica’s internal world and state of mind. His earlier two films Medeas and Hannah, also have a feeling of not going anywhere as stillness and quiet predominate; but in the end, we know we have arrived at a different place.

He delivers an Italian arthouse feel to stories of almost normal, prosaic people leading lives of quiet desperation. This tattooed woman in a sun machine with her dyed red hair and red convertible, calling an estranged lover perhaps, calling people who do not return her calls, speaking with strangers and asking how they got her number, her massaging a man in her apartment, Is she a prostitute? She is a masseause but what sort…that is when the call comes from a sister-in-law she didn’t know she had, asking her to please come as her mother is dying and they need help with her and their own children.

Andreas has this to say about this particular film: During the past few years my mother’s illness has compelled me to confront my past and the psychological effects of abandonment. Treading between the interior and exterior, the emotional and physical, Monica explores the complexities of self-worth, the deep-rooted consequences of rejection and the lengths we go to heal our wounds. Through a cinematic language that stems from the juxtaposition of the aesthetics of intimacy and alienation, my creative team and I delved into the emotional and psychological landscape of Monica to reflect the precarious nature of self-identity when challenged by the need to survive and ultimately transform.

Andrea Pallaoro is no stranger to Venice. His first feature film, Medeas, premiered at the 70th Venice Film Festival in Orozzonti, the section for first and second time directors. It has won several awards at prestigious international film festivals including Marrakech, Tbilisi, Palm Springs, and CamerImage. And it has received positive reviews by serious critics and opinion makers. The New York Times’ Jeannette Catsoulis: “Capturing the poetry of bodies at rest and a landscape frozen in time,” in many ways describes Monica as well.

Hannah, Pallaoro’s second feature film, starring Charlotte Rampling, also world premiered in the Official Competition of the 74th Venice Film Festival where Ms. Rampling won the Coppa Volpi for best actress. Hannah went on to receive many prestigious international awards and recognition including a César nomination for best foreign film.

Born in Trento, Italy in 1982, Andrea Pallaoro holds an MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts and a BA from Hampshire College. He splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City.

What is as interesting to me as the film itself, is how the producer, Eleonora Granata-Jenkinson come to make this film and how everyone worked together. It is even more interesting because I am a close friend of Eleonora. We met in a line to a movie at her first Sundance Film Festival and I later visited her in Italy when she was a buyer for RAI Cinema. She moved to LA and married one of the finest acquisitions persons in the business and had two sons. She works very closely with the producer Gina Resnick, another “long-timer”, one of the first women in the film business and like us, still at it. Eleonora and Gina produced Andrea’s first film as well.

That is what I wanted to talk to her about and what follows is here:

I know you produced Andrea’s first film Medeas. You told me to see it when we were at the Palm Springs Film Festival. How did you meet Andrea, and did you know immediately that he was so gifted?

Eleonora: Because I am one of the few Italian producers living in Los Angeles, I get to see a lot of amazing young people coming over with their dream and with a film, and friends of friends who say “You gotta watch this, you gotta watch that”. So a dear friend of mine, Laura Zumiani of Trentino Film Commission, though they didn’t have a Trentino Film Commission then, said to me, “There’s a guy that you need to to see, he’s living here in LA and he’s from Trento, and he’s a good friend of mine, and he’s really talented. And I said, “Oh my god, one more…ok…” So I watched his short, it was called Wunderkammer.

Andrea was studying at Cal Arts; it was his last year, and this was his graduate film. I said, “OK let’s watch this”. I was blown away. I had never seen such an incredible composition of photography; the camera moved in a swift and an incredibly crafted way. The story set was dark and I said ‘OMG, well maybe I’m overreacting’…I got so excited. You know when you find something, you say, ‘This is the thing!’…I call my friend Alessandra Venezia, the journalist, and I said, ‘Hey Alexandra’ (she’s my best friend) and I say, ‘am I crazy or is this guy got…’ I had a DVD because at that time it was what we had and I brought it to her. And she calls me back and says, ‘I watched it, oh my god, he’s incredible. Oh my god, Eleonora let’s go meet this guy’.

So I go, she couldn’t go, and I meet Andrea and Laura who’s Laura? Andrea is like one of the most sophisticated, amazing person you will meet. He’s kind, he’s funny, he’s gorgeous looking.

So I say OK, so he has this idea and we develop a little bit of the idea on Medeashis first film and I became the producer. But I needed a hands on producer and I grab my other best friend…I have a few best friends, you are one too [thank you]. They are my support and my life and my joy, that’s why we are in this business…and I said, ‘Gina I have this project…she says, ‘oh no! not a first timer!,’ but then she saw his short and so we did Medeas. Then I developed with Andrea the second film, Hannah, starring Charlotte Rampling but I didn’t produce it for him. .. long sotry but it was better not to produce it and so we concentrated on this one and that’s how Monica came to be.

