An audiovisual fund for Slovakia – an hypothesis Presentation to the European Opportunities for Our Cinema III Bratislava, 6 – 7 December 2004 Jonathan Davis

Overview The European political context The problem What a viable Slovakian audiovisual sector would look like How much it would cost How it would be paid for Conclusions

The European political context The Lisbon Agenda MEDIA 2007 Eurimages Cultural diversity Structural funds

The problem Very low audiovisual consumption Inadequate audiovisual infrastructure Insufficient production (film and TV) = vicious circle Compounded by:  Too many advertising-supported TV channels  Under-funded public broadcaster

What a viable Slovakian audiovisual sector would look like Stronger STV – 1,200 hours/year of peak- time programming 12 feature films/year Slovaks visiting the cinema 3 times a year (18 million admissions) Slovak homes, institutions and businesses connected to broadband

How much it would cost STV budget of Sk 3 billion (75 million euros) Annual investment in film production of Sk 500 million (12 million euros) Annual investment in audiovisual infrastructure of Sk 40 billion over next five years

How it would be paid for Creation of a “Public Service Production Fund” (Film, TV, broadband content) of Sk 2 billion (50 million euros) annually funded out of tax on TV advertising and subscription revenues, on cinema box office, home video revenues, telecom and Internet Service Provider revenues National Information Society Development Programme supported by EU Structural Funds Creation of a 50 million euro “Visograd Solidarity Fund”, funded by European Bank of Reconstruction and Development

Conclusions Need to break the vicious circle The production problem should be addressed in the context of an Information Society Plan The political underpinning is economic development AND cultural diversity Slovakia needs to work closely with its neighbours and fellow EU member states