Boosting global sales and transnational circulation: Public financing of film and TV fiction and animation in Flanders and Denmark

Abstract

This article examines the role of public financiers in the context of digital distribution and the increased involvement of global streamers in financing local content. Through a comparative analysis, it explores how screen policy mixes aimed at funding fiction and animation films and series in two small European markets, Denmark and Flanders, adapt to and influence the transnational orientation in response to globalization and the rise of online distribution. Based on interviews in Denmark and Flanders combined with data analysis, the article shows that in the context of rising production budgets, transnational production and intense international competition, screen agencies and other public financiers have also become more transnationally oriented. Both in Flanders and Denmark, screen agencies put increased emphasis on enabling international financing and distribution opportunities for fiction and animation films and series. How to regulate and co-finance with global streamers has become an important question for policy stakeholders. As echoed in the interviews, producers in Flanders and Denmark agree that outward-looking policies for attracting commercial financing are becoming more important for strengthening the financing base of local works. It is significant to outline that policies fostering transnational financing and distribution do not stand in opposition to cultural protectionism. For example, investment obligations for global streamers can have the dual function of safeguarding the production ecology while promoting transnational sale and distribution. In smaller markets, such as Denmark and Flanders, aligning policy tools is essential, given that public funding for fiction and animation is crucial lever for achieving ambitious budgets and attracting private financing.