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Riviera's
opening brings 20% more participants
Opening
of the doors at the Riviera seems to have reached parts of the
international film industry hitherto untouched by the Cannes Market.
By last weekend, 5,615 participants had signed up for the Market
a 20% increase on the figure for the equivalent date last
year (4,941).
The
number of companies attending (1,803) is also 15% up on the previous
year (1,564). The increase has been across all territories, but
numbers are especially up for Japan, Korea and the US, the latter
in part due to the 70-plus companies sheltering under the Independent
Features Project banner.
"The
feedback from sales companies and buyers doing business in the
Riviera has been overwhelmingly positive," said Market director
Jérôme Paillard. "We are having a great market."
The
reason the number of buyers was roughly equivalent to last year,
he added, was due to "the highly selective policy of checking
buyer credentials and the reality of their acquisitions prior
to registration".
Overview
of the Cannes Market
Everyone has a "raison d'etre" at Cannes: be it film, sun, business,
or some combination thereof. For more than 5,000 film professionals,
the 11-day Cannes Market (Marche du Film) is the place to be for
deal-making and industry networking.
Cannes Market 2000 officially began Thursday, 11 May at the recently
constructed Riviera exhibition center. The venue is touted as the
"first ever business space specifically designed for film buyers
and sellers." Here, more than 600 films (including 300 premieres)
will be screened over 11 days. The Riviera building is just a petit
promenade away from the legendary Palais (in fact, the two are connected
by a rooftop bridge). It boasts eight theatres, a club overlooking
the sea, and a main hall with views of the old harbor and the shore,
and a rooftop garden.
The
Executive Director of the Market, Jerome
Paillard, and his team of organizers have created several new
additions to this year's program to keep participants au courant
of the latest film buzz. The daily guide "Cannes Market News" lists
all buyers and sellers at the festival as well as the next day's
events, available each day at 4 p.m. In addition, Cannes Market
organizers have formed a partnership with Film Finders and ShowBIZData
to create a database of all participants. Tthe on-line information
bank is
accessible year-round at www.cannesmarket.com so that Cannes contacts
remain a mouse-click away.
With the influx of internet technology in the cinema world, what
is the future of film in the online world? This was the focus of
MITIC, an offshoot of the Cannes Market specifically for the tech-side
of the Biz, sponsored by Variety and the French Film Commission.
This year's third annual MITIC (International Market of Technology
and Cinema Innovation) addresses the evolution of internet and cinema
in a series of conferences and panel discussions.
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