European independent producers claim the role of movie theaters

Recognizing the role of movie theaters as a unique and social experience as well as the added value it gives to the entire distribution chain and the need to make exhibition windows more flexible depending on the product are some of the issues that were debated at the CEPI General Assembly.

Last week, AECINE, State Film Association, served as host and organizer of the General Assembly of I caught (European Association of Audiovisual Production), one of the major events of the European audiovisual industry, which seeks to create synergies by laying the foundations for future collaborations, always in defense of independent production, the weakest in the ecosystem, and seeking to strengthen the European industry.

Held in Madrid, the main annual meeting of European independent producers brought together not only the members of CEPI and AECINE, but also numerous professionals from various areas of the sector and representatives of the institutions. Thus, the president of AECINE Mª Luisa Gutiérrez and Mariela Besuievsky, member of the Board of Directors of this association, received the Undersecretary of Culture and Sports, Eduardo Fernández Palomares; the General Secretary of the ICAA, Rocio Juanes de Toledo, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Community of Madrid, Marta Rivera de la Cruz; and Ana Amigo on behalf of the Film Academy as main institutional presences.

Regarding the industry, the event had a wide representation that included the representatives in Spain of Netflix (Esperanza Ibáñez and Juan Mayne) and Prime Video (Koro Castellano, Manuel Reverte and Chelo Abarca); the General Director for Europe of Comscore, Arturo Guillén; the president of PROA, Jordi Oliva; the president of PIAF, Antonio Mansilla; or the vice president of Ama, Carlos D'Ursi and members of its Board of Directors... among other professionals who were able to exchange opinions, experiences and above all, their expectations regarding the immediate future of a sector that is facing a key moment before the imminent approval of the General Film Law.

During the two days of the event, professional meetings and various work sessions took place around three work tables held at the Film Academy, which raised some of the key issues for the industry.

New challenges

In the Assembly it was made clear that the new scenarios facing the film industry, accelerated after a global confinement, force them to translate into greater flexibility in exhibition windows, in a scenario where theatrical release continues to be considered synonymous with quality and a prescriber of cinematographic works to viewers compared to the rest of subsequent exploitation windows. Giving them value. Because enjoying a movie in the cinema continues to be a unique experience and a way to promote the product in the future.

This is the main conclusion of a key meeting moderated by Gustavo Ferrada, CEO of Convoy Films, and associate of AECINE, in which the important challenge facing the industry was discussed and which brought together representatives of the different associations of distributors and exhibitors together with the film managers of the main public and private networks (RTVE, Atresmedia, Mediaset and Movistar) and international platforms such as HBO and Spanish platforms such as Flixolé and Filmin.

As an initial approach, Luis Gil Palacios of FECE indicated the position of the exhibitors in their clear defense of the theaters "this period of the last year is not a reference for measuring consumption habits. There is too much uncertainty to measure the duration of the ideal window. You have to watch it film by film. Watching the film in the movie theater is a different experience than watching it in your living room. Each cinema is a prescriber of content. It is proven that when films are released directly on platforms, there is a greater risk of being pirated sooner to the detriment of the entire distribution chain and the "We have not yet reached the normality that allows us to know what the viewer's behavior will be from now on. The theatrical release favors development and exploitation in other windows."

In this same line of defense of the rooms, it was shown Estela Artacho, president of FEDICINE, who pointed out that "the windows of each of the FEDICINE partners are different since they are part of the commercial strategy of each company and each film. Each associate makes the determination, experiments with the most appropriate commercial strategy, some create their own platforms. We are a sector in constant evolution trying to adapt to different scenarios, but at FEDICINE we continue to think that cinema is a unique experience."

For its part, Miguel Morales, from ADICINE, the association of independent distributors, firmly believe that the cinema experience should be lived in cinemas, but clarified "from independent distribution we think that there has to be a flexible window, but there must be equality for all sectors: independents and majors. There is too much pressure for releases, a hyperinflation that becomes the main problem for the windows. It is something very difficult for independent distributors to manage. The main loser is Spanish cinema, which cannot fight with the same weapons to obtain screens. The middle class of films is the one that is having a hard time. We are concerned about the sharp drop in the box office that has worsened with the pandemic, especially for Spanish and European independent cinema. Production, distribution and exhibition must achieve a commitment that allows premieres to be maintained in theaters so that they have an impact on theaters, televisions and platforms.

