A Cornerstone of Europe’s Audiovisual Landscape
Celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2026, MEDIA has become synonymous with European collaboration in the film sector. Originally a standalone EU programme, it has been part of Creative Europe – the European Union’s flagship programme supporting the cultural and creative sectors – since 2014. Its very name, a French acronym for Mesures pour Encourager le Développement de l'Industrie Audiovisuelle (Measures to Encourage the Development of the Audiovisual Industry), signals the challenges it was designed to address.
Europe is culturally and linguistically diverse, yet equally marked by fragmentation arising from its many languages, small national markets, differing production conditions, and limited distribution opportunities. Today, the European audiovisual sector must also contend with the rise of artificial intelligence, fierce competition from global studios and technology giants, and shifting audience habits shaped by both the pandemic and digitalisation.
On the global stage, small national markets such as Slovenia’s are negligible, while national funding alone is insufficient to develop competitive works capable of breaking through internationally. Moreover, as Nataša Bučar, Director of the Slovenian Film Centre, points out, most public funding is directed towards development and production, while promotion, distribution, and exhibition remain ongoing challenges.
From idea to audiences
MEDIA covers the entire value chain: from the development of audiovisual works (feature, documentary, and animated films, series, video games, and immersive content), international production (TV and online content), distributors, festivals, and cinemas, all the way through to audience development. Its funding is directed not only towards the creation of European audiovisual works under high-quality conditions, but also towards ensuring their visibility, circulation, and accessibility. The programme also supports trainings and talent development, innovative tools and business models, discussions on audiovisual policies and awareness-raising activities. In this way, the European audiovisual sector can remain diverse, competitive, and resilient.
Today, MEDIA is a recognised European brand that successfully fulfils its mission: to carry European stories across national borders. Films and series supported by the programme reach significantly more countries than comparable works without MEDIA backing: around ten more via television, seven more in cinemas, and three more on VOD platforms. By encouraging collaboration between countries with low and high audiovisual production capacity, the programme helps reduce disparities across Europe and opens doors for works in less widely spoken European languages. Many success stories, however, begin where every film begins – with an idea and a producer who helps bring it into the world.
Project Development
Although we tend to equate filmmaking with what happens on set, the development of a film project begins much earlier and is arguably the most challenging stage of the entire creative process. Beyond story and screenplay development, it involves researching the subject matter and visual approach, as well as assembling the creative team and cast. At this early stage, producer must identify co-producers, partners, and funders, and devise the project’s production, festival, and distribution strategy. Equally important is defining target audiences and planning the promotion of the film.
Many film projects never make it to the set, let alone the screen. Development is therefore one of the key areas supported by MEDIA, helping to reduce the risks inherent in this delicate process. According to a European Commission study (2025), 29% of supported projects were completed – a figure that may seem modest, but one that remains above the market average. The programme’s positive impact is also evident in the highly competitive video game sector, where one in three supported titles ultimately reaches the market. Development support is designed to strengthen producers’ capacities and enable gradual growth: from participation in the international co-production of a single film to building production companies capable of competing on the international stage.
In developing European co-production, particular attention is paid to a film’s international potential and the building of partnerships. The share of European co-productions supported by MEDIA has risen from 36% in 2014 to as much as 84% in 2023 – the result being stories that reflect shared identities and experiences, and that resonate with many European viewers. One such example is Fiume o morte!, a documentary by Igor Bezinović that, among other accolades, received a European Film Award, and was made with the participation of the Slovenian studio Nosorogi alongside Croatian and Italian producers.
International collaboration is particularly vital for countries with low audiovisual production capacity, such as Slovenia, as it enables films to reach beyond the constraints of a small domestic market. It also gives local producers and filmmakers access to new knowledge, audiences, partners, and additional sources of funding, while encouraging the exchange of expertise and creative experience.
Some forms of filmmaking, however, make international collaboration virtually indispensable. In animation, where only four to six seconds of film are produced per day, a feature-length film is simply inconceivable without large teams working in co-production. Tales from the Magic Garden, made using the traditional technique of puppet stop-motion animation, was brought to life over 435 shooting days by 16 animators working across four countries. The film became only Slovenia’s second feature-length animated film with a domestic co-producer and co-director, 27 years after the first.
Slovenian producers on the rise
An important step from a single project to developing a slate of projects in parallel is made possible by support aimed at small and medium-sized production companies from countries with low audiovisual production capacity. Slovenian producers such as Studio Virc, December, Nosorogi, Cvinger Film, Monoo, Temporama, and Senca Studio are frequent recipients of this support – demonstrating that they are developing films with a clear authorial vision and strong international potential. The programme has thus contributed to the professionalisation of the Slovenian audiovisual sector and to the development of producers who now operate with confidence across the European audiovisual landscape.
