At the moment where Paris Cinema 2008 closed its programme – with the largest ever showcase of Philippines recent film productions –, the French capital welcomed the first film-symposium of the French EU-Presidency, a conference entitled “CINEMA, EUROPE, THE WORLD”. The one-day film meeting organized by the CNC (Centre National de la Cinématographie) was held in Paris on Monday July the 7th 2008.

The debate, which gathered world-known audiovisual and film policy-makers, took place in the framework of the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on cultural diversity, whereas the European Commission is currently launching a programme to foster the circulation of world cinema in Europe and of European cinema in the world. The meeting in Paris went also at a time when, in addition to launching support measures in the field of film cooperation, the European commission is negotiating trade agreements including specific annexes on film and culture.

Shaping tomorrow’s action plans for film cooperation between the EU and third countries (Preparatory Action MEDIA INTERNATIONAL) has already a positive impact on the number of information recently generated on various third countries audiovisual markets. This is also true for information on the audiovisual market of some ASEM countries, where statistics, facts and figures have been long lacking. Among these, the Mongolia Audiovisual Market Analysis, is a study edited for the UNESCO by Dana Ziyasheva and the CMM-I, a Beijing based media industry research firm.

To better understand the audiovisual market situation in this country – where award winning films have been usually made by foreign companies –, because Mongolia does not have yet a real film production industry; the study offers information on the Media market laws and regulatory infrastructures, information on bi-lateral trade commitments, a country Media Profile, and recommendations for actions

Another study that has been recently published for the EU audiovisual sector is an analysis of the feature films situation in Singapore. This report was commissioned by a non-ASEM institution; the Department of Canadian Heritage. It studies the slowly re-emerging film industry after the Singapore’s independence in 1965. Apart from a rich bibliography and practical information on license and permits, the report lists the different kinds of funding methods that have emerged in Singapore in the 90s when the government identified film making as a potential economic growth area.

The Philippines Audiovisual industry, which is now performing great success in terms of visibility in European festivals, has also published a series of publication on their film and audiovisual markets.  An industry report by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies “AUDIOVISUAL SERVICES SECTOR CAN THE PHILIPPINES FOLLOW "BOLLYWOOD?" (2005) offers some interesting notes on the country’s export potential, because of the importance of the Filipino population abroad.  The Filipino communities continue to crave for local movies and programmes. They consider ways how the Philippines can replicate the rsuccess of India, China, and Korea in breaking through the global market.

The European Audiovisual Observatory, which FOCUS 2008 is the latest contribution on the World Film Market Trends, offers rare data’s on the film industries in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand in the form of facts and figures.

The profusion of information sources needs to be compared and analyzed. Yet, it shows that as of 2008, the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, the implementation of the preparatory action for MEDIA International to promote cooperation between EU professionals and professionals from third countries is already on the move.
RELATED

The Paris Colloquium
http://www.colloquecinemaeuropemonde.fr

Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions 2005
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31038&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Trends in audiovisual markets: China, Mongolia and South Korea,  Unesco Report
http://www.unescobeijing.org/download/TRENDS%20IN%20AUDIOVISUAL%20MARKETS%20CHINA,%20MONGOLIA%20&%20SOUTH%20KOREA.pdf

European Audiovisual Observatory
Set up in December 1992, the European Audiovisual Observatory's mission is to gather and distribute information on the audiovisual industry in Europe.
http://www.obs.coe.int/online_publication/reports/focus2008.pdf