At Filmin they also think that the windows should be flexible when the film is no longer in the cinema. This is what it indicated José Antonio de Luna, who believed that "with the entry of the Internet, the forms of consumption, distribution and exploitation have changed radically in all aspects, which forces us to rethink all strategies. The theaters are not in all places and, therefore, the distribution is inefficient. They consider, however, that there is feedback from the windows, which is why Filmin is born as a cinema experience. Each title requires a different strategy." De Luna, who also represents AEVOD, continued: “The cinematographic experience is fundamental and in many of the titles it is a critical point to be able to recover the investment.”

Sophie Mac Mahon, by Flix Ole offered his experience from a platform specialized in our cinema that wants to give visibility to a cinema that is already difficult to achieve. From that point, he pointed out the importance of “evaluating each product and deciding when it is time for it to be released to the public for free.”

However, since HBO MAX, Antonio Trashorras was the most pessimistic of the session as far as cinema is concerned "when people socialize (less and less) they don't want to go into a movie theater to be quiet and not interact. The relevance of cinema is becoming less and less. Movie stars are worth less and less. The media doesn't talk about movies. They talk about series. There is a generation or two coming that, each time, will not care more about what we do. It is not part of their routine to watch movies. They are into other things: networks like tic knock... we have to worry that young people incorporate into their routines, inoculating them with a passion for stories.”

Something that bounced Ismael Calleja of Movistar, "The theaters play a very important role in the relevance that these contents later have on Movistar. The cinema that is most consumed on our platform is the one that is released in theaters, due to all the support it entails in communication and marketing and the bond it generates with viewers. But the relevance and notoriety that is built with exploitation in theaters is lost if there is a long time until the exhibition. The concept of flexibility is important."

He emphasized this concept of flexibility Mercedes Gamero, from Atresmedia: "in television product purchases, flexibility has existed for years, and has been shortened, sometimes reaching day and date, contrary to film acquisitions whose window was quite immovable. Since the appearance of Atresmedia Player, we have been experimenting with different window models (pre catch up, catch up...), both in own production and in acquisitions, depending on the product. Since production, we have fought very hard to maintain the cinema window. We are open to exploring different exploitation models, seeking as long as Spanish cinema is not at a disadvantage compared to American cinema. And this implies being able to negotiate the window. We believe in the flexibility of the windows, but also that each film has its own life at the box office, which is what demonstrates the longevity of some films compared to others.

Alvaro Augustin y Ghislain Barrois from Mediaset delved even further into the subject by putting on the table the situation of open windows "the open window is critical because the situation has changed. For today's public two weeks are an eternity, imagine two years to see the open window. The erosion of the open window is real. In Spain films are not the maximum open audience, as is the case in France." Barrois indicated. "We produce a limited number of films and turn them into an event, but when they arrive at our window they are already sold out. For us it is important to release in theaters, however. But we also believe that flexibility is necessary. The key is to see how it can be adapted throughout the distribution chain," Augustin concluded.

“For TVE it is important that films go to movie theaters.” This was expressed by José Pastor, the new head of the public channel's film area, who highlighted his commitment to making cinema more visible in programming. "The consumption of fiction has changed a lot with the appearance of new platforms, where we find an oversupply that clashes with the prescriptive power of the free-to-air channel. Films must be protected as they pass through theaters, but the windows can be shortened and opt for video on demand, which necessarily involves reaching an agreement with the platforms." With respect to the 6% of cinema, he expressed his support for "TVE adjusting the evaluation criteria in the selection of projects, with more frequency in the evaluation tables and increasing the evaluation tables" and announced that they are already working on this in their internal regulations, while recalling that "TVE's contributions do not constitute a subsidy but rather a purchase of broadcasting rights."

After all the presentations, the president of AECINE, Mª Luisa Gutiérrez pointed out “The only way to put some order in the windows of exploitation is to sit down all the current players in the audiovisual distribution chain, to try to agree on the scope of flexibility that makes possible a fair ecosystem in which there are no losers and winners and we do not leave dead people in the gutter. In addition, it is essential that the Government has political intention not only to get involved in this issue to establish the necessary rules so that we all survive but to begin to give the importance to cinema that it has from a point of view. from an educational point of view.”

The value of data

The panel The value of data for independent European producers. Platforms and TV, moderated by the General Secretary of CEPI, Mathilde Fiquet, became a debate forum to highlight the importance of data as a key element, not only when approaching a production but especially in the development of launch strategies. Data that few industries offer as transparently as cinema (with the box office accessible in just a few hours) or television with the minute by minute but in which the figures of the new agents incorporated into the audiovisual scene have yet to be incorporated.

During the presentation, the General Secretary of the ICAA, Rocío Juanes de Toledo, emphasized the importance of data transparency that makes it easier for the Public Administration to legislate and offer answers to citizens.

Also along those lines, Ricardo Vaca, CEO Barlovento Comunicación, a company dedicated to audience analysis, stressed the key role of data when designing a launch strategy "Data is the gold of the 21st century and is the manna of audiovisuals. Today everything is driven by data. Information is used to do business and to generate money.

Regarding television, it is the most transparent medium of all. There are two television subscribers: advertisers and customers. Television gives minute by minute, the next day, all the data. In this way we know the habits and customs of all the citizens of a country. There is no industry that gives us data at 8 in the morning the next day about everything that happened the day before. These data must then be translated into a marketing strategy. “About OTT, however, nothing is known.”

For its part, Arturo Guillen, EVP&Global Managing Director de ComScore, abordó la actualidad de los datos y arrojó una posible luz sobre las cifras del mercado “desde los años 30 el consumo de cine ha ido subiendo hasta el año 2019 que fue el año de mayor consumo de cine. Con la pandemia se cerraron todos los cines del mundo. Sin embargo, se prevé que en el 2023 estemos en cifras del año 2019 de nuevo.”

Sustainable production

There is no doubt that the time has come for sustainability in film production. Achieving sustainable audiovisual production has become a common goal for Europe's independent industry, but for this metamorphosis to be effective, the work and effort has to come from everywhere: both from sector agents and governments.

Concern for the environment is bringing the industry ever closer to a change of model, as pointed out Sandra Hermida, producer of Suspense Entertainment, who presented as a case study her project Rainbow, an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, where filming protocols and environmentally friendly forms of action are already being put into practice. According to Hermida, in recent years there have been substantial changes in audiovisual production: women department heads, new cultural policies, “so the next step is to go towards a green and sustainable industry.”

Sustainability experts such as Paloma Andres of Mrs. GreenFilm, stressed that "to be effective in our country it is necessary to work together with the ICAA, the Ministry of Culture and the Government. The audiovisual industry needs a push and the help of the government to face this challenge, since achieving sustainability is a team effort. In addition, the education and awareness of the teams, and reducing the inflation of production costs, the training of new professionals, such as the eco-consultant or the eco-manager, will be essential to take the step."

From Europe, Davide Vaccaro, Project manager at CEPI (European Audiovisual Production), stressed the importance of a dialogue for Sustainability in Europe. CEPI leads a project that will analyze between now and the end of 2022 the good practices in sustainability that are applied in Europe, and that will culminate with a Web Platform, as well as training seminars for producers and teams in the sector. AND Alicja Grawon, president of the National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers -KIPA of Poland, pointed out that the same problems that slow down the audiovisual sector from being sustainable are repeated throughout the world.

There is no doubt that institutions and organizations, both in Spain and in Europe, must work together to make Audiovisual Production a sustainable industry, a green sector. Perhaps all this joint work will make sustainable production closer than we think, and will make the audiovisual industry one of the most committed to the future of our planet.