18/06/2013 - During a business lunch organized today as part of the 8th edition of Madrid de Cine, the President of the FAPAE presented statistics that bring hope for Spanish cinema

During a business lunch organized today as part of the 8th edition of Madrid de Cine, the President of the FAPAE presented statistics that bring hope for Spanish cinema.

Cineuropa: What positive trends have been found by the FAPAE?
Pedro Pérez: For the fourth consecutive year, Spanish cinema sold more tickets abroad than at home. We can congratulate ourselves on the fact that our movies are seen more in other countries, but it is worrying that we do not seem to have a strong enough link with our national audience. In 2012, Spanish cinema chalked up150.5 million euros in receipts on foreign markets versus 110 million in our theatres. The number of Spanish films released in other countries has also risen.  

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Which countries are the most receptive to Spanish cinema?
Italy, with 37 films released in 2012 and 17.1 million euros in receipts, and Mexico, where we achieved the best score (17.7 million euros). Then come the United States (16.4M €), France (13.24M) and Argentina (11.48M). Europe is the continent where Spanish movies made the most money (43 %), followed by Latin America (35.2 %). These numbers were calculated by the FAPAE based on data collected by RENTRAK and the European Audiovisual Observatory.

What does last year’s balance sheet show in terms of production?
In Europe (including all 27 members of the Union), 1,299 films were produced in total. 14 % of these films (ie. 182 feature films, fictions and documentaries) were Spanish. On a global scale, Spain ranks ninth in terms of the number of films produced; at European level, we rank fourth.

You reminded the Spanish Cinema Academy a few days ago that you are more popular abroad than at home...
Yes, we continue to be more successful beyond our boundaries. In 2012, 57.8 % of our total receipts came from abroad, versus 42.2 % from Spain itself. Spanish films released abroad in 2012 were seen by nearly 25 million spectators.

Which films were successful abroad?
The interest of the international public for Spanish cinema is growing year by year. In 2012, 141 Spanish films were distributed abroad, ie. 28.2 % more than in 2011. The N°1 title is The Impossible [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juan Antonio Bayona
film profile], which was released in 39 countries. The film won the 2013 FAPAE-RENTRAK Prize for the Spanish film which had the strongest impact abroad.

How do you see the future?
I hope that the 2013 results will be even better. It is by conquering foreign markets that Spain will be able to come out of the terrible situation it currently faces. We are on the right path. Despite the pessimism caused by the Spanish public abandoning the theatres, we will not be resigned. Our obligation is to draw the public back to the cinema.

How do you think this should be achieved? By lowering the price of tickets, which has become very expensive since the drastic rise of VAT?
We will have to take serious measures and take advantage of this moment of understanding between producers, distributors and operators. We are doing more and more market tests, but you also have to use the admission ticket as leverage: if it is too expensive in the eyes of the public, you have to face the consequences. There is no other way to bring people back into theatres than to adopt a very aggressive pricing policy, the aim being to attract spectators.