The Cannes UK Pavilion programme of events kicks off on Friday, May 15, with key discussions including how to develop independent cinema audiences in an increasingly unforgiving landscape.
“We are dealing with a very polarised theatrical market where there’s a widening gap between a few blockbusters and everything else. Just look at Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2,” said Maddy Probst, head of film at UK cinema Watershed, in Bristol.
“For smaller and mid-tier titles, it takes a much more nuanced approach to punch through. Cultivating a loyal cinema audience for these smaller titles is key through early stage marketing, data- driven insights, grassroots partnerships and close industry collaboration. I’ll draw on our experience at Watershed and within the BFI Film Audience Network to share how we champion diverse cinema and encourage audiences to discover, engage, and come back for more.”
Probst is joined for the talk, titled ‘The theatrical window: tools and strategies for audience development’, by Seneit Debese, founder and managing director of Greta & Starks Apps, a tool for simplified dubbing and subtitling, and Thierry Delpit, co-founder and president of audience development platform Cinesociety, at 16:00.
“Film awareness is in a state of constant, alarming decline, and we can no longer rely on national promotion alone to fill seats,” added Delpit. ”This is why the partnership between distributors and exhibitors is more critical than ever. We need to bridge the gap between large-scale campaigns and the local influence that only a cinema can provide.
“I want to show how theatres can use their digital reach and audience data to act as a vital precision tool. By layering smart, local targeting over a national message, we can reach spectators based on their specific tastes and turn general visibility into a direct, personal connection with the audience.”
Earlier in the day, a discussion will take place with the creative teams behind three immersive projects being showcasd at Cannes – The Pirate Queen: No Safe Waters’ Eloise Singer, Gawd v. The People’s Yamil Rodriguez and Ivan Alejandro Diaz Cardenas, and Playing With Fire director Pierre-Alain Giraud alongside head of global partnerships at Vive Arts Leigh Tanner, at 11:30.
Eva Yates, director of BBC Film and Farhana Bhula, director of Film4, will then take to the stage at 14:00, to discuss their role as commissioners at the UK’s public-service broadcasters.
Saturday May 16
Denitsa Yordanova, director of UK Global Screen Fund will open the programme at 09:30 with a run-through of the latest from the fund and how it plans to bolster the UK’s offering to international partners.
The talk will be followed by a conversation between Mia Bays, director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund, Malaika Bova, first feature competition curator at Tallinn Black Nights’ and Virginie Devesa, Co-CEO, sales and acquisitions at Alpha Violet, who will have a discussion about nurturing rising talent at 11:30.
Mathias Noschis, head of strategy of Alphapanda, Jonathan Rutter, executive director of Premier and Karina Gechtman, international marketing and publicity consultant, will close the programme on Saturday with a discussion about the marketing and PR strategies that cut through the noise, at 16:00.
The talks programme of the Cannes UK Pavilion is taking place from Friday May 15 until Monday May 18.
No comments yet