On Sunday, November 5, the discussion "How the Greek audiovisual ecosystem embraces creativity" on the future of the audiovisual sector was held in the context of the Agora Talks hosted by the Agora of the 64th Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Leonidas Christopoulos, President and CEO of EKOME (National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication), Fenia Kossovitsa, producer and vice president of SAPOE (Audiovisual |Producers’ Association of Greece), Markos Holevas, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Greek Film Centre and Faye Tsitsipi, senior Manager at Market Insights and responsible for COSMOTE TV's original content development and production, participated in the panel. The panel discussion was moderated by Eleni Chandrinou, audiovisual sector consultant and Eurimages Representative in Greece.
Participants of the panel first dealt with all these practical steps a creator should take to find a producer as well as the path to follow for the realisation of the script: Fenia Kossovitsa stated: "The producer is the first stop for any filmmaker who has a ready-made script, to discuss on whether his idea fits my publishing needs. The most important step to take is to seek funding for production". Faye Tsitsipi then took over and said: "For us a good script is the key to a successful production", while she mentioned some examples of successful collaborations, such as the three seasons of the crime series The Other Me.
Thereupon, the issue of the film genre was discussed, as well as legal issues, such as IP policies. Regarding the genre, Ms. Tsitsipi said that "producers with few projects limit the choice to the genre they and their audience are already familiar with."
Mr. Holevas then spoke about the GFC (Greek Film Centre) and the way it finances new creators, as well as its newly established programme related to funding for television productions of eight to ten episodes. "Our philosophy is the production of a film, of longer duration". Mr. Christopoulos, president of EKOME, spoke about the role of the above-mentioned programme in the production chain. "I think EKOME has contributed to boosting the audiovisual market, promoting the production of more creative ideas", he stressed out. Then, he focused on the issue of sustainability: "We need to invest in sustainability and stability in practical processes".
Afterwards, there was a discussion about the role and importance of co-production, synergy and cooperation, not only with state bodies but also with streaming companies. Ms. Kossovitsa commented that Greece is "far behind". She is nevertheless optimistic and believes in future changes as "the only solution". The importance of funding and the problem of under-funding in Greece were highlighted throughout. "Funding for the production of feature films is very limited and almost zero for the production of TV series," Ms.Tsitsipi said.
Questions rose and further legal issues such as pirated content distribution were mentioned. Mr. Christopoulos commented that "relevant steps have been taken with technical solutions, but it is an ongoing issue that we need to watch closely as technology changes rapidly. It is an on ongoing process."
