Russian and Israeli producers
Roskino announced the launch of a new initiative: a unified export brand of the Russian content industry, Russian Content Worldwide (RCW) at the 74th Cannes Film Festival. The mission of RCW is to develop international networking and cooperation, while also establishing communication amongst Russian professionals, whose projects are targeted at international markets and foreign audiences who are looking for new names, original content and new horizons in cinema.
Evgenia Markova, CEO of Roskino: "Often we have been asked questions about the Russian market and we realised it’s quite difficult for international partners to understand our industry. This is why Russian Content Worldwide stands on four main values: transparency, assistance, expertise, and inspiration. Our aim is to give foreign partners easy and comprehensive access to the wide range of the opportunities in the Russian market. We sincerely hope that RCW will inspire international partners to work with Russia to find new forms of cooperation and to create unique projects".
JOINING FORCES
The meeting of Russian and Israeli producers is one of the key events of the Russian pavilion. The event was dedicated to the expected signing of a Russian-Israeli co-production agreement in the fall of 2021, designed to further strengthen the existing relations between the countries. During the networking session, the producers of the two countries discussed the prospects for future cooperation, the process of collaborative filmmaking and other relevant topics.
During the meeting, Russian producers explained that Russia is ready to support filmmakers by launching a rebate system, a network of regional film commissions (there are already 26 commissions and 14 more to come) and Russian production and post-production companies operating at the international quality level. In addition to co-production, the Russian industry is open to partnerships in many areas, including festivals and educational programs. Also, Roskino is planning to host the Russian Film Festival in Israel in October, in partnership with the Yes platform. Viewers will see ten Russian projects of various genres, from drama to animation.
Israel, in its turn, offers not only tax incentives but also the support of local foundations. For example, the Israeli Film Fund promotes the open-call format, producing from 12 to 24 films each year, and also actively supports female filmmakers. Sam Spiegel International Film Lab annually supports 12 projects: half of them are Israeli projects and the other half is foreign works. In the Gesher Film Fund, it is possible to get support for a project of any genre – from full-length feature films to animation and TV series – and the Fund is ready to work with foreign producers and foundations that launch interesting projects.
Eti Cohen, Head of Film Department at the Ministry of Culture of Israel: “The Ministry of Culture and the Israeli filmmakers are thrilled to establish and strengthen our creative connection to the Russian industry as both countries will soon sign a co-production treaty. The meeting today at Cannes between heads of organizations from the Israeli industry and Russian producers are steps towards creating projects together that will become films in the future”.
Evgenia Markova: “It took twelve years to come to the signing of a co-production treaty between Russia and Israel. Over the past year, we managed to greatly accelerate the work on this project. We hope that the treaty will be signed by the end of the year. Therefore, today is a truly historic moment, namely a meeting of iconic Russian producers and chief directors of Israeli foundations. I am sure that the potential for interaction between Russia and Israel is enormous, and together we could create a product of an astounding level, complementing each other's strengths. We see great potential for cooperation, both in co-production and in the education field”.