Deadline Date: April 23, 2026
The European Commission has launched a call for proposals under the MEDIA strand of the Creative Europe Programme to support European distributors in enhancing the transnational circulation of non-national European films.
The focus areas of the opportunity are to improve the trans-national distribution of recent non-national European films; increase investment in the production, acquisition, promotion, theatrical and online distribution of non-national European films; develop links between the production and distribution sector thus improving the competitive position of non-national European films; support to international sales and circulation of non-national European works on all platforms (e.g. cinema theatres, online) targeting both small and large sized productions, including through coordinated distribution strategies covering several countries and encouraging the use of subtitling, dubbing and where applicable, audio description tools; encourage and support the wider transnational distribution of recent European films by providing funds to European distributors, based upon their performance on the market, for further reinvestment in the acquisition, promotion and distribution (including online) of recent non-national European films.
The funded activities will take place in two phases. The first phase involves the generation of a potential fund which will be attributed according to the performance of the company on the European market. The second phase is the implementation of the action, in which the potential fund generated by each company must be reinvested in the co-production of eligible non-national European films, the acquisition of distribution rights through mechanisms such as minimum guarantees, and promotion, marketing and advertising of eligible non-national European films for both theatrical and online releases.
The estimated available call budget for this opportunity is EUR 34,000,000. Eligible participants must be legal entities, either public or private, established in Creative Europe Participating Countries including EU Member States (and OCTs) and associated non-EU countries; companies must be established in countries participating fully in the MEDIA strand and owned directly or indirectly, wholly or by majority participation, by nationals from such countries. European companies must be active in the audiovisual sector as cinema/theatrical distributors involved in commercial activity designed to bring films to the attention of a wide audience, with this being the principal activity of the company or division of the company.
For more information, visit European Commission.
