European Film Promotion’s (EFP) aim to boost European film and talent around the world and to increase sales opportunities worldwide has been more than fulfilled when looking at the past two years in particular.
“We are quite satisfied with the results of our MEDIA-backed projects within and outside of Europe”, commends Renate Rose, EFP's managing director. “This is partly due to the fact that, wherever we see opportunities for enhancement, we continuously modify projects drawing on the collective experience of our members and associated partners at international film festivals and markets.”
The following line-up shows EFP’s impact on the marketing of European films.
Within Europe
SHOOTING STARS at the Berlin International Film Festival
Launched 11 years ago and staged with a revised concept in 2008, SHOOTING STARS proves more than ever to be an effective and original marketing tool for European films. The cross-national promotion of the European young stars has a positive effect on the overall atmosphere of European filmmaking and its marketing and a direct impact on the acting career of most participants.
With the SHOOTING STARS programme in Berlin, more than 200 young up-and-coming actors have been presented over these years to the international industry, press and public, including such long since internationally acclaimed stars as Daniel Craig, Franka Potente, Rachel Weisz, Ludivine Sagnier, Unax Ugalde and Daniel Brühl.
Most of the selected SHOOTING STARS have benefited concretely from the programme during the Berlin International Film Festival.
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In addition to the programme in Berlin, EFP has cooperated with 12 European film festivals during the past five years on the TOURING SHOOTING STARS FILM PROGRAMME, given 77 SHOOTING STARS the opportunity to become directly involved in the regional promotional process of their films and introduced them to the industry on a local level.
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PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE at the Cannes International Film Festival
The effective worldwide marketing of European films is well served via the promotion and support of the up-and-coming European producers. In the past years, EFP’s programme of PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE has become an internationally known label, highlighting the selected producers internationally and supporting them in
their networking which is particularly of importance for smaller countries. Since the inception of the programme nine years ago, EFP has focused international attention on more than 172 young producers and has worked to support their cross-border cooperation on future projects.
Regarding the past two years with a total of 43 up-and-coming producers participating in the event, the combined output of follow-up networking contacts with fellow PRODUCERS ON THE MOVE ranging from regular contact up to concrete co-productions has amounted to 67,4 %.
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VARIETY CRITICS’ CHOICE: EUROPE NOW! at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
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| The artistic delegation which presented the films selected for VARIETY CRITICS’ CHOICE in 2008, on the balcony of the Hotel Thermal in Karlovy Vary. |
Between 1999 and 2008, EFP has presented 100 European films and their directors within the framework of the project VARIETY CRITICS’ CHOICE: EUROPE NOW!, an extremely popular sidebar at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The evaluation of the 2006 and 2007 events show that, after the presentation in Karlovy Vary, of the 20 films screened, 7 films (35%) were sold internationally and 14 films (70%) have been presented at further international film festivals.
The high profile of the programme and the participation of the trade magazine Variety certainly gives these films an edge in the competitive arena. The films shown in EUROPE NOW! are promoted not only on the European level, but on an international level via the publication in Variety.
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PICTURE EUROPE! THE BEST OF EUROPEAN CINEMA
EFP’s initiative PICTURE EUROPE! – a series of screenings of 10 to 13 new European films in three major cities of Europe – was launched in 2007 with a two-fold aim: firstly, to cultivate new, young audiences for European film by presenting a series of films – in major European capitals. All of the selected films have had success in their home countries and are
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Christian Pfeil, actor in Shoppen (D),
during Q&A in Madrid 2008. |
regarded as national “box office hits”. Secondly, to support the cross-border marketing and promotion of European films within Europe.
Compared with 2007, EFP was able to post a considerable increase of 59% with the 2008 edition of PICTURE EUROPE! and reached a total of almost 4,000 admissions in Munich, Copenhagen and Madrid.
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Outside of Europe
FILM SALES SUPPORT (FSS)
EFP’s initiative FSS, which financially supports the promotion of a broad range of European films at selected international film festivals in North and South America and Asia, enabled sales opportunities to be increased worldwide. This is true, in particular, for films of countries with a low production capacity which account for 40 %.
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Václav by Jirí Vejdelek (Czech Republic), represented by Simply Cinema, was supported at the Shanghai Film Festival |
In the past four years, EFP supported 291 different European films via FSS. Of these, 120 films – 40 % – were sold for theatrical release or to TV. The films were sold to North and South America as well as Asia as a result of the films being promoted at the selected FSS partner festivals. Over the past five years, FSS was available for Sundance, Toronto, Mar del Plata, Guadalajara, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires as well as Shanghai, Pusan, Hong Kong and Moscow. Within this choice, Toronto represents the prime promotional platform. Almost 68 % of the total sales are attributed to this highly important annual event.
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NEW YORK INDUSTRY SCREENINGS
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The New York Industry meets before a screening at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in November 2007 |
Since 2005, EFP has presented a total of 25 new European films (without US distribution in place) to distributors in New York with screenings of four films taking place two – three times a year. Each of the filmsare being presented by their respective sales agents who are actively involved in the marketing strategy and presentation of the films. The screenings resulted in a total of seven films being sold for US distribution within a three-year time span.
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Toronto International Film Festival
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Festival tradition: European Reception hosted by EFP in Toronto each year. |
As a platform for European films and a gateway for product to the US market, the Toronto International Film Festival will remain a vital, extremely important festival in the international arena. Since EFP's first association with Toronto in 1997, the number of European films shown has grown from 50 productions to 117 features from EFP member countries in 2007. Introducing the work of new European directors to enthusiastic Toronto audiences has become a festival tradition and remains a prime focus of EFP’s promotional mandate outside of Europe.
Toronto represents the prime promotional platform for EFP’s initiative FSS (please see above at FSS).
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Pusan International Film Festival
The aim of this initiative is to highlight the European films screening at the Pusan International Film Festival. In particular, EFP’s activities are aimed at increasing the profile of the European films at the Pusan International Film Festival and supporting the artistic delegation of directors and actors in attendance at the event. In addition, EFP assists the European industry, particularly sales agents, by running an umbrella office at the Asian Film Market.
In 2007, EFP has brought an artistic delegation of 27 creatives from 15 countries to Pusan, amongst them Hans Weingartner and Johan Kling. 22 sales companies and producers such as Celluloid Dreams and Nordisk Film Sales had registered at the EFP’s newly established industry office.
Since 2004, EFP has been offering marketing support in Pusan via FSS – with growing importance since the introduction of the film market two years ago (please see above at FSS).
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AMERICAN FILM MARKET
As one of the top three international film markets in the world, the AFM offers European producers and sales agents unique access to U.S., Asian, and Latin American-based buyers, exhibitors and producing partners. Since 1998, EFP has partnered with the AFM in establishing an umbrella office for European producers and sales agents. Between 1998 and 2006, 240 independent European companies benefited from the services provided by EFP at the AFM.
Looking at the quite representative year of 2006, 14 companies attended the AFM under the EFP banner. When asked what their primary reason(s) for attending the AFM were, the responses were: four were there to sell product, two were acquiring, five were developing projects and five were primarily looking for new partners. In concrete terms, four companies reported total sales to 18 territories.
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Contact:
European Film Promotion
Info @ efp-online.com
Tel: +49 40- 390 6252
EFP is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and by its member organisations. In addition, promotion and PR activities are backed by the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) as well as by private sponsors. The Hamburg-based office is financially supported by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Cultural Department of the City of Hamburg.
