CHICAS PRODUCTIONS: BFI London Film Festival

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. It was once so rich that Concorde used to fly from Caracas to Paris. But in the last three years its economy has collapsed. Hunger has gripped the nation for years. Now, it’s killing people and animals that are dying of starvation. The Venezuelan government knows, but won’t admit it!!! Four in five Venezuelans live in poverty. People queue for hours to buy food. Much of the time they go without. People are also dying from a lack of medicines. Inflation is at 82,766% and there are warnings it could exceed one million per cent by the end of this year. Venezuelans are trying to get out. The UN says 2.3 million people have fled the country - 7% of the population.

Showing posts with label BFI London Film Festival. Show all posts

Monday, October 15, 2012

Abu Dhabi: Sales Agents To Become Global Distributors...

International sales banners will reinvent themselves as video-on-demand global distributors, Abu Dhabi festival goers are told.

Abu Dhabi – Movie industry attendees at this year's Abu Dhabi Film Festival heard that producers and sales agents will work much more closely together as the internet revolutionises the movie business.

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And representatives from the two business strands of the international film business will also share revenues as a result.

Production Finance Market chief Angus Finney told Abu Dhabi Film Festival goers that the internet will play a part in the evolution of the two businesses.

Right now, sales agents charge a fee for each territory sold then often walk away. In the future sales agents and filmmakers will work together throughout a film's lifespan, "especially with video-on-demand," Finney said.

Speaking at a masterclass, Finney said: "Sales agents will be aligned with producers ... the market is changing so fast that sales agents could take control of all rights. The right sales agent will become increasingly able to control internet release."

The internet has destroyed Hollywood's "push economy" -- studios dictating when and where customers can see films – in favour of a "pull economy."

Catch-up TV and on-demand streaming have put the customer in the driving seat, something which Hollywood has been slow to accept, Finney noted.

Studios have not helped themselves by erecting "walled-gardens around their content, making movies harder to access."

Such a move, Finney said, goes against the grain of the internet.
"They are also terrified about plummeting DVD revenue, which has accounted for 60% of a movie's earnings. The user is the new king," Finney said.

The British born film consultant, author and one time film financier, quoted Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who said the question is not what is going to change in the next 10 years, but what's going to be left standing by the end of the decade?

Disney, he noted, has reacted to the new horizontal world we all live by getting rid of its silo mentality, tearing down walls between theatrical and home entertainment.

But Finney remains upbeat about prospects for theatrical. Exhibition will become even more important, he claimed.

"Watching films in a cinema is a unique experience that will not be completely replaced by watching films on cellphones or tablets," Finney said.

This is despite the growing importance of handheld devices, which, Finney said previously, will take over as the dominant screen "within months, not years". He said: "Exhibition rights will continue to be sold territory-by-territory, while internet rights could be sold as a single block."

Finney was sceptical about independent producers handling the release of their own films pouring cold water on evangelists for self-distribution, pointing out how hard the sales business is.

Finney was managing director of sales agent Renaissance Films, which went bust in 2005. Movies that Finney handled sales on included The Mother and The Luzhin Defence.

"As a producer you may think you're in control of your film's release, but you have to deal with the same battle for eyeballs which everybody else is dealing with. Distribution is a full-time job," Finney said.

This year's Production Finance Market runs October 17 and18 during the BFI London Film Festival in the British capital.

Thank you Hollywood Reporter.

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U.K. Production Fund Tsar Ben Roberts to Deliver Keynote Address to Producers

The BFI Film Fund director, in charge of the U.K.'s largest single public movie production fund, is expected to lay out his vision for public funding for the next five years.

LONDON – U.K. public funding movie tsar Ben Roberts is lined up to deliver this year's keynote address at the Film London Production Finance Market (PFM) Oct. 17.

