In focus international film finance forum
whether or not a film can be launched on VoD in France. Wild Bunch’s Welcome To New York will be the testing ground this weekend. “We will know on Monday what it is to launch an important movie. There is no limit on the number of prints or tickets or capacity. We could have 700,000 clicks maybe... in the next 48 hours, we will have an answer,” Ormieres said. At the ‘Risky Business’ panel, experts debated approaches to co-production, incentives and pre-sales. Talking about potential missteps, CAA’s Micah Green warned against producers rushing to attach talent to films. “They make commitments to the talent that they ultimately can’t honour,” he said. He also cautioned against so-called ‘financiers’ who do not have any capital and producers who appoint sales agents prematurely. Silver Reel’s Claudia Blümhuber and Participant Media’s Jonathan King
The new money Experts at the fifth International Film Finance Forum in Cannes say there is liquidity in the market and a need for more content. Geoffrey Macnab reports
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ow does independent film differentiate itself from the fantastic TV that’s out there? Is there a shortage of product? Is French Cinema in crisis? Who has the money? How seriously should crowdfunding be taken? What are the new distribution strategies for the digital age? These were among the questions pondered by leading producers, agents and financiers at the fifth annual International Film Finance Forum organised in Cannes by Winston Baker (with Screen as a media partner). Speaking at the ‘Global State Of The Industry’ panel, United Talent Agency’s Rena Ronson disputed the idea aired by many in Cannes this week that there is a lack of films in the marketplace. “There is a lot of product out there,” she said. “There is too much product out to some extent.” She pointed out there are plenty of films in the $5m budget range. The shortfall is in the “higher budget” star-driven titles in the $20m-$40m range. Actors, Ronson noted, are “willing to reduce their upfront” and increase “the back end” in order to get strong indie films made. She talked up the marketing opportunities inherent in crowdfunding. “They [the online investors] are all going to see your movie.” The delegates noted the “new money in town”. “There is a lot of liquidity out there,” said Silver Reel’s Claudia Blümhuber, but she also warned against rigid models of equity or debt financing in a film-financing market in which “everything is changing”. Robbert Aarts, co-chief executive of Fin-
10 Screen International May 18, 2014
tage House, remarked there are still hundreds of films produced each year on which investors “will most likely lose their investment”. The consensus, though, was that when it came to investment, “money is smarter, equity is smarter”. Participant Media executive vice-president Jonathan King gave further details of Participant’s pan-American initiative, Participant PanAmerica, that began two years ago with Pablo Larrain’s No, and is continuing with Western-inspired action adventure El Ardor, an Argentina-Brazil-France co-production. Participant’s aim is to be “the equity piece” in helping finance these movies. Content everywhere Crisis, what crisis?, was the response from Stone Angels producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam at the ‘Fighting for a New French Cinema’ panel. Amid fierce debate about the 36-month delay that films in France face before they reach VoD platforms and concern about the decline of the home entertainment market, Le Pogam was sanguine about the situation facing big companies such as Gaumont. “There is no crisis,” he said, pointing to the continuing “need for content everywhere”. Producer Philippe Carcassonne and others predicted that a number of tax reliefs in France will be cancelled but that tax incentives aimed at luring international production will survive. Meanwhile, UniversCiné’s Jean-Luc Ormieres told the audience in the Carlton that they will soon be able to see
‘There is a lot of product out there. There is too much to some extent’ Rena Ronson, United Talent Agency
Looking beyond theatrical The ‘Innovation in Distribution’ panel gave insight into forward-thinking platforms that can benefit distribution companies, sales agents and film-makers. ICM Partners’ Jessica Lacy said: “Just because films are not released theatrically, it doesn’t mean they’re not important to us.” ICM’s alternative packaging methods include theatre adaptations, television series and online platforms. While The Weinstein Company’s David Glasser admitted home entertainment sales are dropping, he insisted smaller releases, such as documentaries, are proving financially successful through alternative packaging. And though the industry does not yet widely accept day-and-date, he insisted Harvey Weinstein was set on finding a way to push alternative content to wider audiences. Anna Godas, CEO of London-based Dogwoof, highlighted the benefits of being a sales company and distributor, using Blackfish as an example where the campaign was controlled from pre-production to release. StudioCanal Germany’s CEO Rodolphe Buet offered a more reserved approach, saying that theatrical campaigns are still at the heart of StudioCanal’s release strategy, but he offered social media as one factor in pushing s a film to the broader public. n Additional reporting by Tiffany Pritchard
Fintage House’s Robbert Aarts
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