CresCine – Increasing the international competitiveness of the film industry in small European markets

Project collaborators

Jaka Primorac, PhD, head of IRMO project section 
Aleksandra Uzelac, PhD
Sunčana Franić
Lucija Gegić Stanić

IRMO is one of the 26 partners in the consortium that will jointly work on a Horizon Europe project CRESCINE that aims to, through its research and other activities, contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the film industry across small countries in Europe and improve the international circulation of films and audio-visual content coming from small markets in Europe. This three-year scientific research project (Research and Innovation Action – RIA), coordinated by Lusófona University in Portugal, brings together the academic community and the film industry. It is oriented to direct cooperation with the film community and towards making policy recommendations to improve the work of the European film industry. CRESCINE aims not only to enhance the competitiveness of the European film industry but also to enhance its cultural diversity. This will be achieved by understanding, engaging with, empowering, and ultimately transforming small markets in Europe, through research and piloting in 7 countries (Belgium (Flanders), Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, Ireland, and Portugal). Due to their “smallness”, obstacles and drivers of film activities in these markets are more clearly visible and should also be considered in other countries that are not included in the research. To increase the competitiveness of the EU film industry, CRESCINE will systematically address the whole film production, distribution, and consumption ecosystem. Through the conducted analyses and the created new tools, it aims to contribute to the creation of an innovative approach at all levels of the value chain, from policies to ways of data management and analytics, production business models, and modes of distribution. The project will develop novel tools, methods, and strategic approaches that all build on the concept of smallness and the positive affordances it entails for the overall competitiveness of the European film industry. CRESCINE will address all expected outcomes through the lens of the selected European small film markets that stand for the majority of film markets in the European Union. CRESCINE will establish an innovative model of analysis and evidence collection across the value chain that is framed by cutting-edge data analytical models and comparative benchmarks promulgated in light of the best available evidence. The findings will lead to innovative solutions and testing of new tools, policies, business models or financing schemes, and green strategies. These activities feed the overall impact of the project and its ability to present new tools, recommendations, and guidelines to the film industry and exploit results that will enable the transformation of not only the film industry in small European markets but also beyond.

CRESCINE is organized into eight work packages (WPs) which are mutually interconnected in an iterative process having as a common denominator the focus on the challenges and affordances of six exemplary small European film ecosystems that represent seven small European countries. The first work package (WP1) deals with project management, while the second work package (WP2) tackles the overall project data pool. The third work package (WP3) will provide a comparative analysis of the film market, while WPs 5 to 7 will focus on the dynamics across the value chain and users’/viewers’ preferences. The fourth work package (WP4) will identify and pilot innovative, scalable, and sustainable business models, while the WP8 will exploit the results from previous WPs and propose recommendations for further developments while also disseminating the results of the project.

The project consortium includes Lusófona University, Portugal (project coordinator); Storytek Innovation Lab, Estonia; SOGOFIF, France; Tallinn University, Estonia; CINETOSCOPIO, Portugal; Aarhus University, Denmark; Aarhus Kommune, Denmark; Munster Technological University (MTU), Ireland; Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), Ireland; Institute for Development and International Relations – IRMO, Croatia; Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium; Baltic Film and Creative Tech Cluster (BFCT), Lithuania; Zaisan B.V. (Europechain), Netherlands; DAIN Studios, Germany; Lumiere Publishing, Netherlands; European Film Academy (EFA), Germany.

The project consortium will benefit from the work of several associated partners that include professional associations and other stakeholders from the industry, both from Europe and the USA: Cine-Regio (Belgium), Fonden Creative Business CUP (Denmark), Screen Producers Ireland (Ireland), European Film Agency Directors – EFAD, Animation Ireland (Ireland), Europe Analytica Limited (UK), Online Film Financing – OLFFI, International Cinema Technology Association (USA). From Croatia, the associated project partners are the Zagreb Film Festival and Propeler Film.