European Film Market Chief Dennis Ruh on Challenges of Staging Virtual Market

Also Read: Spike Lee Returns as Cannes Jury PresidentOfficial dates still need to be confirmed, but the pre-screenings will begin no earlier than May 24.

Cannes has bowed to industry pressure and will hold its film market — the Marché du Film — in an four-day online-only version in May, ahead of the planned 2021 Cannes Film Festival, scheduled for July 6-July 17. The move was expected after reports that sales companies were looking to set up their own pre-festival market screenings, perhaps together with IFTA, the group which runs the American Film Market.

Christopher Vourlias European Film Promotion, a network of 37 film promotion bodies from across the continent, is gathering 29 European sales companies from nine nations under the Europe! Umbrella at the virtual edition of the Hong Kong Intl. Film & TV Market (FilMart).For the second year running the annual event has been moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A group of high-profile industry figures have signed a letter calling for an end to the prosecution of Maria Alekhina and Lucy (Ludmila) Shtein, two members of the anarchist feminist group Pussy Riot.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe European Film Promotion organization is poised to return to Hong Kong’s FilMart with a virtual booth that befits this year’s online-only edition of the film rights market.

Damon Wolf, the head of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group worldwide marketing, is exiting his role. The news was just revealed by group chairman Joe Drake in a note to staff. There’s no word on a replacement.

Matteo Garrone's live-action adaptation of Pinocchio, the animated Wolfwalkers from directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, and the Norwegian drama The Crossing from director Johanne Helgeland are in the running for this year's EFA Young Audience Award. The European Film Academy on Wednesday announced the three nominees for the honor, which highlights the best European film as voted on by a jury of 12- to-14-year-olds from across Europe.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThe Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market had a successful 2021 online edition with the participation of 12,000 attendees from 131 countries. The industry event, which took place March 1-5, gathered 504 exhibitors — 215 of which were newcomers at EFM — from 60 countries.

Berlin’s Netflix Film MarketFor the last two years, a Netflix panel was the hottest ticket at the Berlinale Series Market Conference. But the U.S.

This year, more than most, Berlin's European Film Market was an opportunity to gauge the health of the global indie industry. Judging from the business done over the past week — the 2021 EFM wraps Friday — the general assessment would be: The patient is stable and the prognosis is promising.

Anna Marie de la Fuente By forging key partnerships with filmmakers, financiers and distributors through the years, The Exchange, founded by veteran sales executive and CEO Brian O’Shea, has grown to become a leading worldwide sales and finance company.

As the ongoing pandemic continues to challenge planning for a physical Cannes Film Festival in July, the Cannes Marche, the market section that traditionally runs alongside the festival, is weighing plans for pre-festival market screenings in May and June, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. "We're just evaluating this option, talking with the sellers and distributors.

Spain brings an extraordinary gamut of movie titles to Berlin. Some highlights:“All the Moons,” (Igor Legarreta)A France-Spain co-production, “All the Moons” tracks two vampires in the northern Spain during the last Carlist war.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCannes’ Marché du Film is exploring the possibility of hosting virtual screenings for buyers and sellers in May or June, Variety has confirmed.

Jamie Lang A year after featuring as the European Film Market’s focus country, Chile returns with a delegate of more than 20 producers who will participate in a virtual stand, backed by ProChile and the Ministry of Culture.Bastard.

A year into the coronavirus pandemic, executives setting up Zoom meetings and preparing to stream promos for Berlin's 2021 European Film Market — which kicks off Monday and runs through March 5 — are taking stock after 12 extraordinary months that have transformed the independent film industry. Many expect the all-virtual Berlin market will be the real test of the health of the indie biz.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBy any terms, Berlin’s 2021 European Film Market will deliver its smallest pre-sales market in years.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s $1.2 billion Lunar New Year box office broke world records earlier this month, but Chinese film buyers and sales agents are not jumping to interpret that as a sign of lasting market recovery, particularly for arthouse productions and indie firms.Despite astonishing ticket sales, some 80% of the six-day holiday box office went to just the top two out of seven titles — “Detective Chinatown 3″ and ‘Hi, Mom” (pictured) — causing the others to underperform.This, coupled

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentRyan Gosling, Shailene Woodley, Milla Jovovich and Catherine Deneuve headline new movie projects at a 2021 Berlin market that looks set, however, to deliver a slimmed down version of prior editions.It could hardly be otherwise.