It sounds simple. Was it really so simple?

Eleonora: The journey for this film was a very long one because of the issue of the film and because of the nature of Andrea’s films which are absolutely accomplished but not for a wide audience. Monica is the biggest film that Andrea has done. It’s in English, it’s shot in the United States and we have a marvelous cast. The film turned out to be incredible.

What about Venice?…

Medeas showed at Venice Orizzonti, the festival’s section for first and second time directors. Then it went on to other festivals and received praise from very serious critics and opinion makers. New York Times called it a “ravishing first feature”.

His second film, Hannah, also premiered in Venice. Naturally we are in a good relationship with Venice and we would never consider anything else…though there is no guarantee that we would be chosen to go again. I think they will like the next one too however. So here we are in Competition, on the first weekend.

That is great placement — the first weekend.

Yes as the people start to migrate to Toronto after the first half…though any time, any day or night is a great achievement to be in Venice. There are other phenomenal films there that did not go to Cannes. I believe this is going to be one of the best Competitions of Venice. We’re so proud to be there…

Andrea is in great company: Gianni Amelio, Darren Aronofsky, Noah Baumbach, Alice Diop, Inarritu, Luca Guadigno, Jafar Panahi, Frederick Wiseman, Laura Poitras, Florian Zeller — just to name a few, fabulous experienced directors.

Let’s talk a bit about Monica. There’s so little dialogue and there’s so little visibly going on and yet that serves to puts you into this receptive state and you get it at the end…it is all so interior… Medeas was also quietly interior. And both are dealing with such American every day life and environment, the the protagonist is always quite special herself (and always a woman).

What is his connection to US?

Eleonora: He is an Italian-American director who, as every one of us who has come to Hollywood from outside of the USA, has an idea of America which is a very personal creative and cultural experience.

The story of Monica is based on a real friend of Andrea who was a neighbor when he first moved here. She was a beautiful transgender woman who was kicked out of her family when she was 16 and came to Los Angeles.

What’s trans about Monica?

She is a woman reconnecting with family that she was shut out from. She is going on an interior journey back to her roots from which she emerges from her loneliness and rejection and finds the value of loving each other for who we are.

What is edifying is the social commitment of the film. It is about injustice and understanding in portraying women in whatever shape they are as belonging to humankind…it’s a very human experience. We consider this a post-trangender film about a transgender person played by a transgender actor…

Is the actress trans?

Tracee Lysette worked in many non-transgender roles, but came out publicly as trans through her role as Shea on the Amazon series Transparent. On the show, she plays a transgender yoga teacher and friend of Maura Pfefferman (Jeffrey Tambor). She also played in Hustlers alongside Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B and Constance Wu.

Tracee generated such an energy in a beautiful love story interrupted and disconnected that she is able to move forward. It is such a restrained, finely drawn role. I really believe the performance will go for a major award.

One wonders whether the mother will recognize her and accept her.

Director Andrea Pallaoro and Patricia Clarkson

What about the other actors?

It was an unbelievable performance by Patricia Clarkson as the mother. She carried the film and with her own sensibility and her own personal view which so beautifully coinceded with Andreas’ vision. She supported the film all the way from its first steps through completion. She was always there for us.

Joshua Close, who plays the brother of Monica is coming out in Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon playing opposite Leonardo di Caprio as his brother. He was great. Emily Browning is outstanding as the sister-in-law who calls Monica as she is giving the massage and tells her they need her to come back home where the mother is dying. And Adriana Barraza, one of the best actresses of Mexico, nominated for the Oscar for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Babel was incredible on the set, she brought such harmony.

The film was made on a very small budget and everyone had to pitch in to help it get made. The actors were all so supportive and helpful and Andrea actually produced the film with us. You should note aside from him there are only three producers: myself, Gina Resnick and Christina Dow.

I am a woman producer strongly believing in women supporting one another. Gina Resnick is not only a great hands-on producer but she stays through thick and thin. We of course are the closest friends as well. We must speak 20 times a day.

Even though it was a small budget, it was shot in 35 by a brilliant beautiful amazing DP, Katelin Arizmendi. Kate is just coming off of the 2nd unit forDune. She is a brilliant young woman — looks like a movie star and is working with a whole team of women, grip and everything . You will see them all when you come to Venice. They’re all coming, this crazy force of nature. Together they did a did a stunning film, stunning. You could take every frame of film and put it on the wall.

We’re very very excited about it.

What about distribution?

We have already been invited to a very significant film festival after this one. It will have a successful journey. Our sales agent is The Exchange. And UTA: I want to mention Rena Ronson — Rina, Gina and Eleonora…UTA did so much for us. We really joined forces. They set up all the screenings for finding a domestic US distributor who screened the film. After Venice and the reviews and others have weighed in, we will decide on our US plan.

