06/11/2012 - The German exhibitor and distributor Sven Andresen, who launched the VPF Hub model for the digitisation of independent cinemas six month ago, already has more than 100 exhibitors with more than 400 screens and 41 distributors on board

"The digitization of cinemas and their financing is one the biggest challenges we ever had in the film industry," said Sven Andresen, CEO of VPF Hub, which was launched in Germany as a fair-trade alternative to the offers made by the Third Parties six months ago. Meanwhile, a growing number of exhibitors and distributors are joining the venture, which was set up by Andresen and the Dutch software house MACCS International to collect virtual print fees (VPFs) for the independents exhibitors in Germany.

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With more than 100 exhibitors, 400 screens and 41 distributors on board, VPF Hub is already the second-largest provider in Germany, which handles the distributors' contributions to the digitisation of cinemas. VPF Hub was created in addition to the trust fund by the German FFA (Federal Film Fund) for cinemas that don't match the FFA criterias. The public-funded model only suppports arthouse and independent cinemas with up to six screens that have at least an average of 8,000 visitors per screen per year.

Since two more US major companies signed the trust agreement with the FFA and Bernd Neumann's BKM ministry at the beginning of November, Andresen expects to close a deal with two more major studios. "VPF Hub offers the exhibitor the biggest possible flexibility and the best conditions to refinance their investment," he said. "Every exhibitor can join VPF Hub no matter if he financed the digitization with his own resources, received public funding or a mixture of both."