While other European cities continue to attract international film productions, Copenhagen continues to miss out on blockbuster international films, partly because of its meager film funds, according to an expert.
Mark Lorenzen, a professor in innovation and economic organisation at Copenhagen Business School, contends that Denmark would compete better if its three film funds merged.
“Copenhagen had a tough time establishing a film fund, so the funds became smaller,” Lorenzen told DR Nyheder. “Small resources mean that they can only handle smaller productions, shoot a few scenes in the city and are not able to attract foreign productions.”
According to figures from the European network for regional film funds, Cine Regio, Danish film funding is at the lower end of the spectrum and that has considerable influence on where a film production locates.
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Not competitive
Copenhagen Film Fund, for example, which has the most resources in Denmark at about 13 million kroner per year, is some way off the similarly-sized French city Lille, which has 33 million kroner at its disposal. Barcelona, the site of Woody Allen’s film ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ has over 90 million kroner.
Merging Copenhagen Film Fund with the other two funds, Filmfyn and Den Vestdanske Filmpulje, would give Denmark 30 million kroner, according to Cine Regio’s figures.
But while Thomas Gammeltoft, the head of Copenhagen Film Fund, agreed that competition is fierce, he argued that he would prefer to have more money put into the Copenhagen Film Fund or that a mutual film fund be established across the Øresund region.
Copenhagen Film Fund currently has funds until 2016, when its situation will be re-evaluated.