I notice a huge number of coproducers and executive producers. There are 19. What is that about? It seems, actually to be a trend…Triangle of Sadnesshad 31 as do so many films these days…

The many executive and coproducers all believed in the script in spite of its difficult subject and they all significantly helped us put this film together. They were our best allies.

Our financial partner Felix and all the executive producers are worth mentioning. My own son, Matteo Jenkinson worked really closely with me to produce this film…

Andrea is a brilliant genius. Surrounded by such a cast and technical team, our Italian post-production help, the editor Paola Freddi; everyone went way above and beyond their designated roles with the film.

We even had help from the Italians with post-production by Propaganda Italia, Simone Gandolfo and a little financial support of the Ministero della Cultura (MiC) . And we have the best distributor in Italy today, I Wonder.

CREDITS

Directed by ANDREA PALLAORO
Written by ANDREA PALLAORO and ORLANDO TIRADO
Cinematographer KATELIN ARIZMENDI
Editor PAOLA FREDDI
Production Designer ANDREW CLARK
Costume designer PATRIK MILANI
Sound supervisor MIRKO PERRI
Produced by GINA RESNICK p.g.a., CHRISTINA DOW, ELEONORA GRANATA JENKINSON,

ANDREA PALLAORO

Co — produced by MARINA MARZOTTO a.g.i.c.i., MATTIA ODDONE, RICCARDO DI PASQUALE, GABRIELE ORICCHIO, ANTONIO ADINOLFI, GIORGIA LO SAVIO

Executive Producer — TRACE LYSETTE, ANDREI EPIFANOV, DAVID SCHWARZ, STEVE STANULIS, JOANA HENNING, STEPHANIE CASTAGNIER DUNN , ANTHONY BURNS, AMY GILLIAM, ERIC SCHNEDECKER, CHRISTINA SIBUL , KAREN TENKHOFF, ERIC COOK , MATTEO JENKINSON , BRIAN O’SHEA, NAT McCORMICK, DRU DAVIS, JULIEN P BOURGON , THEO VIELJEUX, ALI JAZAYERI, VIVIANA ZARRAGOITIA

Produced by VARIENT ENTERTAINMENT, SOLO FIVE PRODUCTION, MELOGRANO FILMS

Co-produced by PROPAGANDA ITALIA, FENIX ENTERTAINMENT with RAI CINEMA and ALACRAN PICTURES

In association with 039 ALBEDO, THE EXCHANGE, CINETRAIN and HUDSON ENTERTAINMENT GROUP

CAST & CREW
TRACE LYSETTE ⎜Monica
PATRICIA CLARKSON ⎜Eugenia
EMILY BROWNING ⎜ Laura
JOSHUA CLOSE ⎜ Paul
ADRIANA BARRAZA ⎜ Leticia
GRAHAM CALDWELL ⎜Brody
RUBY FRASER ⎜Britney

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY/ CAMERA OPERATOR — KATE ARIZMENDI

1ST ASSISTANT CAMERA — JASMINE CHANG

2nd ASSISTANT CAMERA — SAM STORM

1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR- LAURA KLEIN

2ND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR — ROGER MENDOZA

LINE PRODUCER — CHENNEY CHEN

UPM — ERIC COOK

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR — NICK AVERY, CRISTINA ARTEAGA

PRODUCTION SECRETARY- JESSICA MEEK

CASTING DIRECTOR (NY/LA) — EMILY SCHWEBER

LOCAL CASTING DIRECTOR — D. LYNN MEYERS

ASSISTANT CASTING DIRECTOR — ALI RAIZIN

ASSISTANT CASTING DIRECTOR CINCINNATI — BECCA SCHALL

COSTUME DESIGNER — PATRIK MILANI

ASST. COSTUME DESIGNER/ COSTUME SUPERVISOR — MARGAUX SOLANO

CHIEF LIGHTING TECHNICIAN — JAKE LYON

KEY GRIP — STEVE FORBES

BEST BOY GRIP — CHRISTOFER MOSCOSO

GRIP — RODNEY “ROCK” REED, ARIA BRICE, THOMAS VINCENT, JAKE STORM, PAUL FIERST, NICK PATTEN, MATTHEW BARNHART

HAIR/MAKE-UP DEPT HEAD — CHELO ACOSTA-CONLEY LOCATION MANAGER — ALAN FORBES
MUSIC CONSULTANT — ANGELA ASISTIO
PROP MASTER — LINNEA CRABTREE PRODUCTION DESIGNER — ANDREW CLARK SOUND MIXER — VIKTOR WEISZHAUPT, JOHNATHAN REECE

Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2022 TIFF Tribute Award for Performance

 

Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2022 TIFF Tribute Award for Performance

The cast of Michael Grandage’s My Policeman — Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, and Rupert Everett — are the first-ever film ensemble to receive this honour

Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, has announced that the ensemble cast of My Policeman — Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, and Rupert Everett — will be honoured with the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance.

