Support For European Cinema

SAME BUT DIFFERENT (Detlev Buck, Germany) 

by Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Dailies Editor

With nearly a third of the films on offer in Toronto coming from the European continent, the Festival is a very important launching pad for both established and emerging talents to make an impression in North America. That is why the support of the European Film Promotion organization, a conglomeration of the governmental promotion offices from across the continent, is so vital to bring recognition and visibility in a very crowded festival field.

Specifically, EFP's Film Sales Support (FSS) financially supports the promotion and marketing of 55 films from across Europe in Toronto this year. It's the highest number of European films ever supported by FSS on an international film festival since the initiative was launched six years ago. EFP's activities in Toronto are backed by the Media Programme  of the European Union.



This year, Toronto screens about 120 European films out of a total of 335 productions from 64 countries. Almost half of the films are benefiting from Film Sales Support. Last year, 68 percent of the FSS supported films in Toronto were sold to non-European countries, mainly to North and South America but also to Asia, Russia and the Middle-East. FSS not only covers half of the promo costs for films selected for Toronto which are unsold to North America but also pays towards the travel costs of some of the talent. 

Here is the complete list of international sales companies and the films screening in Toronto supported by this crucial initiative:

For more information on all the European films screening in Toronto, visit:  

http://www.efp-online.com/en/activities/projects/toronto_filmlist.php