Networks of European Cinemas
Support for European cinema networks to promote non-national films, innovate audience engagement, and foster sustainability and inclusion.
This call funds networks of European cinemas to screen more non-national European films. It aims to increase audiences, especially young viewers, and promote innovative cinema experiences. The call also encourages sustainability, gender balance, and cross-border collaboration among cinemas.
Likely relevant for
- European cinema operators
- Cultural organizations in film sector
- Film industry networks
- Audience development professionals
- Sustainability and inclusion advocates in cinema
Project signals
What it funds
- Creation and operation of European cinema networks
- Screening non-national European films
- Audience engagement activities, especially for young cinema-goers
- Innovative approaches to cinema business and partnerships
- Exchange of best practices and knowledge sharing
- Data collection and dissemination for policy dialogue
Expected outcomes
- Increased audience for non-national European films
- New and younger audiences reached
- Renewed cinema-going experience
- More sustainable and inclusive cinema business practices
- Enhanced innovation and collaboration among cinemas
Who can apply / participate
- Cinema operators
- Cultural organizations
- Networks of cinemas
- Broad geographic coverage encouraged
- European countries as specified in call document
- Refer to call document for detailed eligibility conditions
- Exact eligible countries and consortium size must be verified in call document
Must check before shortlisting
- Eligibility of applicant countries
- Specific consortium or partnership requirements
- Detailed budget and funding rates
Money
Total budget of approximately EUR 17.5 million for 2026 to support cinema networks.
- Total budget — 17467470EURBudget for the year 2026
Application notes
- Single-stage submission model.
- Proposal page limits and layout as per call document and application form Part B.
- Eligibility and admissibility conditions detailed in call document.
- Evaluation criteria, scoring, and thresholds described in call document.
- Legal and financial set-up governed by CREA MGA and related regulations.
- Prepare proposal according to call document and application form templates.
- Submit proposal via Funding & Tenders Portal between 7 April and 9 July 2026.
- Follow evaluation and award timeline as per call document.
- Check detailed eligibility and consortium requirements in call document.
- Ensure compliance with sustainability, gender balance, and inclusion criteria.
- Refer to call document for financial and operational capacity requirements.
Derived from official EU Funding portal source · updated 22 Jun 2026, 13:45 UTC. Use this as a shortlisting aid; the official call text remains authoritative.
Official source text
Fine print from the EU source record. Expand when you need the original wording.
Topic description
Objective: The aim of the support is to create and operate a network of cinemas with a view to: Encourage cinema operators to screen a significant proportion of non- national European films through incentives and collaborative projects; Contribute to raise and increase the interest of the audience for non-national films including through the development of activities for young cinema-goers; Help those cinemas to adapt their strategy to the changing environment including by promoting innovative approaches in terms of audience reach and engagement, as well as partnerships with other film industry operators as well as with local cultural institutions; Encourage exchange of best practices, knowledge sharing and other forms of cross border collaboration amongst members of the network Contribute to the policy dialogue on the film industry by collecting data and disseminating the outcome of the activities of the network beyond its members. Description of the activities to be funded under the call for proposals: The action will support a network of European cinema operators, with a broad geographic coverage, screening a significant proportion of non-national European films for an increased audience and a renewed cinema going experience, fostering the role of European cinemas in the circulation of European works. The aim is to increase audiences for European works through incentives and collaborative projects. Funding will promote innovative approaches that combine visibility for European works and the widest audiences. Applications should present adequate strategies to ensure a more sustainable and more environmentally-respectful industry and to ensure gender balance, inclusion, diversity and representativeness. Expected Impact : Increase the audience for non-national European films on the European market; Reach new audiences for European films including young cinema-goers; Reinforce and renew the ongoing cinema experience; Adjust the business practices of European cinema theatres in terms of sustainability and inclusion; Foster the innovation potential of European cinema theatres through enhanced collaboration.
Conditions and documents
Conditions
1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout
described in the call document
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible Countries
described in the call document.
3. Other Eligible Conditions
described in the call document.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion
described in the call document.
5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes
described in the call document.
5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds
Evaluation criteria, scoring, threshold and process are described in the call document.
5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement
described in the call document.
Publication of the call: 04 December 2025.
Call opening: 07 April 2026.
Deadline for submitting applications: 09 July 2026 17:00 (Brussels time).
Evaluation period: July - December 2026.
Information to applicants: January 2027.
Signature of grant agreement: April 2027.
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants
described in the call document.
Call document and annexes:
Application form templates
Standard application form (CREA MEDIA) — the application form specific to this call is available in the Submission System
Model Grant Agreements (MGA)
Additional documents:
Support information
For help related to this call, please contact: · your local Creative Europe desk · or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – Submission of proposals . IT Helpdesk – Contact the IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc. Online Manual – Step-by-step online guide through the Portal processes from proposal preparation and evaluation to reporting on your ongoing project. Valid for all 2021-2027 programmes.
Raw budget overview
{
"budgetYearsColumns": [
"2026"
],
"budgetTopicActionMap": {
"112569": [
{
"action": "CREA-MEDIA-2026-CINNET - CREA-PJG CREA Project Grants",
"expectedGrants": 0,
"minContribution": 0,
"maxContribution": 0,
"budgetYearMap": {
"2026": "17467470"
},
"plannedOpeningDate": "2026-04-07",
"deadlineModel": "single-stage",
"deadlineDates": [
"2026-07-09"
]
}
]
}
}