Now in its fourth year, the TIFF Tribute Awards presented by BVLGARI will return to an in-person gala fundraiser during the 47th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 11, at Fairmont Royal York Hotel. As previously announced, My Policeman by director Michael Grandage will have its World Premiere at this year’s Festival.

The TIFF Tribute Award for Performance is presented by Polestar.

“When your film shifts through time and across fluid boundaries of love and desire, you need a cast that can embody those nuances in every gesture,” said Bailey. “Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, and David Dawson deliver beautiful, mirrored performances with Linus Roache, Gina McKee, and Rupert Everett. We’re thrilled to honour the ensemble cast of My Policeman with the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance.”

Adapted for the screen by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ron Nyswaner from Bethan Roberts’ award-winning novel of the same name, Prime Video’s My Policeman follows three young people — policeman Tom (Styles), teacher Marion (Corrin), and museum curator Patrick (Dawson) — as they embark on an emotional journey in 1950s Britain. Flashing forward to the 1990s, Tom (Roache), Marion (McKee), and Patrick (Everett) are still reeling with longing and regret, but now they have one last chance to repair the damage of the past. Grandage carves a visually transporting, heart-stopping portrait of three people caught up in the shifting tides of history, liberty, and forgiveness.

For the first time ever, the TIFF Tribute Award for Performance will be celebrating an ensemble cast in the now gender-neutral acting category. This is the first of two performance awards to be announced. Past recipients honoured in the prestigious acting category were Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch in 2021; Kate Winslet and Sir Anthony Hopkins in 2020; and Meryl Streep and Joaquin Phoenix in 2019.

The TIFF Tribute Awards have served as an awards-season bellwether, with past honourees Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi, and Chloé Zhao going on to win awards on the international stage. The TIFF Tribute Awards honour the film industry’s outstanding contributors and their achievements, recognizing leading industry members, acting talent, directorial expertise, new talent, and a below-the-line artist and creator. The Awards event also serves as TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser to support TIFF’s Every Story fund, which promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in film and TIFF’s core mission to transform the way people see the world through film. More information on the 2022 TIFF Tribute Awards event and this year’s honourees will follow in the coming weeks.

My Policeman ensemble biographies

Harry Styles

Harry Styles is an international singer, songwriter, and actor. Styles made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 acclaimed drama Dunkirk and can next be seen in Olivia Wilde’s upcoming film Don’t Worry Darling. My Policeman marks his first-ever starring role.

Emma Corrin

Actor Emma Corrin is best known for the role of Lady Diana Spencer in Season 4 of the Netflix worldwide, award-winning hit series The Crown. The role earned Corrin a Golden Globe and Critics Choice award for Best Actress, as well a SAG and Emmy nomination in the same category. Corrin will reunite with director Michael Grandage this year to star in Orlando, a play penned by Neil Bartlett from the Virginia Woolf novel. Corrin will play the titular role in the feminist classic, which spans nearly 400 centuries and follows a poet who explores gender expression and meets various key figures of English literary history. They have been selected by The Hollywood Reporter as one of their “Next Gen” breakout actors and named as one of Screen International’s “Stars of Tomorrow” in 2020. Up next for Emma is their lead role in the Netflix and 3000 Pictures new film adaptation of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, based on the classic 1928 novel by D.H. Lawrence. Emma is currently filming the lead role in FX’s limited series Retreat. Emma will play Darby Hart, the amateur sleuth at the centre of a murder mystery set at a secluded retreat, joined by further cast including Harris Dickinson and Alice Braga.

David Dawson

David Dawson recently starred in the espionage thriller All the Old Knives for Amazon Studios, starring alongside Jonathan Pryce, Laurence Fishburne, and Chris Pine. Dawson has a wide and varied television career and is also a revered stage actor, best known for his role as King Alfred in The Last Kingdom. On stage, Dawson received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for playing Smike in the 2007 production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Other notable performances have been in The Entertainer (Old Vic); Comedians (Lyric Hammersmith); Posh (Royal Court); Luise Miller (Donmar Warehouse); The Dazzle (Found 111); The Duchess of Malfi (Sam Wanamaker Playhouse); Brian Friel’s Aristocrats (Donmar Warehouse); The Vortex (Rose Theatre); Romeo & Juliet (RSC); The Long, The Short & The Tall (Sheffield Crucible)’ Richard II and, most recently, Fairview (Young Vic.)