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The PFM, staged in association with the BFI London Film Festival during the shindig, is to give the stage to Roberts, the man with overriding responsibility for the U.K.'s largest public film fund, currently at £18 million ($28.8 million) annually and set to rise to £24 million ($38.4 million) by 2017.
Former Universal Pictures International executive and Protagonist Pictures CEO Roberts is expected to deliver his vision for the future of his funding unit and to explain to the industry heavy crowd the whys and wherefores of his fund and its application process.
This year's PFM also promises a "senior producer panel" discussions with Stephen Woolley (Number 9 Films), David Parfitt (Trademark Films), Peter Watson (Recorded Picture Company/HanWay Films) and Andrea Calderwood (Slate Films) all signed up for the discussion.
The panel is charged with analysing the challenges producers face making product aimed at the international market and share views on how the U.K. can develop stronger international relationships under the new U.K. funding system.
Running since 2007, the event aims to connect producers and financiers to encourage fresh film financing relationships by facilitating 800 face to face meetings and a further 300 financier-to-financier meetings over the two days.
Film London and British Film Commission chief executive Adrian Wootton said: "I am delighted Ben Roberts will be our keynote speaker this year. Coupled with some of our most successful homegrown film-makers on the producer panel, the PFM will give attendees a taste of how the U.K. industry will effectively engage with the international industry in the future."
The PFM is supported by the BFI, the Mayor of London, MEDIA and U.K. Trade & Investment and runs Oct. 17 and 18.
This year the PFM has corralled 52 producers presenting projects with €305 million ($393 million) of production value, up from €245 million ($315 million) in 2011.
Organizers said there are also a number of new territories – including Turkey, Finland and the Czech Republic – coming to the PFM this year.

Thank you Hollywood Reporter

U.K. focuses on development...

Funding will likely grow to $11 mil next year
By ROBERT MITCHELL

Ben Wheatley's dark comedy "Sightseers," which played at the Toronto film festival, was developed with coin from the BFI Film Fund.

BFI Film Fund director Ben Roberts says a key area of the org's focus is developing talent and projects, with 150 funding opportunities planned each year.

"Development is the bedrock," says Roberts. "We talk about areas where the U.K. is underdeveloped. Everyone says, 'Where are our animation, comedy, family films? Why aren't you supporting them?' but we're not getting them. That's a development issue. There's a cost to comedy writing, so we have to understand those costs. There's a paucity of people writing for family; we need to understand what the development issues are."

The rise in BFI spending will encompass different areas. "This year we are spending about £14 million ($22.5 million) on production and about $6.4 million on development," says Roberts, who adds that such spending will likely grow to roughly $11 million next year.

John McVay, chief executive of U.K. trade association Pact, says development funding will be key to the U.K.'s independent sector. Although private funding for development in the U.K. is increasing, often via tax incentives, the majority of such coin still comes from the BFI and broadcasters BBC Films and Film4.

Film4 is one of the largest providers of development funding, spending approximately 15%-20% of its $16 million-$24 million overall annual budget on front-end coin. "Nearly half our team is involved in development," says Tracey Josephs, Film4's head of production. "There has been a marked increase in (this) activity in the past couple of years." Josephs says development spending at Film4 in the past year has reached nearly $4.8 million. Ben Wheatley's "Sightseers," which unspooled at Toronto, was developed by shingle Big Talk with money from Film4 and the BFI Film Fund.

BBC Films' Joe Oppenheimer says few distributors get involved so early in the production process, and most production companies aren't resourced for such spending. "That said, companies like Focus, Working Title, Studiocanal and Fox all spend money on development," he says. "Producers give up certain rights but that's the same with us or Film4."

Larger production companies such as Shine Films, Exclusive Media Group or Big Talk also have development coin. The European Union's Media program provides several development funds for producers with at least one distributed feature on their resumes, and regional bodies such as Creative England, Creative Scotland, Film Agency Wales and Northern Ireland Screen provide talent development activities and support.

Oppenheimer believes companies working together on development allows for better scripts. "We have a limited budget," he says. "If we share development costs, it helps get more films made."

BBC Films' development funding pool is unspecified, but flexible. The broadcaster's budget was recently cut from $19.25 million to $17.6 million, but it remains one of the country's biggest supporters of film.

Roberts says the BFI also is making a "massive" commitment to first-time filmmakers. Better still, a producer doesn't cede rights to the BFI, which recycles all money recouped from any development investment for future projects by that producer.

Prime minister David Cameron stirred a hornet's nest in January when he called on Britain to make more "commercially successful pictures," but Roberts feels no pressure to take this as a marching order.

"The joy of a creative industry, to a degree, is not having any clue what's going to work and what isn't," he says. "We wouldn't need a public fund for film if there was certainty.

Thank you Variety

British Film Commission adds sponsors...

Funding to rise 50% to $962,730 a year
By ROBERT MITCHELL

LONDON -- The British Film Commission has announced three new commercial sponsors following the announcement last week that the national body would see its funding from the British Film Institute rise 50% from £400,000 ($641,820) to $962,730 a year.

