AGADIC and MEDIA Spain sign a collaboration agreement

The main objective of the agreement is to increase the competitiveness of Galician audiovisual companies and professionals in general, through the different help lines offered by the MEDIA Program.

The headquarters of the Galician Agency for Cultural Industries (AGADIC) in Santiago de Compostela was the scene this Thursday of the signing of a collaboration agreement between the Department of Culture, Education and University Planning, through AGADIC, which will be represented by its director Jacobo Sutil Nesta, and the MEDIA Spain Office Cultural Foundation, represented by its director Peter Andermatt.

The main objective of the agreement is to increase the competitiveness of Galician audiovisual companies and professionals in general, through the different help lines offered by the MEDIA Program.

MEDIA is part of the Creative Europe Program of the European Commission, located in its General Directorate of Digital Economy and Citizenship. MEDIA's mission consists of the professionalization and internationalization of the European audiovisual sector. The purpose is to increase international co-production at the European level, and promote the international distribution of independent audiovisual productions in Europe and beyond. For this, MEDIA makes help lines available to professionals and companies that fundamentally focus on: Training and networking, development of audiovisual projects including video games, distribution aid, support for actions to access markets and festivals. Between now and 2017, MEDIA distributes approximately 120 million Euros each year in the form of subsidies to support the European audiovisual industry.

By signing the agreement, AGADIC enters the Board of Trustees of the MEDIA Spain Office Cultural Foundation, where there are delegates from the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) of the Ministry of Culture, the Entity for the Management of the Rights of Audiovisual Producers (EGEDA), the Federation of Associations of Spanish Audiovisual Production Companies (FAPAE) and the Valencian Institute of Audiovisual and Cinematography (IVAC).

This step is a clear manifestation of the agency's commitment and decision to provide its professionals and companies with the opportunity to increase and optimize collaboration with the consultants and technicians who are part of the work team of the MEDIA Spain Office.

For Peter Andermatt, the challenge is to ensure that Galician companies perceive the MEDIA Spain Office as a point of contact that serves not only to obtain information about the program, but also as a place to obtain practical advice that facilitates the preparation of the projects and the files to send in the case of requesting aid. One of the lines of aid that will be used the most in this sense is Project Development. But beyond this help, it is also recommended to encourage the participation of Galician professionals in training programs that have the support of the MEDIA Program, precisely to improve their level of networking. In any case, the incorporation of AGADIC to the board facilitates closer cooperation, thanks to which the Galician sector as a whole will be able to take advantage of more of the know-how that exists in the MEDIA Spain Office, its services and its contacts at a national and international level. The common objective is to bring Galicia closer to Europe, and vice versa.