The final day of the Sofia lab centred on collaboration: working together as cinemas, networks and also across the film value chain. The day started with a joint session with Europa Distribution where participants discussed programming negotiations, theatrical release windows, loyalty and subscription programmes and marketing and accessibility. Through better understanding each other’s challenges both exhibitors and distributors can work more productively and strategize better solutions. Presentations on Europa Cinemas’ Collaborate to Innovate fund and Boot Camp initiative also offered collaborative insights.
Europa Cinemas and Europa Distribution Joint Session
From the shared discussions it was evident that the most desirable practical tool would be a centralised film database. Here, both distributors and exhibitors could login to access marketing materials and digital assets, whilst offering more transparent information around current rights availability and terms and available accessible materials for the films (subtitles, audio description, etc). Another desirable was to have accessible materials made standard practice across Europe so that every film would automatically come with these files to minimise the paradoxical “inclusion by exclusion”, which is what tends to happen when cinemas have to pay additional fees for accessible materials, making it a “add-on” rather than the norm.
Traditional challenges arose, including differing opinions on the desired length of theatrical windows and release strategies – exhibitors felt for example, that for smaller debut feature films in particular, distributors should place their trust in the cinemas to choose the most effective times to screen the films. Exhibitors also felt that it would be helpful if distributors were more present and collaborative on event screenings, which can often become challenging for exhibitors whose teams are stretched both in terms of costs and capacity. Promotional campaigns – especially on social media – could also be more joined up between the two as we are all working towards the same goal of filling cinema auditoriums with eager audiences. On the other hand, some distributors felt as though their demographic data was lacking, as they often get numbers without detail.
Subscriptions and loyalty schemes proved less of a thorny issue than perhaps anticipated with distributors saying the number of ticket sales is often more important than the individual ticket pricing, so long as the film has either a minimum guarantee or can meet agreed thresholds. Consequently, cinemas don’t need to engage in a “race to the bottom” with ticket pricing because it serves everyone’s best interests if the model is profitable. Of course, it is also very important to set affordable pricing for cinema-goers – especially where discount tickets serve audience diversity, inclusion and accessibility aims.
‘A strategy for addressing “cinema deserts”: a national cinema exhibition network as a model for collaboration, growth and resilience’
Lab leader Maeve Cooke then presented on access CINEMA and how their model of a mini-network across less populated parts of Ireland uses collective power to achieve shared aims. Ensuring the various mixed-purpose screening venues can continue to access film materials, specially for non-DCP equipped venues, is a chief concern. The network aims to champion European and international cinema which isn’t necessarily the most popular for cinema-going in Ireland. While the country has a strong cinema-going tradition and were even close to the top ranking in terms of cinema-going publics in Europe pre-pandemic, the percentage of films that are European and international is overall lower in terms of market share. The first network to join Europa Cinemas 22 years ago, access CINEMA has since built a strong sense of trust among their local communities and, despite being part-time cinema venues, they are now able to introduce a wider diversity of films, confident that their audiences will happily turn up to see whatever they are showing.
‘Europa Cinemas Training Boot Camp and regional collaboration in Flanders, Belgium’
Caro Raedts then presented on the Training Boot Camp Cinema ZED co-ordinated in Belgium. The minimum requirements to co-ordinate a Boot Camp is at least three participating cinemas with eight people who have a shared skills or training deficit. For Raedts, there is already a collaborative community within Flanders as the Flemish government subsidise the arthouse cinemas. Still, there were areas in which the cinemas could strengthen their skillset to better serve their audiences. Flemish exhibitors identified their shared need: to better understand and optimise the utility of data collection and analysis. They then invited guest speakers to their Boot Camp. Spanning data visualisation, marketing and AI use as well as a government representative to whom they report, the speakers represented a range of data analysis expertise. A specialist on how to improve data use for cultural organisations was also invited to work with the cinemas collectively and individually. The Boot Camp lasted three months in so far as the cinemas used that time to work on their individual data collection projects. The three-month time pressured deadline also gave them firm parameters within which to determine and present their findings.
‘Collaborate to Innovate project: face to face with European cinema’
Arturo Duenas Herrero from Cines Casablanca in Spain presented on their Collaborate to Innovate funded project, ‘Face to Face with European Cinema‘. A collaboration between two cinemas in Spain and two in Poland, each of which had been designated a UNESCO City of Film, the project aimed to bring cultural exchange to groups of school aged children. Co-ordinating “enhanced cinema experiences” between countries and working with local school teachers, the film screenings were accompanied by presentations, food, music and other modes of cultural exchange, The project sought to deepen children’s understanding of cinema whilst also enhancing their wider cultural engagement.
Lab debrief and return strategy
The afternoon drew to a close as participants discussed thoughts and reflections on their cinema venues after four days of intensely thinking through every aspect of their business, brand and audience engagement activity. Maintaining a balance between business acumen and personal wellbeing was also discussed, as many exhibitors are still working numerous hours of unpaid overtime, fuelling their cinemas with passion and running only on fumes. Planning and strategising are not only about audience development and organisational optimisation, but also about ensuring staff morale remains high and that personal health is also a priority. Collaboration towards collective wellbeing is, after all, a core value shared across the network.