The next step is support for more established production companies: here, the emphasis is no longer simply on entering the European arena, but on consolidating a long-term presence within it. This allows them to approach film projects more ambitiously and strategically, on a larger scale, and with a sharper focus on their international competitiveness. In Slovenia, Vertigo, Staragara, and Studio Virc have established themselves as successful producers capable of competing with their counterparts from countries of high audiovisual production capacity. Some films developed with MEDIA support have made a significant impact on domestic or international audiences and now form part of Slovenia’s recognisable audiovisual output.
Films that captivated audiences
From Estrellita (Vertigo), the first completed Slovenian film supported by MEDIA, and the first more visible and successful titles such as Slovenian Girl (Vertigo) and Silent Sonata (Staragara), MEDIA support has helped bring to life films of many different genres and forms. Youth and children’s films such as Let Him Be a Basketball Player (Gustav Film), Beanie (Senca Studio), and Block 5 (December) won over children’s juries, while the documentaries Reconciliation (Vertigo) and The Last Ice Hunters (FilmIT) took top honours at international festivals.
Short animated films have also caught the attention of European critics and audiences. Granny’s Sexual Life (Studio Virc) received the European Film Academy Award for Best Short Film in 2022, while Cosmonauts (Finta Film), which had its world premiere at the Berlinale in 2026, was shortlisted for the same award.
Among the standout feature films marked by a distinctive authorial vision are Stories from the Chestnut Woods (Nosorogi), Family Therapy (Monoo), and Little Trouble Girls (SPOK Films) – Slovenia’s submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2020, 2024, and 2025, respectively. All of them also found their way to professional and wider audiences through international festivals.
Film Festivals and Networks
International festivals play a vital role in a film’s life: they are often its first point of contact with audiences and a springboard for its commercial journey into cinemas across different countries. They also provide a platform for emerging voices and for outstanding films that may be artistically ambitious but have less obvious commercial appeal, to be seen by programmers, critics, juries, other industry professionals, and wider audiences. Beyond their film programmes, festivals offer a range of accompanying activities that help cultivate new generations of audiences, engage with pressing social issues, and build communities. They are equally important for the industry side of filmmaking, frequently hosting co-production markets for films in development, networking platforms, talent development programmes, talks, debates, and other professional events.
Thanks in part to MEDIA support for festivals, European audiences have access to a broader range of European films and accompanying content, including filmmaker appearances, retrospectives, and film education programmes. As a result, their awareness of and engagement with European audiovisual production grows, and their critical eye becomes sharper. The 91 film festivals supported by MEDIA in 2025 reached nearly 12 million viewers through year-round activities and involved more than 70,000 film professionals, underlining their significance within the audiovisual ecosystem. MEDIA also supports festival networks, enabling festivals to share good practice, better serve their communities, and remain resilient in the face of changing audience habits.
Slovenian festivals in dialogue with Europe
In 2025, as many as four film festivals in Slovenia received MEDIA support – the same number as in larger and better-resourced countries such as Belgium, France, Italy, and Sweden – and all four are also members of various European networks. In June, audiences can visit the international film festival Kino Otok – Isola Cinema, which is committed to audience development through innovative practices and leads a network that invites young people to join festival teams as selectors. Outstanding short-form cinema can be seen at FeKK – Ljubljana Short Film Festival, a member of both the European Network of Film Discourse and ESFAA, a network that actively involves audiences in awarding prizes to short films. Animateka offers one of the most valuable industry programmes for film professionals and, through the Animation Festival Network, curates a shared film programme for children. The country’s largest cultural event, however, is the Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe), a member of the Network of the Festivals in the Adriatic Region. You can read more about the supported festivals in the article International Film Festivals in Slovenia.
Through Distributors to Cinemas
Films achieve an even greater level of success when they manage to cross the borders of their country of origin and captivate audiences abroad. The promotion and circulation of European films are MEDIA’s key objectives, which is why it provides targeted support for international distribution. In Slovenia, much of the credit for the regular presence of European films on cinema screens goes to distributors such as Blitz, Cinemania, Demiurg, and Fivia, which acquire rights from international sales agents, develop promotional campaigns, and bring these films to cinemas and VOD platforms.
Programming varies from cinema to cinema, but contemporary European films can certainly be seen across the venues that are members of the Slovenian Art Cinema Association, dedicated to screening art-house and auteur films. The association currently brings together 31 cinemas across Slovenia, 21 of which are also members of Europa Cinemas, a network that has championed the screening of European films with MEDIA support since 1992.
