The Counterfeiters has won the Best Foreign Language Film award at this years Academy Awards. It continues a three-year winning streak, including The Lives of Others in 2007 and March of the Penguins in 2006, for European films at the OSCARS.

This year 4 films with significant nominations in many OSCAR categories have been supported by the MEDIA programme. In addition to The Counterfeiters, an Austrian/German co-production, there were three French films including La Vie en Rose, Persepolis and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.

MEDIA had invested €2,629.331 in total over all four films. Best Foreign Language Film winner The Counterfeiters had been supported over three individual funds, illustrating an ideal case study for the use of MEDIA funding. The Counterfeiters received €30,000 from a MEDIA Slate Funding development deal, €49,822 from MEDIA's i2i Bank Financing and Insurance Costs subsidy fund, and €575,158 in financial assistance from MEDIA Distribution. The overall support from MEDIA in the film totals €654,980.

La Vie en Rose received support from the programme totalling €1,177,584.00 and won two Oscars. Marion Cotillard continued her Best Actress win at the BAFTAs with an OSCAR, while the film also won for Best Make-Up.

The MEDIA programme is pleased to see its funds working with direct benefit to the industry. Even though the programme's overall budget is no bigger than that of an average Hollywood blockbuster, MEDIA support has important knock-on effects as each €1 of MEDIA funding generates about €6 in private investment from industry.