The rules of engagement between studios, broadcasting companies in the United States, and European producers began to change.
That was the main takeaway from Locarno Film Festival’s StepIN Research Center on the state of independent filmmaking, with nearly 50 European and international industry players on Wednesday taking part in an all-day event that includes working sessions to share ideas on practices, business models and proposal New ideas and strategies.
“The old paradigm of ‘all or nothing’ and the desire to own everything forever has really evolved into a much more fluid approach,” said Carlo Ducey, head of London-based Endor Productions. Taking notes at the Roundtable on New Film Funding and Production Opportunities, he presents his group’s conclusions.
They are now open to “considering ways in which to acquire or co-commission against multiple territories, acquiring licenses rather than ownership in perpetuity.” [and] Sharing rights and revenues in more flexible ways.
“We talked a lot with a studio representative in the US [veteran acquisitions and production exec Sejin Croninger, who is executive VP of worldwide acquisitions at Paramount Pictures and was also among the event’s keynote speakers] About the fact that there is an acquisition model that is becoming more flexible and enabling the studio sector to participate in films that may be financially viable for them to produce, but still have a place within their own production lines, particularly as these pipelines develop across theatrical, television and broadcast platforms. Direct,” added Al-Dossi.
Wolf Osthaus, director of public policy at Netflix for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, was also among the participants in this closed session.
“However, as producers, we benefit from having a wide range of options as there are certain instances where moving your content to a one-stop store can allow you to fund something very quickly, rather than incurring the pain and costs of a multi-party deal,” Aldossi noted. .
After taking a break last year from focusing strictly on business to focusing primarily on mental health and envisioning a more humane work environment, The unique initiative of the Swiss Festival is back, now in its tenth edition Delve into the industry’s most pressing operational issues and what lies ahead.
Here are some other StepIN takeaways:
In the theatrical session EcosystemManaged by Neon Head of theatrical distribution Elisa Fedorov, it was noted that “MAny theaters in the US just expect people to come back without doing enough Presenting their conclusions, said Erin Musumeci, Director of Marketing at MUBI, presenting their findings.
The situation in Europe is similar.
“In France, the cinema has replaced the church but even there the market share is now less than 20%; in Italy 60% is below zero. It is a disaster! Basically, the main audience in Europe, over 55 years old, is no longer,” he noted. one of the participants.
Similar to the United States, blockbuster films in Europe have recovered very well at the box office. But the furniture sector is still very difficult. She said audience trends are changing and “certainly feels that OTT is a threat.”
Fedrov during the session, as well as during her keynote before the round table, made an optimistic note: “There have been huge changes, but they are cyclical. Everything will come again in the end. “
Basically, Fedrov is of the opinion that, going forward, people may watch movies in different ways, but those who like to watch movies in movie theaters will continue to do so.
However, it is inevitable that the theatrical footprint will be much smaller in the future. “In essence, we shared that we believe the theater space will change and possibly shrink A little, but she will not die! Musumesi concluded.
Round Table Gender Equality and Social Impact Daniel Turkoff Wilson, Head of Production at Think-Film Impact, who was also a keynote speaker, emphasized that not only is there an internal skills gap to be filled, but there is also external audience demand from millennials and Generation Z who have purchasing power over $360 billion, According to its statistics.
Think-Film’s Amy Shepherd, who was the notes editor for this session, noted that “the data is inherently biased in the way it is collected and presented. Even some of the existing reports about gender equality or what the public wants are missing a vital piece of the puzzle.”
Moreover, “there is a gap as well that we need direct implementation of legal provisions that are already in place,” she added.
This group also came up with a radical and controversial proposal that one way to fill this gap, in its various forms, is quotas, which could be a viable way to “fix the imbalance that already exists,” she said.
Shepherd specified that these quotas could “ranging from behind the camera staff, to quotas for inclusion of a film festival”.
“We all want film festivals to display the best artistic quality; but if there are such a small number of films submitted to festivals that have been directed by women – for example – there will always be an imbalance.”
“So there has to be a quotient at festivals to get a certain number of products out of the output, so they can [films directed by women] It could come off in the first place,” Shepherd added, warning that “this is something that requires a much deeper conversation.”
In a session on “Cinema Festivals and Markets in the Hybrid Era” “The general feeling was that hybrid is the future,” said Marge Lesky, managing director of the Tallinn and Baltic event, the industrial side of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.
“But it will not work the same for every festival because every festival and market is different,” she added.
Liiske noted one piece of troubling data, which states that “nearly 80% of films shown at a festival do not reach theatrical distribution. Therefore, many physical festivals are the only way for filmmakers to meet their live audiences. “.
So, even after the pandemic, the virtual or hybrid performances being set up by festival brands are “attracting new audiences,” she said, which is certainly a positive.
Another interesting observation that has emerged is that the festival audience is getting old. “There are indications that more than half of the festival-goers are over the age of 60,” Lesky said. Festivals and markets should work with young people by involving more young people in their teams. Only the younger generation can understand how to reach and attract the TikTok generation.”
Also in attendance at StepIN are Killer Films President Christine Vachon and President of Eurimages Susan Newman Bowdis; Vanja Kalodgersik, President of the Rotterdam Film Festival; Chief oscilloscope Dan Berger; Jeong Kim, President of AK Entertainment in South Korea; and Alexis Hoffmann, Head of Acquisitions at French Bac Films.
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