Southeast Europe might be a recently coined geopolitical term, however not only the 8 countries presented here, but in fact the whole geographical region taken in its most extended sense represent an extremely diverse, but historically deeply interwoven cultural space. Film business wise this is evident not only from numerous festivals, such as Sofia, Cluj, Istanbul, Sarajevo or Thessaloniki to na
me only a few, being focused on a more or less similar geographical area, but also from an increasing cooperation in film development and financing within the region. Over the past decade, the film related public bodies and film professionals in the region embraced international co-production as a primary financing model, along with developing a sophisticated network of development programs and coproduction platforms in order to boost their production capabilities and chances for circulation of their films trough extensive co-production with each other, the rest of Europe and beyond. The output of such cooperation is clearly visible in the opposite table, as the number of feature films co-produced internationally shows a steady growth over the 2009-2011 period. The table also points at certain growing co-production patterns, as 56% of total co-productions released last year, included 2 or more countries from the region in their coproduction structure, an increase from 51,2% in 2010 and a leap from 40% in 2009. Most active coproduction partners outside of the 8 see pavilion countries, are in fact from the wider see region with Greece, Austria, Turkey and Hungary leading the lot, while the most active from outside the region remain Germany, France and Italy. The overall number of feature films produced (100% national and co-productions) showed a steady growth trend, growing 61% over the 2007-2011 period at a rate of 12.3 % annually. On the other hand, what is comparatively working in development and in production, doesn’t entirely translate into the rest of the film value chain. Distribution and exhibition sectors, dominated by the Hollywood majors, are still extremely fragmented and the potential for growth of Southeast Europe as a market for films from the region and other European films is not nearly as exploited as it could be. However, the general trends are positive. Cinema attendances have been increasing steadily, growing 44.6% in the 2007-2011 period at a rate of 8.92% annually, largely due to an increase in new multiscreen sites. The market has been showing healthier box office results, growing by 78.9% in the 2007-2011 period, with an annual rate of 15.78%, due to higher admission prices in multi screen theatres in general, and for 3D releases in particular. The success of 3D films also drove the digitization surge some countries experienced, most notably Bulgaria and Croatia, but this trend is now shifting towards making the existing multiscreen sites fully digital. Home video market is almost inexistent across the region, due to widespread piracy, yet vod market is on the rise and in 2011, all 8 countries had between 1 and 4 operating vod platforms each, along with experiencing constant increase in number of broadband users. The rules of the digital age are still redefining the businesses of film exhibition and distribution in the region, as well as their relation to the businesses of production and development. Whether all this growth can translate into a full-blown renaissance of the businesses in the sector remains to be seen.