Gina McKee

Gina McKee has enjoyed a varied acting career both on stage and on screen. Some of her many film appearances include featured roles in Joe Wright’s Atonement, Michael Winterbottom’s Wonderland, and Roger Michell’s Notting Hill. In Paul Thomas Anderson’s romantic drama Phantom Thread, McKee played the role of Countess Henrietta. She also starred alongside Tom Hollander and Peter Capaldi in Armando Iannucci’s In the Loop. As well as film, McKee has made many notable TV appearances, including most recently as Commander Anne Sampson in the hit BBC TV series Bodyguard. Other TV credits include her role in Hebburn (which won an RTS award), The Borgias, Line of Duty, The Street, The Lost Prince, The Forsyte Saga, Brass Eye, and Our Friends in The North, which earned McKee the coveted Best Actress BAFTA Award. Alongside McKee’s screen career, she is also an acclaimed stage actress with productions including Faith Healer, the Olivier Award–nominated King Lear, and Old Times, all at the Donmar Warehouse. Other productions include: The Mother, Di and Viv and Rose; London’s West End’s Richard III, Ivanov, The Lover and the Collection; as well as Aristocrats for the National Theatre.

Rupert Everett

Rupert Everett first appeared on stage in 1981 as Guy Bennett in the West End production of Julian Mitchell’s play Another Country, a role which he repeated in the 1984 film version and saw him nominated for a BAFTA as Best Newcomer. Subsequent nominations include a BAFTA and Golden Globe for My Best Friend’s Wedding.

Linus Roache

Linus Roache first gained worldwide recognition in Antonia Bird’s critically acclaimed film Priest. Since then, he has appeared in many films, including Iain Softley’s Wings of a Dove, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, Mira Nair’s The Namesake, and John Furse’s Blind Flight, for which he received a Best Actor nomination from the Scottish BAFTAs. He also played the lead role in Pandaemonium, directed by Julien Temple, for which he won the Best Actor award at the Evening Standard Film Awards. He has starred in The Chronicles of Riddick, Hart’s War, and Jaume Collet-Serra’s Non-Stop opposite Liam Neeson. Recently, Linus has starred in Panos Cosmatos’ visionary film Mandy, as well as Hochelaga, Land of Souls, directed by François Girard. In 2022, Linus shot a film called The Dresden Sun, directed by Michael Ryan, and The Apology, directed by Alison Star Locke. He also shot a new Showtime series called Fellow Travellers written and directed by Ron Nyswaner. Linus starred in Liberté: A Call to Spy, directed by Lydia Dean Pilcher, and Alex Gansa’s hit series Homeland for the final two seasons. Other recent credits include the BBC miniseries Summer of Rockets, directed by Stephen Poliakoff, and three seasons as the power-hungry King Ecbert in Michael Hirst’s acclaimed series Vikings. Linus received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Robert Kennedy in the F/X television film RFK, directed by Robert Dornhelm, and co-starred in HBO’s award-winning The Gathering Storm, for which he won the Satellite Award for best actor in a supporting role. Linus played series regular Executive A.D.A. Michael Cutter in NBC’s Law & Order. He also played a lead role in Julian Fellowes’ miniseries Titanic. His extensive theatrical experience includes seasons with the RSC, the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Court, London’s West End, as well as Richard II and Coriolanus, in which he played opposite Ralph Fiennes at London’s Almeida Theatre and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, directed by Jonathan Kent.

#TIFF22 #TIFFTribute

About TIFF:

TIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $200 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel, and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation, and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.

TIFF is generously supported by Lead Sponsor Bell, Major Sponsors RBC, Visa and BVLGARI, and Major Supporters the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, Telefilm Canada, and the City of Toronto.

TIFF Industry programming is generously supported by Telefilm Canada and Ontario Creates. Every Story is generously supported by fund Founding Partner, NBCUniversal.

 

Important News about European Co-productions and Streaming Options vis-à-vis IP rights: A Discussion with Doreen Boonekamp

Discussions in Europe are taking place regarding a new funding chapter that puts social and cultural value above economic impact and yet takes into consideration the power of streaming and the rights’ holders share in this newest form of distribution.

Doreen Boonekamp, CEO of the Netherlands Film Fund for a decade, was also Chair of the OMC Group of Member States’ Experts on Co-production, an important arena for sharing experience and best practices from different EU Member States and different parts of the audiovisual value chain. This OMC Group aims for further development of Europe’s pluralism, freedom of artistic expression and cultural diversity, integrating them into a single business model which also favors talent retaining ownership of intellectual property rights as digital production and distribution mature.

Doreen Boonekamp and Vice Chair Alex Traila have created the report Coproductions that Shine to elaborate on how this new funding chapter might take shape. Doreen and I discussed the topic of coproduction and especially the role streamers are now playing during Cannes at the Dutch Pavilion.

From the Palme d’Or of the Franco-Italian Il Gattopardo by Visconti in 1963 to the Palme d’Or of the 2022 Eurimages-supported Triangle of Sadness, produced by Plattform Produktion and Coproduction Office, in co-production with Film i Väst, Essential Films, SVT, BBC Films, Arte France Cinéma and ZDF/Arte, in collaboration with Heretic, Bord Cadre Films, Sovereign Films and Piano Films, and with support from the Swedish Film Institute, Danish Film Institute, Eurimages, the BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Nordisk Film & TV Fond, there is a famous European tradition of film co-production, which is rooted in the fertile ground of networks and relationships between European audiovisual professionals.