The new sponsors, visual effects company Double Negative, post-production facility MPC and Working Title Films, join the list of the BFC's commercial industry partners that form its public/private partnership. Existing sponsors include: Disney, Framestore, Harbottle & Lewis, Pinewood Studios Group, Saffery Champness and Warner Bros.

"We are delighted the BFI has committed an additional $321,000 to the British Film Commission. This will enable us to drive forward in promoting the U.K. as the best place in the world to produce films, and ensuring the U.K. is attractive to international investment," said Adrian Wootton, chief executive of the BFC and Film London. "We would also like to thank our new sponsors for their generosity. What better endorsement of the work of the BFC than sponsorship from our commercial partners and I am gratefully for their ongoing support."

The coin from the BFI will enable the BFC to maintain its important activity in the U.S. and carry out further investigation into opportunities for attracting new business from other territories. The latter is being carried out in partnership with U.K. Trade and Investment. The current strategic partnership with UKTI gives the BFC the opportunity to grow inward investment and extend the U.K.'s international commercial activity through film, as well as maximise the benefits of the proposed TV tax credits expected to come into effect from April 2013.

The BFC is responsible for driving inward investment to the U.K. through international feature film production. In 2011 inward investment films generated approximately $5.9 billion to U.K. GDP.

Thank you Variety

Weinstein praises Gallic anti-piracy laws...

He urges other countries to follow suit
By ROBERT MITCHELL

Weinstein

LONDON
Harvey Weinstein called on the U.K., U.S. and other governments to follow France in enacting stricter anti-piracy laws to protect filmmakers as he delivered the keynote address to an industry audience at the start of the 56th BFI London Film Festival's Industry Program Thursday night.

He encouraged the global film industry to unite to change piracy laws, to oppose broadcaster consolidation and to preserve film heritage.

Following a reel of Weinstein's pics, including this year's "Silver Linings Playbook," "The Master" and "Django Unchained," BFI chief executive Amanda Nevill introduced Weinstein as "the godfather of the sort of film the BFI stands for. Harvey all but created the world of modern independent cinema."

Weinstein talked to the audience about three problems he felt were facing the film industry.

He attacked Internet piracy. "Our business is much more robust than we are feeling right now, but the benefits are going to other people," said Weinstein, saying unauthorized online use of film and film clips denied actors, directors, composers and other filmmakers of their rightful returns.

"It's like going into a clothing store, taking a few shirts and saying 'I believe in free shirts."

He praised the tough stance in France, signed into law in May 2009 by former president Nicolas Sarkozy, where government agency Hadopi (Haute Autorite pour la Diffusion des Oeuvres et la Protection des Droits sur Internet) has the authority to cut users' Internet connections before taking them to court.

"It works in France, they shut you down. People are disincentivized to steal. We need to emulate the French laws in the U.K., the U.S. and around the world," said Weinstein.

Next he addressed the growing consolidation of TV companies leading to reduced competition for movies.

"We will end up with six companies owning 500 channels. There will be no diversity. The world will get smaller and smaller and smaller," said Weinstein. "They say 'we have six networks so we'll put one president and one buyer in charge of all and fire five presidents and five buyers as it's more economical, but then filmmakers, writers, actors and composers get less.

"I am worried about the regulators not being smart enough to handle the problem."

He called for the global film industry to highlight the problem reduced competition has on filmmakers.

Finally he addressed what he called the "threat against the heritage of cinema," raising a concern that too many film executives do not watch and understand "the rich history" of cinema.

He used clips from a series of classic movies by F.W. Murnau, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Charles Chaplin, King Hu and John Huston to illustrate the debt modern filmmakers owe to their predecessors and to suggest that filmmakers should learn from them.

"We have to put some of our own time in to remind us what we love about the movies, to understand how we profit from the past."

Asked by London fest director Clare Stewart whether he perceived a threat to originality in Hollywood with the proliferation of sequels and remakes, he praised Joss Whedon's summer blockbuster "The Avengers" as an example of smart filmmaking, but criticized the studios for being too happy to put out inferior product where they know an audience will turn out regardless.

"These giant companies produce movies for profit. We want to be profitable too, but we want to do something worthwhile and innovative. I haven't gone there yet but there's always a strong possibility I'll be selling out shortly," he joked.

Reflecting on the recent shootings at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises," Weinstein revealed he is planning to assemble a panel for next year's Sundance Film Festival to discuss the issue of violence in cinema.

"I don't know how violence effects audiences. I want to do a panel about that at Sundance with people that have studied it. I have no answers and I've made a lot of very violent movies."

Thank you Variety