Ase Kleveland, Director General of the Swedish Film Institute, has been awarded France's Legion d'Honneur in acknowledgement of her efforts to promote cooperation in cinema related issues throughout Europe. The award was presented by the Grand Chancellor of the Legion d'Honneur, Jean-Philippe Douin.

Since Ase Kleveland became director general of the Swedish Film Institute in 2001 there have been numerous co-operative projects between Sweden and France.

When Sweden took over the presidency of the EU from France in 2001, the Swedish Film Institute set up a partnership to ensure different countries' rights to pursue a national cinema policy within the EU framework. A conference hosted by the Swedish Film Institute in June the same year represented a breakthrough for film policy in relation to EU competition laws.

Since 2000 the Swedish Film Institute has been involved in a joint initiative with government-backed British and French working groups to study e-cinema. The three nations organised a meeting in Stockholm in 2001 which led to the establishment of the EDCF (European Digital Cinema Forum), of which Ase Kleveland is the current chair.

Franco-Swedish cooperation also includes a newly-established group for the heads of European national film institutes and foundations. The group is about to publish a declaration aimed at the European Commission, where a number of regulations on state funding are due for review.