Among the 27 EU countries that drive filmmaking in a Europe which is doing its best to be pluralistic and inclusive, the meaning of “co-production” is several producers working together to leverage their mutual resources (financial, talent and material) and artistic collaboration, and most importantly to share risks, rights and revenues, in order to produce an audiovisual work. “Official” cinematographic co-productions are covered by international conventions or bilateral agreements.

The OMC report on co-productions is not only about cinematographic works covered by the revised Council of Europe Convention on Cinematographic Co-production, but is more about creating and sustaining organic forms of cooperation among EU-27 producers in features and in the field of TV series, a format that is thriving. While acknowledging the importance of co-productions with countries outside Europe, the Group decided to focus only on co-productions among EU-27 Member States in this report.

The report, Co-productions that Shine, is addressed to policy-makers at EU, national and sub-national level, as well as to professionals working in the audiovisual industry. For the recommendations to have the greatest possible impact, private stakeholders across the whole value chain — from creatives to end-of-chain operators —must commit to them and to cooperate among themselves as well as with public institutions. Effective implementation of the recommendations will be instrumental in the transformation of the European ecosystem.

Read the entire report here.

SydneysBuzz: Thank you for taking the time to discuss the issues facing European coproductions. I think that for all its problems, Europe (the EU and its Economic Council) is still an oasis for culture. This union, creating and distributing co-productions has been going on for more than 30 years. We are now seeing a generational shift, not only here in Europe but worldwide.

Doreen: More than 30 years ago in Europe, a set of institutions was created with the sole purpose of fostering and facilitating the birth of a European film industry. Thirty years ago, these initiatives ensured continuity and further development of European pluralism, freedom of artistic expression and cultural diversity, integrating them into a single business model. The set of institutions were:

1. EAVE, the training ground for creative producers to develop international skills and projects
2. European Audiovisual Observatory, the collecting and distributing information on the state of play
3. Eurimages, supporting European co-productions
4. European Distribution Office, promoting and exporting European films outside Europe’s borders
5. MEDIA programme, enhancing the whole value chain from project development to support for festivals.

We knew culture, or more precisely storytelling through film and audiovisual works, catered to the unity of our continent’s inherited diversity. The centerpieces were authors and independent producers.

This is coming under question now as streamers move in and want to own the product in the way that the former Hollywood Studios used to do (and still do, though to a much lesser degree now). I know in France, the auteurs own their properties and I know producers want to own their work elsewhere, but the streamers want to dispense with such ownership.

Yes that presents a conflict. Today Europe is facing new challenges, and film and audiovisual are again at their heart.

At the same time, the challenges in terms of what is at stake are not so very different from 30 years ago. We do however feel the need to reconfirm the principles that bind us to safeguard creation and freedom of expression, as well as acknowledge and support the concept of cultural diversity to strengthen the European audiovisual ecosystem.

The main regulatory instruments that are relevant in the audiovisual sector are the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive adapting it to the emergence of streaming and video sharing platforms, the new Copyright Directive protecting creators in the digital age, and the Cinema Communication that frames how state aid can be allocated to the audiovisual sector.

Under the old American studio system, countries “blocked” local returns from American movie exhibition so that rather than export profits back to USA, monies were allocated to local production (which rarely made it out of the countries where they were produced).

Yes funds coming from American blockbusters and films produced and distributed by the studios were often blocked from leaving some countries and so were put into productions in those countries.

Of course then USA represented 90% of studio film revenues and now USA brings in less than 30% from the USA domestic market, the return on investment in question is much greater internationally.

Today more players in Europe than before combine production and distribution. This is particularly relevant for streaming platforms, which are not just involved in online ƒdistribution, but increasingly in production. There is, however, the possibility for member states to impose levies or investment obligations to contribute financially to the production of European works. One of these investments obligations ensures that 30% of the European works in the catalogs of streamers contribute to the production of more European works. All of this is laid down in more detail in the revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

A number of powerful international streaming platforms have entered the European market and are successfully producing content in Europe. This has represented both an opportunity and a challenge for European independent audiovisual producers and works.

On the one hand, platforms can give European producers and artists access to financing and a wider international audience. On the other, the application by platforms of what could be defined as a “work-for-hire” model (i.e. the acquisition of all the intellectual property rights from the producer and/or from individual creators from the outset, worldwide and in perpetuity) can “lock in” producers/talents with the platform in question.

That raises concerns regarding ownership of intellectual property and represents risks for the diversity of content created and the autonomy of the European ecosystem.

This issue is particularly important as the importance of streaming has lately been considerably reinforced, as shown by recent trends in consumption habits. European citizens’ time spent on streaming platforms increased by 122% in 2020, driven in part by the closure of theatres in pandemic times. Video on demand outstripped live viewing by 68% to 32%.

