Ventana Sur 2023: Major Narratives from Frémaux, Rebordinos’ Support for Argentine Agency INCAA to the Seismic Pivot in International Business
03.12.2023 - 02:19
/ variety.com
John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent In bigger picture terms, the major highlights of Ventana Sur were a masterclass by Cannes head Thierry Frémaux and an impromptu speech by San Sebastián director José Luis Rebordinos, heads of the most important film festivals in the world and Spanish-speaking world, supporting the continued existence of INCAA. There words came after Argentinian President elect Javier Milei had vowed on the campaign trail to shutter Argentina’s state-backed film-TV agency if voted into power. In industry terms, never has Ventana Sur, Latin America’s most important film-TV market, been this big, its final attendance numbers sky-rocketing to 4,300, some 30% up on 2022, beyond even the wildest expectations of organizers, Cannes Marché du Film and the INCAA.
Put that down in part to new sections – Shoot the Book, Fantasmática, and Show Shorts – and enlargement of other sections, such as El Principio del Film and Solo Series. The biggest reason, however, yes much to a seismic shunt in international business. These and other major narratives at a mass-event Ventana Sur: The Pivot Ventana Sur launched in 2009 as a market, a primarily French, Spanish and German delegation of sales agents led by Wild Bunch and Pyramide Intl.
hailing into Buenos Aires to view 12 titles from a Primer Corte curated by José María Riba, with Pyramide swooping on site on Michael Rowe’s “Leap Year,” which went on to win Cannes Camera d’Or. 14 years, one pandemic and 15 editions later, the world, international markets, even how film is often consumed, has changed. Co-production is now the name of the game.