15 participants attended, representing 7 of the 10 MEDA countries : Israel & Turkey (3 each), Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Syria (2 each), Morocco (1). The job profiles were very diversified, ranging from top executives from important cinema consortium from Egypt, Jordan and Syria, down to project-holders in the process of opening arthouse cinemas in Tangiers, Jerusalem or Istanbul, and including also independent film distributors, focusing on quality cinema. The training included formal lectures on economics or digital technology, and a wide variety of hands-on case studies presented by professionals from all over Europe (including the Sarajevo Film Festival, a key example of how to rebuild a cinema market from scratch), Turkey (2 young distributors specialized in European releases), and the Middle East (such as Palestinian moviemaker Rashid Mashrawi or the only art exhibitor in Beirut, whose cinema remained open during the war). The conclusion was a full morning with Menem Richa, from Europa Cinemas, who presented 2 new Euromed Audiovisual II initiatives : Euromed Cinemas and Medscreen. The trainees also had the opportunity to extensively visit the most modern multiplex in Italy (14-screener Cinecity in Padova), where they received a detailed briefing on digital technology from its technical manager. They all attended some 10-15 movies at the Mostra del Cinema, thanks to a professional accreditation provided by the CICAE. On the Film Festival venue of the Lido, they were personally received by Irene Bignardi, Claudia Landsberger and Mariette Rissenbeek, Heads of the Film Promotion Board of Italy, Holland and Germany, who gave them best practice hints to catch European films and prints. The 15 ‘'Mediterranean'' trainees were in permanent contact with some 80 fellow exhibitors from 20 different European countries who participated to a parallel MEDIA training. All of them lived and studied on the Island of San Servolo, a campus owned by the Province of Venice, which was also the venue of CIRCUITO OFF, an independent short film festival that invited all Euromed trainees to screenings, meetings and parties. 

33 participants attended, representing 5 of the 10 MEDA countries : Morocco (12), Algeria (10), Tunisia (8), Lebanon (2), Egypt (1). An important proportion of the theatrical distribution professionals of the Maghreb region were present, including film distributors, cinema programmers, but also film club / festival volunteers and representatives from national institutions. The training consisted mainly of ‘'hands on'' master-classes presented by professionals from both shores of the Mediterranean, on themes ranging from the history of cinema (French film-critic Laurent Delmas and former Director of the Algerian Cinematheque Boudjemaâ Kareche) to the ‘'Multiplex model'' (Nico Simo, from Luxemburg, VP of Europa Cinemas), and a strong focus on the daily work of distributors and exhibitors (with a wide panel including professionals from Algeria, Belgium, Egypt, France, Lebanon, Morocco, Switzerland and Tunisia); a full-day was dedicated to film education, in the presence of directors Michel Ocelot (France) and Jilani Saadi (Tunisia). Government officials from Morocco and Tunisia shared their views on State policies to support cinema.

All participants were invited as guests by the Carthago Cinema Days, the main festival of the region : this was not only an opportunity to watch films, but also to make deals : several films from Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia were actually bargained between the participants - the seminar was therefore not limited to transferring skills, but became a very concrete professional event. It concluded by an intensive workshop focused on the ways to improve the situation of theatrical distribution in the Maghreb Region (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia).

25 recommendations were discussed and approved, as a set of guidelines for better practice for both the professional sector and the national & international institutions. These covered the following areas :

* Improve professional unity and professionalism
* Fight audiovisual piracy
* Make cinemas more attractive and film release more relevant
* Foster the film-club sector to gain more impact in a legal framework
* Trigger a proper film education focusing on young and school audiences
* Develop a proper set of support policies to exhibitors and distributors
* Enhance better film circulation between countries through intergovernmental cooperation

These guidelines are detailed in the downloadable report.

Download the GENERATION BIG SCREEN Seminar Report EN - Part 1 // Part 2 //Part 3 // Part 4

This document includes a summary of the 40 master-classes presented in Venice and Tunis, the 25 recommendations made in Tunis, a list of participants.