Despite the difficulty of striking balanced relationships, strong European co-productions are in a better position to thrive in a post-COVID world. They are the very epitome of European works with public appeal. In this respect, co-productions are a response to and a way out of the current crisis. This is a renewed rationale for public funds to stimulate strong European co-productions, via incentives in their support.

Co-productions are powerful vehicles to address the challenges currently faced by the industry, namely the recovery from the crisis, the intensification of the digital domain, and the necessity of greening the sector.

What about IP rights ownership?

Over the last decades, the common understanding of co-production was to share IP rights as a return on investment for the creative and financial risks. This understanding of co-production has had a recognized structuring impact on the market.

IP is crucial for the monetization of content and for the independence from broadcasters and/or streaming platforms which comes with IP revenues.

In the TV sector, independent producers confirm that such IP requirements in public support have been instrumental when introducing reverting rights with broadcasters, with the obligation for exploitation rights to revert to the independent producer after 7 years (in the case of pre-sale to a broadcaster) or 10 years (in the case of co-production with a broadcaster).

Over the years, the requirement on intellectual property in the MEDIA programme has helped independent producers recover the intellectual property of the works produced. In so doing, the MEDIA programme has had a structuring effect on the TV market in Europe, and on co-productions.

I have heard that the major players (streamers like Apple, Amazon) do not want to deal with “small” European production companies. They just want to own the entire property which they own totally, produce and distribute.

When negotiating with major players, European production companies have limited bargaining power. This can result in models based on ceding full ownership of IP rights. This has in turn hindered the ability of the independent producers to recoup their investments and monetize their work on a long-term basis This leads to the need to reaffirm the classic European model based on independent production companies owning the IP and exploitation rights in line with the territoriality principle.

The European Producers Club (EPC) has carried out preparatory work on addressing this issue and has identified concrete guidelines on re-balancing these relationships (see Box).

The current situation of independent productions, in particular in the TV series sector, has professionals calling for the position of independent producers to be reinforced at critical moments of the production chain, notably in their relations with broadcasters and/or streaming platforms, and ensuring complementarity between national and pan-European public policies and support programs.

How can the balance of power between producers and streamers be equalized?

The question of the balance of power between market players with different business models not only influences the IP arrangements, but also fair access to viewing data. In the context of co-productions, co-producers should have access to data on the performance of their works.

While the box office figures of theatrical releases are monitored and available to professionals, the access to data from online exploitation, such as the number and length of views, is in the hands of the streaming platforms. This topic has been a recurrent request from independent producers in recent years. Access to this information is also crucial for public funding bodies, who need to calculate support in relation to a work’s performance.

The members of this OMC group stress the need to grant producers and relevant public authorities fair access to viewing data, as this is instrumental in understanding the audience in a fast evolving context. These figures are not only useful for producers and authors, and for film funds to adapt their support to the evolution of the markets, but also for the audience to make an informed choice.

Beyond access to data, any means favoring transparency, such as regular contacts and open dialogue, are instrumental in a healthy environment for strong European co-productions. The Media Outlook that the Commission services will publish in 2022 will also look at those trends and analyse their potential impact on the European market and existing business models.

What are your recommendations for stronger European co-productions?

The following recommendations emerged from the discussions of this OMC group and are addressed to policy-makers, key players and creatives in the audiovisual sector. Overall, they show how co-productions have the potential to make a special contribution by helping the sector address the combined challenges of the digital revolution, themCOVID-19 crisis and the greening of the audiovisual sector.

Our recommendations for producers are

1. Dream big and scale up to the European market.

As European co-productions rely on several partners from different countries, they trigger interest across borders. This is a way to increase the distribution of a given work, be it theatrical or online, and ultimately its audience. Therefore, production companies are encouraged to use co-productions as a launchpad to widen their native market from their original Member State to Europe as a whole.

2. Enhance co-creation within co-productions.

Starting cooperation upstream maximises the benefits of co-producing. To mean more than just pooling financial resources, co-productions imply co-creation. Relying on several producers reinforces the quality of the project, as it brings together the expertise of different producer profiles as well as of the different end-of-chain operators, such as broadcasters and streaming platforms. Collective writing boosts creativity and co-creation, which is the essence of European co-productions. Therefore, to maximise the benefit of co-producing, producers and authors are encouraged to develop contacts and to collaborate as early as the very preliminary stages of projects (conception, writing).

3. Nurture talents.

Talents are the foundation stones of European co-productions. Whether in front of or behind the camera, they benefit from and sustain the international career of a co-production. Production companies are those best placed to ensure that experience acquired from co-productions is shared among their staff and talents, to enable them to grow professionally and to think of Europe as their natural playground. Therefore, production companies are encouraged to use co-productions to develop talents at the European level and contribute to the strengthening, (re)positioning and consolidation of the European market.

