Steve Solot and Olivier-René Veillon at Casa França-Brasil  (Caru Ribeiro)

In the context of the vibrant 2011 Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, the President of Filme Rio – Rio Film Commission (FR-RFC), Steve Solot, and the Executive Director of the Ile de France (Paris) Film Commission, Olivier-René Veillon, today signed a broad cooperation agreement between their respective organizations. The new partnership between the two commissions will promote new audiovisual productions in both regions by providing the best environment possible for co-productions and production services in both jurisdictions.

The ceremony, which took place at the Casa França-Brasil Foundation in downtown Rio, was attended by the Audiovisual Superintendent of the Rio de Janeiro State Secretary of Culture, Julia Levy, the Consul General of France in Rio Brasil, Jean Claude Moyret, the Assistant State Secretary of Foreign Relations, Pedro Spadale, and the CEO of Film London, Adrian Wootton.

In his remarks, President of the FR-RFC, Steve Solot, explained that the signing of the cooperation agreement comes at an opportune time: “This ceremony gives us the chance to strengthen our organizations’ relationship within a wonderful context - Rio has the attention of the whole world now, thanks to events such as the forthcoming World Soccer Cup and the Olympic Games, a trend which now also holds true for the audiovisual sector”, he stated and went on to add, “This new partnership with Ile de France Film (Paris) Commission will allow us to act together to provide more opportunities and to increase the exchange of information on behalf of our respective producer communities”.

The Executive Director of Ile de France (Paris) Film Commission, Olivier-René, emphasized other benefits of the agreement: “This new accord will benefit the film industries in both countries, and offers a good way to enhance our relationship, as well as an affirmation of our mutual commitment and support to promote sustainable development in audiovisual production. The commissions will be able exchange experiences and information as a means to support film producers”, he explained. Veillon also stressed the current positive environment in the State of Rio de Janeiro: “It is a great privilege to sign this agreement when the State of Rio is becoming the center of all attention”. 

Adrian Wooton, the CEO of FilmLondon, joined in the ceremony to celebrate the agreement: “We already have an agreement with Rio and another one with Paris, which enables us to maintain creative exchanges with two of the great cinema cultures in the world”.