Helmers don shorts

World Brief

By JORN ROSSING JENSEN

Twenty-five European directors, including the U.K.'s Peter Greenaway, Sweden's Jan Troell, Finland's Aki Kaurismaki, Belgium's Stijn Coninx, the Netherlands' Theo van Gogh and Austria's Barbara Albert, will contribute to "Visions of Europe," a compilation of short films to be aired by German and French television on May 1, the day of the extension of the European Union.

Instigated by Germany's ZDF and French Arte, the project is headed by Danish producer Michael Olsen of Zentropa Entertainments. He has signed 25 filmmakers from present and incoming EU member countries to do a five-minute short on "their visions of life in Europe, now or in the future."

Budget of the film is $850,000 plus whatever the directors may get from local subsidy programs.