4. Develop international skills.

Developing their network internationally is important for all professionals (producer, writer, director, cast, crew) if they are to feel comfortable with different working cultures, to open up to international job opportunities, and ultimately develop a genuine co-production mindset. International training schemes are particularly fit for this purpose. Whether they are dedicated to co-production or not, they are a unique way to liaise with professionals from other countries and become privileged co-production partners. European networks of professionals also enable best practice sharing, which in turn facilitates working together. Creative Europe MEDIA supports the development of talents and skills among professionals. Professionals are encouraged to take initiatives and responsibility in developing their international skills and European networks.

Our recommendations for film funds

1. Open up further to boost co-productions.

The COVID-19 crisis has hit the audiovisual sector hard and co-productions are an opportunity to recover and build the future together. This is also an opportunity for film funds to assess and if necessary adjust their support to co-productions and move towards more open requirements focused on the work’s contribution to the sector. Film funds are invited to increase incentives for co-productions, whether they are majority or minority, in three ways:

— Push dedicated envelopes for co-productions in order to secure continuity in support.

— Extend the support for co-productions to the script development stage, since the value of starting to work together as early as possible has been established and should in turn translate into possible support to co-producers to enable them to co-develop.

— Offer support to professionals to take part in international training programs.

2. Align to avoid incompatibilities.

Co-productions are complex vehicles to drive. Producers sometimes struggle to identify the relevant schemes to support their co-productions. More transparency about the different schemes (e.g. making information on schemes available in English) and clarity as to the granting criteria are needed to facilitate co-productions at European level. Online tools should be developed to give clear and simple publicly accessible information and guidance to professionals. Certain support schemes, including some on a regional or local level, as well as fiscal incentives, require extensive national participation in the supported works, such as days of filming, members of the cast or crew and national expenses. However, these requirements may be hard to combine and hence become less effective and efficient. Moreover, requirements related to national expenditures may also demonstrate limitations when faced with the intensification of the digital transition, the public health crisis and the greening of audiovisual.

Film funds are encouraged to streamline their conditions and to ease spending obligations to increase the chances of supporting works that are likely to act as locomotives for the sector and in addition to reduce the administrative burden for producers.

3. Play IP as a team.

Currently, there is a lack of fair deal structures, i.e. platforms oriented towards rights ownership in the long run versus independent producers having to sell their content and exploitation rights to stay afloat in the short run despite their interest in IP retention in the long run. This is exacerbated by differences in the players’ negotiating power. However, fair deals benefit the European audiovisual industry as a whole, as ownership of rights that can be exploited is instrumental in enabling independent producers to grow and in boosting the diversity of the cinematographic works and TV series developed and created. Therefore, public support, in particular selective aid, can structure the sector by incentivizing fair deals and reserving support to works produced by independent producers keeping a certain share of rights. To do so, public support schemes should in their selection process take into account IP and exploitation rights arrangements between the different partners.

Our recommendations addressed to all public and private players

1. Innovate!

Joining forces also creates an opportunity to try new approaches. On the financial side, different instruments are available, such as the Cultural and Creative Sector Guarantee Facility. On societal challenges, such as sustainability, the audiovisual industry has a specific responsibility to take the lead due to its power to influence attitudes. On the technological side, co-productions can experiment with new techniques, such as immersive or virtual production. Co-productions are an opportunity to innovate. It is up to the professionals to be bold and to film funds to accompany them in this process.

2. Expand the use of data.

Production companies, authors and relevant public authorities have an interest in accessing the data on the performance of the co-produced work, so that they get to know their audience better. This can feed into future works. The film funds and public authorities also have an interest in knowing the performance of the works they invest in. Therefore, viewing data is a powerful tool to support European ambitions. In this perspective, data on co-productions should be collected, shared and analysed across the value chain, including VOD services’ (viewing) data.

3. Ensure the diversity of co-productions as a key asset of Europe’s audiovisual industry at all times.

To ensure the competitiveness of Europe as a whole in the long run, it is critical to boost the diversity of works by not only involving independent producers, talents, funds and other key players in high production capacity territories, but also those in smaller territories, less spoken language areas as well as from other minorities and voices from underrepresented groups to ensure their access to funding. Since independent co-productions have proven to be the driving force for diversity, their position should be strengthened, clarified and respected in order to level the playing field which both cinematographic works and TV series need in order to blossom. Independent producers and independent production companies should enjoy fair contractual terms and clarification of the definition of independence for co-productions vis-à-vis all end-of-chain operators, including broadcasters and VOD services.

10 facts about the Creative Europe Program

The new Creative Europe program launched in 2021 comes with a significantly increased budget of EUR 2.45 billion for the next seven years (i.e. an increase of approximately EUR 1 billion compared to the previous programming period), and 58% is earmarked for the MEDIA strand.