Support to Festivals 2020

Deadline: May 21, 2020  
CALL EXPIRED

The present call for proposals is subject to the availability of the funds after the adoption of the budget for 2020 by the budgetary authority.

1. OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION

This notice of a call for proposals is based on the Regulation No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11/12/2013 concerning the implementation of a programme of support for the European cultural and creative sector (CREATIVE EUROPE)1 and its corrigendum of the 27/06/20142.

Within the field of promoting transnational circulation, one of the priorities of the MEDIA Sub- programme shall be to:

• support audience development as a means of stimulating interest in and improving access to European audiovisual works in particular through promotion, events, film literacy and festivals.

The MEDIA Sub-programme shall provide support for the following measures:

support initiatives presenting and promoting a diversity of European audiovisual works;

support activities aiming at increasing knowledge and interest of audiences in European audiovisual works.

For Action 1 Support to Festivals and Action 2 Support to European Networks of Festivals:

2. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

This call for proposals is open to legal entities (private companies, non-profit organisations, associations, charities, foundations, municipalities/Town Councils, etc.) established in one of the countries participating in the MEDIA Sub-programme (see below) and owned directly or by majority participation, by nationals from such countries.

Applications from legal entities established in one of the following countries are eligible as long as all conditions referred to in Article 8 of the Regulation establishing the Creative Europe Programme are met:

• −  EU Member States and overseas countries and territories which are eligible to participate in the Programme pursuant to Article 58 of Council Decision 2001/822/EC

• −  Acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates benefiting from a pre-accession strategy, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements, Association Council Decisions or similar agreements;

• −  EFTA countries which are members of the EEA, in accordance with the provisions of the EEA Agreement;

• −  The Swiss Confederation, on the basis of a bilateral agreement to be concluded with that country;

• −  Countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy in accordance with the procedures defined with those countries following the framework agreements providing for their participation in European Union programmes;

The Programme shall also be open for bilateral or multilateral cooperation actions targeted at selected countries or regions on the basis of additional appropriations paid by these countries or regions.

The Programme shall permit cooperation and joint actions with countries not participating in the Programme and with international organisations which are active in the cultural and creative sectors such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or the World Intellectual Property Organisation on the basis of joint contributions for the realisation of the Programme's objectives.

The Agency may select proposals from applicants in non EU countries, provided that, on the date of the award decision, agreements have been signed setting out the arrangements for the participation of those countries in the programme established by the Regulation referred to above.

(Updated list of countries that fulfil the conditions referred to in Article 8 of the Regulation and that the Commission has started negotiations with can be found on the following link:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/library/eligibility-organisations-non-eu-countries_en).

Natural persons may not apply for a grant.

Action 1 Support to Festivals is open to one European entity.

Action 2 Support to European Networks of Festivals is open to a European network comprising of a coordination entity AND a minimum of 3 member organisations. Coordination entity and member organisations must be legally established in different participating countries.

The coordination entity submits the application on behalf of all member organisations and has to be capable to represent the members of the network in any contractual relationship with the

Agency that may be concluded if the network is selected. Applications must include letters of intent from member organisation confirming their participation.

3. ELIGIBLE ACTIONS

For Action 1 Support to Festivals and 2 Support to European Networks of Festivals :

Only applications submitted by eligible entities organising audiovisual festivals in countries participating in the MEDIA Sub-programme will be accepted.

By audiovisual festival is understood an event:

• programming eligible films (fiction, documentaries or animation), that are being screened to wide audiences including general public as well as accredited international audiovisual professionals and press;

• taking place over a specific period of time, in a prior defined city;

• having a clear regulation/selection procedure.

A minimum of 70% of the eligible programming presented to the public during the festival OR a minimum of 100 feature films (or 400 short films – in case of short film festivals) must originate from countries participating in the MEDIA Sub-programme (see section 6.1 of PART A of the guidelines) hereinafter referred to as “European Films”. Within this "MEDIA Sub-programme countries" programming:

· At least 50% of the films must be non-national. · At least 15 such countries must be represented.

The maximum duration of actions is 12 months.

For Action 1 Support to Festivals

Activities must start during the following periods:

Activity starting date

Period of the action

Proposals submitted on 21 November 2019

Between 1/05/2020 and 31/10/2020

12 months

Proposals submitted on 23 April 2020

Between 1/11/2020 and 30/04/2021

12 months

For Action 2 Support to European Networks of Festivals

The eligible activities for the network are those in relation to:
- Coordination of the network members and activities relating to its sustainable structured development (e.g. collaborative events; sharing of know-how and information; communication among members)
- Provision of financial support to third parties (members of the network) for the implementation of joint activities in line with the priorities and objectives of the call (the maximum amount of funding per member is EUR 30,000)

4. AWARD CRITERIA

Eligible applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

Action 1 - Support to Festivals

Relevance (30 points)
• activity towards the audience and in particular communication activities, including online

activities, the use of the latest digital technologies and tools such as social media and film literacy actions of the project.

Quality of the content and activities (35 points).
• European dimension of the programming including its cultural and geographic diversity as well as the quality of the collaboration and partnerships with other European film festivals across borders.

Dissemination of project results, impact and sustainability (30 points).
• size of the audience and professional community and the impact on the promotion and circulation of European audiovisual works (the use of digital technologies and mechanisms to facilitate commercial or alternative distribution).

Organisation of the Team (5 points).
• distribution of the roles and responsibilities of the Team vis-à-vis the specific objectives of the proposed action.

Action 2 - Support to European Networks of Festivals

1. Relevance (30)
This criterion assesses the relevance of the network to achieve the objectives of this call.

2. Quality of the content and activities (30)
This criterion assesses the quality of the strategies for joint activities, the potential of intended deliverables, the cost-efficiency of the working arrangements.

3. Dissemination of project results impact and sustainability (20)
This criterion assesses the network's approach to promoting, communicating and disseminating its joint activities and to foster knowledge sharing and sharing of best practices.

4. Quality of the network (20)
This criterion assesses the geographical composition of the network and the distribution of the roles and responsibilities regarding the specific objectives of the proposed action.

5. BUDGET

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 3.7 M.

For Action 1 Support to Festivals an indicative amount of EUR 1.6M is available for each of the two deadlines.
The EU financial contribution will take the form of a lump sum according to the number of European films in the programming, between EUR 19.000 and EUR 75.000.

The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-financing rate of 60% of total eligible costs.

For Action 2 Support to European Networks of Festivals an indicative amount of EUR 500.000 is available.
The maximum contribution per selected network is EUR 180.000.
The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-financing rate of 80% of the total eligible costs.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

6. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

Closing dates for submitting proposals:

- 21/11/2019 before 17.00 (Brussels time): Action 1 for activities starting between 01/05/20 and 31/10/20;

- 23/04/2020 before 17.00 (Brussels time): Action 1 for activities starting between 01/11/20 and 30/04/21 AND Action 2

Proposals must be submitted using the online application form (eForm). No other method of submission of an application will be accepted.

Applicants shall ensure that all the documents requested and mentioned in the eForms are provided.

7. FULL DETAILS

The full text of the guidelines together with the application forms can be found at the following Internet address:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/funding/support-festivals-2020_en

Applications must comply with all the terms of the guidelines and be submitted on the eForms provided.