Last Friday morning I attended the Marketing and Festivals Meeting, which took place as part of the activities of Ventana del Cine Madrileño. An event organised by AMA and the Community of Madrid, dedicated to promoting international co-productions for Madrid-based projects.
The guests on the panel were Paz Lázaro, programmer, programme manager for the Panorama section and delegate for Spain and Portugal at the Berlinale; Iván Trujillo, general director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival; Dorina Oarga, head of industry at the Transilvania International Film Festival; and Luis Mariano Gonzalez, director of Alcine.
A number of very interesting topics were discussed on the panel, many of which can help us design our festival strategy. Here are some notes and key points that were covered:
- At the Berlin, Guadalajara and Transilvania festivals there are industry sections that are very interesting. It is worth keeping them in mind when looking for co-productions and financing for our project:
- In the case of Berlin, there is a co-production market that had 550 producers attending in its latest edition. The call opens in November and Paz encouraged Spanish producers to apply. One of the most challenging requirements for Spanish projects is having a minimum budget of one million euros. Spain is included among the exceptions, allowing projects with budgets of up to €750,000 to be submitted. Screenplays must be finished.
- In Guadalajara, the most important Ibero-American film market in the world takes place, as well as a co-production meeting whose call is open now and closes on 5 December. The minimum length for projects is 70 minutes and the screenplay must also be finished.
- In Transilvania they have a forum for projects in development, but only for Romanians and dedicated to the director’s first or second film.
- Festivals often follow up on the films that are produced thanks to these forums. Although there is no direct influence, nor any special consideration in programming committees, it is interesting to know that festivals take an interest in these projects.
- Paz advised starting the festival strategy before the film is finished. Contact the festival once you have a work-in-progress copy. In these cases, we must bear in mind that the music does need to be final. They do not accept work-in-progress copies with temp music, so you need to be careful with this detail. By contrast, at Guadalajara, Transilvania, and Alcine they must be completed works and final copies.
- The programming lines of these festivals are based on having the best films, but each has its own requirements:
- At Guadalajara they must be Ibero-American films premiering in Mexico (any co-production with an Ibero-American country is sufficient).
- In the case of Alcine, they have the Pantalla Cero section for low-budget independent Spanish films and Pantalla Abierta for debut films, also Spanish.
- At Transilvania they focus on the director’s first or second works. They have a short film section dedicated to fantasy and horror shorts.
- At Berlin they must be world or international premieres.
- Within this premieres policy, an important detail was noted: an international premiere includes those national festivals with an international section. For example, a Spanish film that has taken part in Seminci, San Sebastián or Seville cannot enter the selection process in Berlin, as these are international competitions. But if, for example, it takes part in the Resistencias section of the Seville Festival, dedicated to Spanish cinema, it can apply to the Berlinale, as it is a national competition.
- As for the value of a world premiere versus an international premiere in the final selection, a few details to bear in mind were highlighted:
- Festivals aim to discover new works that have not been seen before and to offer their guests the newest titles on the world scene.
- To attract as many delegates as Berlin does, a high percentage of world premieres is important. If not, press delegates or American distributors, for example, find it difficult to travel to Berlin if they have already been able to see the films presented at the festival elsewhere.
- When a festival has a significant volume of films, as happens in Berlin, it is a criterion that allows films to be selected for certain awards, such as the GWFF Best First Feature Award for best debut feature, where only world premieres are eligible.
- Finally, a very valuable piece of advice from Paz: programmers talk to each other. Be careful about offering a film to Berlin as a world premiere and exclusive when it has already also been screened at San Sebastián—everyone finds out.
Overall, the round table was very good. It is always very instructive to have together the people responsible for festivals of this importance, and to be able to talk with them about festival distribution.