The Oscar-winning Norwegian film Sentimental Value and other outstanding European titles have in this way reached film lovers beyond the major cities – in smaller and more remote Slovenian towns such as Idrija, Hrastnik, Zagorje ob Savi, Rogaška Slatina, and Tolmin. Alongside film accessibility, film education remains an important part of cinemas’ work. Yet film education does not take place only within festivals and cinemas: it is increasingly becoming part of wider international initiatives that encourage an interest in film among young people and bring it closer to harder-to-reach audiences.
Film Education and Audience Development
Through its support for audience development and film education, MEDIA promotes a range of socially engaged projects focused on young people, access to culture, inclusion, and new forms of participation. Slovenian organisations are also involved in several of these long-term international initiatives.
Film in Hospital has been running in various editions since 2017 and today brings together 12 countries, including Slovenia, represented by Kinodvor Cinema. Through its online platform of the same name, the project brings high-quality films and engaging accompanying activities to children and young people of different ages receiving treatment in hospital.
The Kino X Games project, in which Šmarje pri Jelšah Library participates alongside organisations from France, Italy, Belgium, and Ireland, introduces console and computer games into cinemas in a bid to attract new audiences, particularly younger viewers.
Cinema Without Barriers focuses on making film content accessible to people with diverse disabilities and brings together Notranjska Regional Park with organisations from four other European countries. The Slovenian follow-up to the project, developed in collaboration with Cerknica Culture House, Cinema Union Celje, and Linhart Hall, Radovljica, received the SozialMarie Award in May 2026 – one of Europe’s most prestigious prizes in the field of social innovation.
The EU Youth Cinema: Green Deal 2024–2026 project also concluded in 2026, with the participation of Slovenian EPeKa Scientific and Research Association. Through a dedicated platform, it encouraged young people to reflect on a sustainable future while fostering a European community of environmentally conscious viewers.
Training and Support for Filmmakers
Professional training programmes for filmmakers and audiovisual professionals are one of the MEDIA’s key investments in the development, innovation, and resilience of the audiovisual sector. Although less visible to the general public than support for films, festivals, or distribution, they represent a unique, highly valued, and effective support mechanism that responds to the sector’s concrete needs. Their particular value lies in their individualised, practice-based, and collaborative approach: participants refine their knowledge and skills through work on real projects, guided by international industry experts, while also building connections and becoming part of professional networks. Professionals from countries with low audiovisual production capacity, including Slovenia, can apply for scholarships to attend.
Many international film professionals describe participation in the EAVE programme as a transformative experience, and it has also played an exceptionally important role in the training of Slovenian producers, including those from December, Gustav Film, Staragara, Nosorogi, Perfo Production, Forum Ljubljana, Monoo, Studio Virc, Bela Film, and SPOK Films. MIDPOINT is a Central European script development programme; its MIDPOINT Feature Launch study programme, designed for talented filmmakers developing their first or second feature, is led by internationally acclaimed Slovenian film producer Danijel Hočevar (Vertigo), who is also a member of the European Film Academy Board.
CEE Animation Workshop is the only international professional training programme based in Slovenia. Run by the Slovene Animated Film Association, it is also one of Europe’s most important training programmes for project development and for strengthening producers’ skills in the field of animation. The CEE Animation network, of which the Slovene Animated Film Association and Animateka are both members, unites national associations, producers, and studios working in animation, and promotes and develops the art form across more than 20 countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
35 Years of the MEDIA Programme
Over the past 35 years, the MEDIA programme has made a significant contribution to the development of European talent, fostered cross-border collaboration, and strengthened the competitiveness of Europe’s audiovisual production. It has brought outstanding European films and other audiovisual works to audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and needs, reaching even the most remote corners of Europe. At the same time, it has helped create the conditions in which the European audiovisual ecosystem can grow, connect, and thrive in all its cultural and linguistic diversity.
See also
- International Film Festivals in Slovenia
- Audiovisual Training and Networking: Putting Professional Mobility in Service of Creativity
- Paving the Way for Green Animation and a Co-Development Mechanism: CEE Animation Conference GO! 2025
External links
- Jasna Pintarič (ur.): The Roll: Slovenian Cinema in Motion, Slovenski filmski center, 2026
- European Commission: A Decade of Creative Europe, 2025
- Slovenian Film Database
O članku
The text was written by Nika Mušič in May 2026 in the framework of the public procurement “Development and upgrade of information portals of the Ministry of Culture for the transition to the eKultura platform” in which Motovila Institute collaborates as a partner with Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory.