The film ecosystem remains linear, starting with production and ending with exhibition, but if a more circular model could bring audiences into the conversation sooner, then there would be the potential for greater collaboration and larger success all across the value chain. But the practical steps needed remain elusive.
Algirdas Ramaška from Vilnius Film Festival and Kino Pavasaris Distribution needed only one word to explicate how the industry could change: “Togetherness.”
What’s needed, he said, “is to talk with each other: to listen, hear, and learn from each other.” Instead of leaving filmmakers to create art in a vacuum, or having distributors take on films without a plan for their cinema release, there should be more sharing of audience analysis across the chain. “The knowledge cannot stay in this room,” he continued, “it has to get back to the roots of where the films are made.”
For Mette Schramm, CEO of Empire Bio in Denmark, the challenge is that market has changed drastically, making it more difficult for smaller distributors, “It’s harder to find these lovely films we’d love to buy,” she said, “They’re often pre-bought by streamers or distributors with more money. We started the distribution company to assist the cinema in getting more interesting content, but we don’t buy films during festivals anymore because it’s too expensive now.” One solution has been to buy domestic Danish films that other distributors weren’t interested in, which they could then also hold gala screenings for in their cinema.
Valeska Neu from Films Boutique agreed that while the so-called “little gems” did still exist, it was much harder for people to make money from them now. “The big films have huge marketing campaigns, stay longer in the cinemas, have more reviews, and the smaller films cannot compete anymore, especially without funding,” she said. The issue is, depending on the country, that there just isn’t much funding for distribution. What’s broken, as Michael Gubbins surmised, “is economic rather than cultural.”
Moreover, there is a pipeline issue: films that once found their way to the audience, now don’t. But can more public money be spent on getting films to audiences? Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator at Watershed in the UK said the issue now is around the uncertainty of the market, “The films that were our bread and butter we now have no confidence in.” One solution he posited was to bring a group of exhibitors together with smaller distributors to combine and collaborate marketing efforts and strategies to raise visibility and awareness for those titles. Having money on the table from both sides – distribution and exhibition – means there is genuine investment and stakes for all parties.
Christian Bräuer, Managing Director at Yorck Kinogruppe and President of CICAE, said that while momentum plays a part, nothing works without knowledge. It is, essentially, a high-risk market, but success has its roots in both effective marketing strategies and working together. Bräuer also emphasised the importance of branding, which is in its own right an investment in audiences: the cinema is a brand, the festivals like Cannes are also a brand and, it is possible that distributors can be an effective brand, too. For example, Algirdas Ramaška spoke about their success in working together with A24, a recognisable distributor, especially for young audiences.
While a new mode of working could not be pinned down in the hour allotted, there were some points of agreement: more focus and spend on audience development is needed; combined efforts on marketing strategies could also be effective; and a more equitable share of risk could help bring various parts of the chain together, rather than setting them against one another. Change may not be imminent, but talking about it feels like a positive first step.
Photos courtesy of Gediminas Gražys