In 2006, MEDIA Salles began publishing the “Italian and European Films: when and where?” Calendars on its website. What was their aim? We ask Walter Vacchino, Vice President of the Association.
The “Calendar” is the first phase of a wider project that MEDIA Salles has set up to contribute to developing the promotion of Italian and European films outside the country in which they were made.
With this new instrument for analyzing the diffusion of Italian and European productions on the international scene, MEDIA Salles aims to fill a vacuum in the panorama of marketing initiatives. The essential role of these initiatives to the economy of the theatrical industry is proved by the fact that the majors invest tens of millions of dollars in promoting each one of their productions. With regard to European films, the market share analysis on an international level continues to show a rather weak competitive picture, with very critical situations in countries such as Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and France, where the market share of European films in 2005 represented, respectively 6.7%, 9.5%, 10% and 13.5% (MEDIA Salles figures, “European Cinema Yearbook “” 2006 advance edition”).
It is a difficult picture which has to be transformed into an opportunity for films with suitable potential for success with an international public.
How can the instruments proposed by MEDIA Salles help Italian and European filmmakers and businesses who want to give their work an international perspective?
The “Calendar” is the first step towards creating a proper “Observatory” of the distribution of theatrical products outside their country of origin. I am aware that this word has often been misused, but in the version that we are proposing it is a real innovation. Faced with increasingly competitive scenarios “” also due to the proliferation of channels of film distribution “” in-depth knowledge of the market, its dynamics and prospects, is crucial for orienting authentic production, distribution and commercial strategies which select precise objectives and adopt targeted and well tested methods.
It is a very ambitious project if you think that Europe produces over 700 films every year. Do you think that MEDIA Salles has the necessary skills?
It is true that it is a very ambitious project. But we believe that over the last 16 years we have demonstrated “” in particular with the “European Cinema Yearbook” “” that we know how to find new ways of collecting essential data for the theatrical industry and, above all, of constantly making the results of our research available in a prompt and reliable way. We hope, therefore, to be able to offer a new instrument which is truly useful to the European film industry thanks to the skills we have developed and the network of contacts we have built up over the years.
Cinema&Video International 5-2007
