email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

Jérôme Paillard • Cannes Film Market

Film Market back on form

by 

- This year's Cannes Film Market includes for the first time an accelerated training programme for producers without experience in international co-productions

On the eve of the Cannes Film Market opening, Cineuropa met with delegate general Jérôme Paillard to discuss the new additions for the 2011 edition.

Cineuropa: After the slump in 2009, has the optimistic recovery that began last year continued in 2011 in terms of participants numbers?
Jérôme Paillard: Yes, absolutely. We don’t yet have the final figures, but we’ve noted a 5-10% increase over 2010. The number of participants has returned to the level it had reached in 2008 and there are already over 4,000 films and projects on sale. Our hosting capacity doesn’t allow us to go much further.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Have you noticed any new trends in 2011?
The proportions of different countries represented are similar to last year and the trends haven’t really changed. Some trends are backed up, like the number of 3D films, which is still on the rise (about 50 films) and quite logically, digital screenings are becoming increasingly important.

This year, you’re launching the Producers Workshop. Can you tell us a bit about this initiative?
It’s an accelerated training programme for producers who are starting out and don’t yet have any experience in international co-productions. The seminars will look at marketing, cross-media, international sales and different strategies for festivals. We’re holding the Producers Workshop at the very start of the festival (from May 12-15) so that participants can immediately put into practice what they’ve learned during the training.

Has it been a success in terms of registration numbers?
Like the Producers Network, which is a huge success (fully-booked with 580 registrations this year), the Producers Workshop quickly reached the limit we set from the start: 185 registrations. Once again, we don’t have the hosting capacity needed to open up this programme to more producers. We were keen to put together very small groups so that each participant could really get the most out of the workshop.

The European Audiovisual Observatory has decided to focus its workshop on May 15 on the increasingly close links between television and film. What place does television occupy at today’s Film Market?
The Observatory’s view is very European, almost French! In France, Belgium and some other European countries, television networks invest a lot in film productions, but it is far from being the general rule internationally. In fact, the opposite is true. At the Film Market, we register at the most between 300 and 400 films that have received financing from television. It’s a minority trend within the global industry, along the lines of the European cinema model. Generally, television remains cinema’s main rival and relations between them are tense.

Are there any other new additions for the 2011 edition?
This year, we’ve developed a catch-up system on Cinando.com thanks to a much greater number of films available in streaming for buyers and programmers only. The catch-up isn’t just limited to films shown at the Market; titles screened in the festival’s different competitions are also available. Rights are granted on a case by case basis by the film’s seller and access to viewings is possible with their Cinando username. The images viewed are watermarked to avoid all forms of piracy and, in any case, the resolutions are not comparable to those required by conventional broadcasting. It’s a way of compensating for the limited number of screening rooms at the Film Market.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

Privacy Policy