It is easy to say, but this August we have already surpassed 15,000 selections in festival distribution in 13 years. In the totals, I include all catalogs and films, from the summer of 2003 to 2016. The exact figure at this moment is 15,127 (changing every day) with an average number of selections per year exceeding 1,000, with the impressive figure of 1,163 selections/year.
In the graph, we can see the upward trend we have experienced over all these years. Key to this evolution have been the different projects we have launched and the increase in festival submissions.
These are the projects per year where you can see their relationship with the upward trend in selections:
2003 – Commencement of distribution activities for ECAM short films.
2005 – Launch of the first edition of Madrid en corto, with six short films.
2007 – Increase in the Madrid en corto selection, from 6 to 8 short films.
2011 – Start of the OFF ECAM project with the first short films.
2013 – We began distributing independent feature films.
2016 – Distribution begins for FilmNow, whose call for entries was managed in 2015.
In this annual evolution, it should be noted that in 2008, distribution began for the short film ¿Porque hay cosas que nuncan se olvidan? as part of Madrid en corto, becoming one of the titles with the highest number of selections. 2013 was one of our best years, with a catalog featuring A Story for the Modlins, La boda, Aquel no era yo (Academy Award nominee), and Zombi, all of which performed very well at festivals during that same year.
But what do festival selections mean? Each of these selections represents a screening, communication with the festival, directors, and producers, social media posts, material submissions, and the shipping of copies (until 2012, many of these were in 35 mm).
Furthermore, these screenings and selections have taken place in 92 different countries. These are the top five countries in terms of participation numbers:
These figures reflect the work carried out over all these years and encourage us to continue with the same quality standards and workflows we have maintained until now. It is a wonderful way to return from vacation.