26.9.2009   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 232/10

MEDIA 2007 — DEVELOPMENT, DISTRIBUTION, PROMOTION AND TRAINING

Call for proposals — EACEA/21/09

Support for the development of on- and off-line interactive works

2009/C 232/06

1.   Objectives and description

This notice of a call for proposals is based on Decision No 1718/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2006 concerning the implementation of a programme of support for the European audiovisual sector (MEDIA 2007).

One of the objectives of the programme is to promote, by providing financial support, the development of production projects intended for European and international markets presented by independent European production companies.

2.   Eligible applicants

This notice is aimed at European companies whose activities contribute to the attainment of the above objectives, and in particular to independent production companies.

Applicants must be established in one of the following countries:

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the 27 countries of the European Union,

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the EFTA countries, Switzerland and Croatia.

3.   Eligible actions

The activities for the following interactive works are eligible:

The concept development (up to a first playable application) of digital interactive content complementing an audiovisual project (drama, creative documentary or animation) specifically developed for at least one of the following platforms:

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Internet,

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PC,

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console,

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handheld device,

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interactive television.

This digital content must present:

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substantial interactivity with a narrative component,

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originality, creativity and innovation against existing works,

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European commercial potential.

Only the following types of audiovisual project intended for commercial exploitation can be complemented by the submitted interactive work:

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a drama of at least 50 minutes (the total length of the series in the case of a series),

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a creative documentary of at least 25 minutes (length per episode in the case of a series),

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an animation of at least 24 minutes (the total length of the series in the case of a series).

The following activities are ineligible:

The development and production activities for the following categories of work are ineligible:

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reference works (encyclopaedias, atlases, catalogues, databases…),

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‘how-to’ works (education programmes, manuals…),

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tools and software services,

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information services or purely transactional,

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information programs and magazines,

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projects promoting tourism,

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multimedia art projects,

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projects promoting, directly or indirectly, messages that are at odds with the policies of the European Union. For example, projects that may be contrary to the interests of public health (alcohol, tobacco, drugs), respect for human rights, people's security, freedom of expression, etc. are prohibited,

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projects promoting violence and/or racism and/or with a pornographic content,

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works of a promotional nature (in particular branded content),

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institutional productions to promote a specific organisation or its activities.

The call for proposals 21/09 has two deadlines. To be included in the 1st deadline, the application for support must be sent to the Agency between the date of the publication of the call for proposals and 27 November 2009. To be included in the 2nd deadline, the application for support must be sent to the Agency between 28 November 2009 and 12 April 2010, the date of closure of the call for proposals.

The maximum duration of the project is until 30 June 2012 for requests for support submitted within the 1st deadline and until 30 November 2012 for those requests submitted within the 2nd deadline or until the date of entry into production of the project, whichever is the earliest.

4.   Award criteria

Points will be allocated out of a total of 100 on the basis of the following weighting:

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criteria relating to the applicant company (40 points):

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quality of the development strategy (10),

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consistency of the development budget (10),

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capacity of the company to realise the project (10),

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quality of the financing strategy (10).

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criteria relating to the submitted project (60 points):

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quality of the content and originality of the concept against existing works (20),

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innovation, appropriateness of the techniques used in the work and quality of interactivity (20),

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potential for European exploitation and suitability for the target audience (20).

5.   Budget

The total budget available is EUR 2 million. The financial contribution awarded is a subsidy.

The maximum financial contribution which may be awarded is between EUR 10 000 and EUR 150 000.

The financial contribution awarded will in no event exceed 50 % of the eligible costs submitted by the producer (60 % for projects presenting an interest in promoting European cultural diversity).

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

6.   Deadline for submission of applications

Applications must be submitted to the Executive Agency (EACEA) no later than 27 November 2009 and 12 April 2010 (see point 3) to the following address:

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) — MEDIA

Mr. Constantin Daskalakis

BOUR 3/30

Avenue du Bourget 1

1140 Brussels

BELGIUM

Only applications submitted on the official application form, duly signed by the person entitled to enter into legally binding commitments on behalf of the applicant organisation and containing all the information and annexes specified in the full text of the call will be accepted.

Applications sent by fax or email will be rejected.

7.   Full details

The full text of the guidelines together with the application forms, can be found at the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/media

Applications must comply with all the terms of the guidelines and be submitted on the forms provided.