After the second Asian Film Market at Pusan came to an end on Thursday, the consensus was that it is still a schmoozing point for the pan-Asian film industry?but has some way to go before it becomes a major platform for international trade. The Asian Film Market?s biggest problem has to do with the increasingly crowded autumn schedule?now even worse than the spring market schedule?with Toronto, Venice, Rome, MIPCOM and Japan?s TIFFCOM, all competing for industry attention.
On a slightly different note, the glut of film festivals and markets around the world is beginning to lead to travel fatigue and compelling the serious businessmen to prioritise their time and focus their energies on only the major ones, Cannes being the biggest. The result is that the second and third-rung festivals are losing out.
Cannes fest closes
The annual Mipcom TV at Cannes market drew to an official close on Friday. Barring the fact that this year, like preceding years, witnessed even more remarkable increases in attendance, what was particularly striking was the impact of digital and mobile technologies and platforms. Needless to add, the focus on traditional TV programming was predominant. For the third year in a row, Mipcom devoted a special sidebar?the Mobile & Internet TV Awards?to the event. Thus came to an end yet another edition of Cannes. Preperation for the Cannes Film Market 2008 have started already.
Forging links
Organisers of the Times BFI London Film Festival are making the event more ambitious and big-scale by the year. This year Film London will organise a two-day production finance market at the fest, which I look forward to attending.
Film London expects the new production finance market to forge closer links between producers and private financiers. Set up in response to industry demand, the market will hold seminars, networking events, matched tabled meetings between producers and financiers and a dedicated session for producers to pitch to private equity investors.
The October 22-23 mart, focusing on new private investment, film finance and distribution avenues, welcomes 120 international and UK financers and producers who will engage in more than 400 hours of face-to-face meetings.
Big response
Both the Eid releases, Laaga Chunnari Mein Daag and Bhool Bhulaiyaa have taken a heartening opening overseas, each attracting a completely different target group. While consumer reports on the two films are mixed, what remains to be seen is how much the two sustain once the festive mood subsides and the likes of Jab We Met, Saawariya and Om Shanti Om hit the big screen in subsequent weeks. On another note, in the tenth month of 2007, not a single million-pound is grossing Bollywood film in the UK so far?there were four last year. This year Chak De India did not touch even half-a-million. Om Shanti Om looks like the only serious contender.
?The author is head, UK & Europe ? International Motion Pictures, at Studio 18