The Council of Europe, an intergovernmental organization that also runs the funding body Eurimages, is making US$2.4 million (€2.1 million) available for animated and live-action series that will be produced as international co-pros.

The top-up grant is designed to provide late-stage financing to co-productions between countries participating in the council’s Pilot Program for Series Co-Productions. There are 20 countries on the list, including Belgium, Finland, Ireland and Spain.

The scheme will hand out awards ranging from roughly US$174,000 to US$350,000 (€150,000 to €300,000), and select productions could also receive financing covering up to 25% of one season’s total costs.

Projects that apply need to: demonstrate “meaningful creative collaboration” between the co-producing countries; have confirmed financing of at least 60% at the time of the application; and have the potential to attract international audiences. The program will also take into consideration diversity and gender balance both in front of and behind the camera, as well as measures being taken to reduce environmental impacts.

Producers can apply through the council’s website. The application deadline is April 14.

Event funding

Separately, the council is also providing roughly US$200,000 (€175,000) to series co-productions through its Call for Partnerships and Sponsorships program. This funding will go first to industry events, which will then award it to co-productions or use it to launch programs that support co-productions. This funding is split between three different strands.

First, there’s the Series Co-Production Award. This is a program that co-production markets, training initiatives and conferences with a strong European focus (involving professionals from Eurimages member states) can apply to. The council will select two events to receive awards of US$58,000 (€50,000) award, which they can pass along to projects with international co-production aspirations.

Then there are the Series Co-Development Labs, sponsoring three US$17,000 awards. The events or markets that get this funding must use it to set up training and co-development initiatives to support early-stage collaborations between international production companies.

And finally, there’s the Culture on Screen program—four awards, US$8,700 (€7,500) each. This sponsorship supports conferences, panels, podcasts or think tanks that are talking about series co-productions—specifically, the value of co-pros for Europe, and how they spark cross-border dialogue.

Applications for all three programs are open until March 31.

The Council of Europe is a human-rights body that also finances programming and runs a development awards program. This new funding fits into its broader strategy around facilitating co-productions between European countries. Back in November, it adopted an international legal framework designed to make it easier for producers to make TV co-productions. These rules aimed to streamline administrative procedures, clarify objectives and improve access to public funding.

Photo by Sam McGhee on Unsplash