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INDUSTRY Belgium

The Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Uruguay sign a co-production agreement

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- This is the second co-production pact to be signed with a South American country, following the deal that was sealed with Chile in 2017

The Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Uruguay sign a co-production agreement
Minister of Culture of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Alda Greoli, Prime Minister of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Rudy Demotte and Uruguayan Ambassador to Belgium Carlos Pérez del Castillo (© FWB)

The co-production agreement between the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Uruguay, the second such pact to be signed with a South American country (after Chile in early 2017) is a testament to the importance that the federation places on opening itself up to cooperative film and audiovisual opportunities with Latin America.

Belgian producers are particularly active in the field of international co-production, especially with a few “natural” territories, such as France and Luxembourg, but also with countries further afield. This additional agreement thus adds another string to their bow and opens doors to less commonly exploited markets.

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The agreement is open to both artistic and technical co-productions – purely financial co-productions are not eligible – for cinematic and audiovisual projects of any length and in any format.

Uruguay boasts several different support systems, including a selective form of support for minority co-productions and another in the form of a tax exemption for the Uruguayan producer. Some of the best-known recent Uruguayan films include Whisky by Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, which won the FIPRESCI Prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes in 2014; Gigante [+see also:
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by Adrián Biniez, which scooped the Silver Bear at the 2009 Berlinale; and The Pope’s Toilet by Enrique Fernández and César Charlone, selected at Cannes in 2007 and the winner of the Horizontes Award at the San Sebastián Film Festival.

This co-production agreement with Uruguay marks the 11th bilateral agreement involving the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, after Canada in March 2018, Chile in May 2017, the Netherlands in February 2016 and China in 2012, to name a few. A number of specific bilateral agreements have been signed with so-called “priority” countries in this area, such as France and Switzerland. Deals are still being negotiated with Mexico, Brazil, Lebanon, Israel and Ukraine.

The Wallonia-Brussels Federation has also closed deals with most European countries via the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production, and furthermore, in 2017 it signed the new international convention on co-production, which is open to non-European countries.

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(Translated from French)

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