SCMS Chicago 2017 – Abstract – Dr Julia Hammett-Jamart

Out of Shot: the untold story of Hollywood involvement on European

official coproductions

Official co-production brings the practice of international co-financing under

the auspices of intergovernmental agreements such that national film policy
objectives might be met. The practice was first instituted by European nations
post-World War II as a means of redressing ailing national film industries and
resisting Hollywood domination of the global film market. By enabling
producers from selected countries to pool resources, whilst simultaneously
permitting them to access national subsidies and protective quotas, official
coproduction provided a means for European filmmakers to make larger
budget films that could potentially better compete with Hollywood.

To the extent that Hollywood constitutes the dominant threat, the US has
historically been excluded from official coproduction agreements.
Notwithstanding, many official coproductions do involve American
filmmakers, locations, actors, and even Hollywood studio financing ; a fact
that is rarely reflected in the official data released by public agencies.

This paper examines the underestimated phenomenon of US Studio

participation on European coproductions. Drawing upon the archives of
France’s Centre du Cinema et de l’Image Anime (CNC), and considering in
particular the case of a number of French official coproductions, the paper
suggests that Hollywood involvement in official coproductions may be
greater than generally acknowledged. This then raises important questions
about the efficacity of the practice in terms of achieving stated cultural policy
objectives, and also about its legitimacy in relation to multilateral trade
agreements. Furthermore, because official coproduction is formally
recognised as part of the ‘national cinema’ output, and the the data related to
US participation is generally not published, it raises important questions
about how scholars might study this increasingly significant body of work.
Biography
Julia Hammett-Jamart PhD is a founding member of the International
Coproduction Research Network. She has worked as a producer-director in
the Australian film industry, held senior policy positions within government
film funding agencies, and published numerous articles about her research
into French-Australian coproduction. She recently relocated to France, where
she has held visiting fellowships at Université de Paris III (La Sorbonne
Nouvelle) and the British Institute (University of London).

Bibliography
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Hammett-Jamart, J. (2014). Trade in National Cinema: Australian film policy

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Jackel, A. (2007). The Inter/Nationalism of French Film Policy. Modern and

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Rivi, L. (2007). European Cinema after 1989: cultural identity and transnational
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