International Digital Conference at the Montreal World Film Festival


The Montreal International Digital Market will hold a series of conferences on digital distribution and exhibition August 29 -30 during the 2005 Montreal World Film Festival.

The International Digital Conference will sum up the state of digital distribution and exhibition, examine experiences of distributors and exhibitors worldwide and will look at the different strategies to be implemented in the coming year.

The International Digital Conference will also discuss the impact of digital distribution and exhibition on cultural diversity. Will digital cinema help the emergence of the different cinemas from around the world or will it establish the complete domination of the “majors”?

The panelists invited are leading figures in Digital Cinema. Frank Stirling, CEO and President of Breakpoint Digital, has designed and developed the digital cinema system for Boeing Digital. He has released 19 major Hollywood movies totaling 23,000 screenings in 31 theatrical systems in the USA and the U.K.

Mark Kimball (Director, Digital Production, Walt Disney Company, U.S.A) has been a key architect for numerous technical projects for Walt Disney including CAPS (Computer Animation Production System) for which he received an Academy Award in 1992 for Scientific and Engineering Achievement. For the last two years he has been involved in the work of the Digital Cinema Initiatives consortium of seven major Hollywood studios.

Amie Hardie, Executive Director of DocSpace, leads the research component of CinemaNetEurope, a network of 180 screens located in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia and the UK.

Gwendal Auffret, is CEO of AvantiDigital, a company providing consulting services and D-Cinema solution and integration to European exhibitors and labs. Auffret has overseen the digitization of 6700 films. He holds a PhD in computer science and is an active member of the SMPTE.

Other panelists from the USA, France, China, Germany and the U.K. will represent the majors and the independent distribution and exhibition sectors.

The International Digital Conference will present today's most innovative ideas from the most influential minds in the industry. The International Digital Conference is a unique occasion for industry professionals to learn about the latest developments in the realm of Digital Cinema from the visionaries and pioneers who are making it happen.