Ibermedia to earmark 30,000 dollars for EQZE to establish ten grants for students during the 2020-2021 academic year

The EQZE is the only centre in Spain to earn Ibermedia's backing within its new framework for supporting training programmes

The Latin American Support Fund, Ibermedia, has selected the Elías Querejeta Film School within its recently created Framework for Supporting Training Programmes (2019 call), which is open to film and television schools, universities, specialist professional training centres, private companies and professional organisations or associations working within the audiovisual industry.

The committee responsible for granting subsidies to training programmes highlighted, among other aspects, the project's unique character and the soundness of its training methodology, which it described as 'excellent'. It also praised the prestige of the institutions which support and accompany the initiative (with special reference to the participation of the San Sebastián International Film Festival), as well as its inclusion within the University of the Basque Country and the 'high level, accumulated experience and diverse origins' of its teaching staff. The assessment team believes that the work being carried out at the EQZE deserves to be 'supported, explored and monitored closely'.

After ratifying the resolution published at the beginning of this month, the fund will provide the EQZE with a sum of 30,000 dollars earmarked for the establishment of grants and subsidies for mobility and ongoing training. The school will distribute the money in the form of ten partial grants (travel expenses), available to students enrolled at the school during the next academic year (2020-2021) from any of the twenty-one countries funding the programme, namely: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Italy (as a guest country), Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The management team at the Elías Querejeta Film School is delighted with the news of the subsidy, since in addition to enabling more students to continue their training and pursue their interest in film at the school, it is also an important acknowledgement of the international support enjoyed by the project.

The EQZE is the only centre in Spain to have earned the support of the fund within this category, with the other 12 selected projects (from a total of 26 initial applications) being located in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Puerto Rico and Uruguay. The aims of the programme are to foster the training of audiovisual production and business management professionals, promote the use and development of new technologies and aid cooperation and knowledge exchange within the industry.

In addition to the ten future grants, another three have been provided by the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council through its Department of Culture right from the first year in which the school opened (2018-2019 academic year). To date, six local students (three in each year) have benefited from these €2,500 grants, which are earmarked for young people under the age of 31 living in the province of Gipuzkoa.

Objectives of the Ibermedia programme

The Ibermedia programme was established in 1998. Since that time, there have been 27 calls for applications, resulting in support being provided to 787 coproduction projects and 859 audiovisual projects under development. Furthermore, almost 3,000 training grants have been awarded to students in 22 different countries. In total, the programme has awarded 93 million dollars in subsidies to nearly 2,000 projects. A total of 463 projects responded to the 2019 call for applications, distributed between the three categories into which the subsidies are divided: coproduction, development and training.

Currently, the Ibermedia Fund has been ratified by 21 countries, members and CAACI observers, as well as one guest country, which together finance the initiative: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Italy (guest country), Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela.