Israel may become first non-European country to join European film fund

Israeli filmmakers may soon be eligible to receive funding support from a European film consortium which is seeking to expand beyond its traditional borders.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival over the weekend, Eurimages chief Roberto Olla said Israel and Canada were in talks to become the first two non-European nations to join the film fund, Screen Daily reported.

“It has been so successful that it would be silly not to export this success story that Europe has had for the last 20 years to other countries,” Olla told the website.

Eurimages is a public fund created by the Council of Europe to pay for and promote European films in its 36 member states. In 2011, it disbursed over 23 million euros in grants. It also works to foster cooperation between different European filmmakers.

Israeli films are currently eligible for public funds from the Israel Film Fund.

Public financing for feature films has taken on added relevance in the last several years as the financial crisis has forced many studios to cut back funding for new projects.

Olla said the change would likely not come before 2014, when the fund submits a new budget.

Other countries that may be admitted into Eurimages are Montengro, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and a number of Gulf nations, according to the report.