In the event that Reuben Östlund’s The Triangle of Sorrow continues its triumphant run to the Oscars – it has already been nominated for two Golden Globes – it is very likely that “our” people will be in Los Angeles for a glamorous evening. That is the team of the Greek heretic who, as a minority co-producer, supported the Palme d’Or-winning film, taking care of all the details of the extensive filming that took place (also) in our country. As we wrote earlier, extraversion is the greatest asset of a new generation of Greek producers who are not afraid to set themselves high goals, even if their means are relatively limited.

The agreement between Greece and France, signed last May during the Cannes Film Festival and ratified yesterday in Parliament, certainly helps in these efforts, creating a new basis for co-production of films between the two countries. Its most basic provision is that it provides for a ratio of 90%-10% as a minimum precondition for listing a French and Greek company as co-producers – this article replaces the respective previous ratio of 80%-20. %.

The agreement, which reduces the required percentage of participation in production to 10%, was ratified yesterday in Parliament.

In any case, it is clear that Greece is on… the right side of the equation, so halving the minimum entry level makes it much easier for Greek producers to get involved in French film projects. “We are practically replacing the 50-year-old agreement (date of 1974) with one that meets modern needs and at the same time is beneficial for us. Apart from the analogy, which is very important, in this way films that are partly Greek or filmed in Greece are more easily granted French cinematic “citizenship”, shown in French cinemas, and so on. Already last year, we ratified the relevant regulation of the Council of Europe, which applies to a large number of countries, but France, which is also the largest European film industry, did not participate in this. Therefore, there was a need for a separate bilateral agreement,” says Deputy Minister of Culture Nicolas Giatromanolakis, who signed in Cannes with Dominique Boutonas, President of the National Center for Cinematography and Animated Images of France.

WE ARE COMING

However, in the world of Greek cinema this time, other, even more important news awaits. The reason, of course, is the upcoming film bill, which, according to a previous K publication, is going to transfer EKOME under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, merging it together with the Hellenic Film Center and the Intellectual Property Organization. As Mr. Giatromanolakis told us, a specific bill is currently being processed with a view to submitting it to Parliament in late February or early March. In addition, these days he plans to meet with film bodies and associations to hear their opinions and ideas about the big changes that are coming.