Active since 2001, the European Film Agency Directors Association has now a formal status after the signature of the new statutes of a Brussels-based Association under Belgian law in December 2014.

“Our new status will formalise the way we work and are structured. Importantly, it will send a strong message to the EU institutions that they can count on a clear voice from the film agencies when they design audio-visual and cinema related policy and initiatives and we will speak with one voice on these matters,” said Peter Dinges, President of the EFADs.

The EFADs Association brings together Directors of European Film Agencies from 31 countries across Europe – from the 28 member-states of the European Union plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. We represent government or government associated bodies with responsibility for national funding vis-à-vis the audiovisual sector and with a role of advising national governments in all aspects of national and European audiovisual policies.

The President of the EFADs Association is Peter Dinges, CEO of the German Federal Film Board (FFA) and the Vice-President is Guy Daleiden, Director of the Film Fund, Luxembourg.

Through this new step, the EFADs Association will have an active approach at European level. The main topics that the EFADs discuss today are: the impact of the digital environment on the EU film sector and the role of the online operators, the proposed modernisation of EU copyright rules, the enforcement and protection of rights and media literacy.

To achieve its aims, the EFADs has initiated three working groups on these topics. These groups will discuss series of issues in these fields and will nurture the debate, as well as help the EFADs to develop proposals regarding policy which emerge from these EU institutions.

The EFADs Association meets three times a year during the film festivals in Berlin, Cannes and San Sebastian. This year’s meeting in Berlin is the first meeting for the EFADs as an Association. On the agenda, amongst others: how to address the main challenges for the European audiovisual content industries in the digital age and copyright.

EFADs Board members:
1. Germany, German Federal Film Board (FFA), Mr Peter Dinges, President of the EFADs
2. Luxembourg, Film Fund, Mr Guy Daleiden, Vice-President of the EFADs
3. Belgium, Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel (CCA), Ms Jeanne Brunfaut, Managing Director of the EFADs
4. Austria, Austrian Film Institute, Mr Roland Teichmann, Board Member
5. Estonia, Estonian Film Institute, Ms Edith Sepp, Board Member
6. France, Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC), Ms Julie-Jeanne Régnault, Board Member
7. Iceland, Iceland Film Centre, Ms Laufey Gudjonsdottir, Board Member
8. Ireland, Irish Film Board, Mr James Hickey, Board Member
9. Italy, Directorate General for Film of the Italian Ministry of Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism, Ms Chiara Fortuna, Board Member
10. Lithuania, Lithuanian Film Centre, Mr Rolandas Kvietkauskas, Board Member
11. The Netherlands, Netherlands Film Fund, Ms Doreen Boonekamp, Board Member
12. United Kingdom, British Film Institute (BFI), Ms Carol Comley, Board Member

10/02/2015

Press Release ( Pdf - 82Ko)