European Film Commissions as Transcultural Promoters and Mediators

This article investigates transcultural communication taking film commissions as case study. Film commission are non-profit organisations looking to attract audiovisual productions to their areas and supply them with services free of charge. Although relatively recent and little studied, film commissions are spreading fast in Europe and worldwide. Combining the political economy approach with the most recent production studies, the article contends that film commissions can stimulate transcultural phenomena on three levels. First, they act as intermediaries between the audiovisual production and the host area. Second, they encourage collaboration between different production cultures. Third, they incentivise brand-new collaboration between the audiovisual production and the tourist sector.