Merci Seville, an annual forum for Spanish film distributors, returns at the second independent film market of the Seville European Film Festival, with a broad agenda and some very urgent issues for discussion, led by how to bring audiences back to the country’s movie theatres.
A joint venture with Adicine (Association of Independent Film Distributors), Merci Seville will also build on last year’s successful inaugural show with more than 20 films scheduled to be released through 2023. All distributors associated with Adicine are scheduled to attend. “It is the only event of the year that reunites the national industry in Spain. It allows independent distributors to build a closer relationship with exhibitors, showing them the best upcoming films,” says Lara Pérez Caminha, president of Adicine and co-founder of Bteam Pictures.
Film markets often feature art-advanced stage works and flirt with distribution deals. By contrast, Merci highlights ready-made versions of films for viewers to consider. This should do well with the most discerning theater owners ever, given turbulent market conditions.
on the agenda
An eventful and networking program will be held to discuss the most pressing issues currently facing independent film.
How heritage cinema is preserved and released will dominate a session run by the Spanish Film Library. He will look to explore ways to reintroduce forgotten film gems for contemporary film festivals.
Carlos Byrne, Director of Content and Distribution for DeAPlaneta’s Children and Family Division, will host master classes on animation trends and their potential future.
On the agenda again this year, “Women in Focus”, allowing space to discuss various topics from a gender perspective.
Complementing the Andalusian panorama of SEFF, Merci will hold a session highlighting the current state and next steps of Andalusian cinema through the Filmmakers Meeting. This moves into a mentorship program where the filmmakers who will be showing their films take the time to pass on their wisdom to the film school students.
for discussion
Lara Pérez Camiña anticipates that “a lack of audiences in cinemas”, as well as “the influence of the media on our industry for freelancers and vice versa, will dominate the role of our industry in the future of media”.
The lack of an independent cinema audience is not unique to Spain, but the return of audiences has been slower than in some European markets such as France. The epidemic was bad in two respects. It is clear that people have not been able to go to the cinema at all for long periods. This has been exacerbated by a habit formed around watching movies via streaming services, which is hard to get rid of.
Streaming services will want to maintain habits formed during the lockdown. It hit every demographer Lara Perez Caminha admits, “Unfortunately, the older adult audience isn’t what it used to be. We were expecting to welcome them back this fall and winter but we’re still waiting. It’s essential for us to create the habit of going to movie theaters for audiences new younger,
It is difficult to come up with specific solutions because it is very difficult to know the set of incentives needed to lure the masses back.
“We hope that 2023 will be the year we will overcome the epidemic and better understand the behavior of our audience,” said Lara Perez-Camenia.
The key question at this year’s Merci will be how the industry will understand these audiences and ultimately win them back.
The distributors gathered in Adicine are: Contracorriente Films, Avalon, BTeam Pictures, Caramel Films, Elástica Films, Festival Films, Filmax, Golem Distribution, Karma Films, La Aventura, SelectaVisión, Syldavia Cinema, Tripictures, Vertigo Films and Wanda Vision.
