Our panel of experts have between them released more than a thousand films in France, and are experts in designing and implementing marketing plans and release strategies. And, while each film is of course unique, they are ready to pass on the tricks of their trade in this informative session.

Just as an impressionist painting requires the careful placement of each dot to convey the vibrant ambience you can see from a distance, and every note from the orchestra must be played perfectly to result in a sublime sonata or magnificent opera performance, the film distributor must bring many elements and many performers into line to deliver the perfect film release.

We’ve gathered together legends in the annals of publicity and PR and, in this session, you’ll learn from them exactly how they have built enviable reputations working with industry leaders on a wide range of local and international film projects.

You’ll hear exciting inside stories from the Majors and entertaining tales that have turned into legend. Want to know how a film presentation at a major festival raised the profile of the film so much the Studio Chief was forced to lift box office estimates by millions? Interested in how to support respect, trust and faith in your work? Want to know the secrets to keeping things fresh and continuing to grow? Then this session is for you.

It will be exciting, sometimes extreme – and incredibly valuable for anyone who needs to know the ‘dos and don’ts’ of festivals, and how to hire and using a publicist.

A great poster captures the essence of the film using artistic expression to create something which is fun and colorful as life…but also a finely-tuned commercial vehicle. Getting the mix just right can, quite literally, make or break your film.

Promotional posters take many forms, shapes and sizes, with images and words blended in a variety of ways, but the principles for success remain remarkably simple. In this session, we will look at some classic poster examples, walk through a range of genres and explore different approaches to suit different actors or different target markets to see how good posters work.

You’ll learn how to select and brief an agency or graphic designer, how to choose elements like images, teasers, catch lines and quotes, and how to participate in the creative process to get the best results. You’ll even learn how to break the rules to create extra impact and visibility.

Making the trailer or ‘teaser’ is almost as complex as film making itself. Short – but not too short. Long enough to excite and entice – but not too long. Visual, yes – but should you take a graphic, subliminal, narrative, or perhaps a different approach? At this session, you’ll learn how and why you make trailers and teasers, who you make them for and which media is the best choice for their release.

We’ll unpick the science behind classic teasers like ‘Spinal Tap’ teaser by Rob Eriner and Oliver Stone’s The Doors, look at how ‘Detective’ by Godard used images that didn’t even belong to the music he used, and examine how to use music, like in the classic ‘Apocalypse Now’ trailer.

Importantly, we’ll also talk about your release strategy – where and when your trailer will be shown. Today’s teasers are not limited to the theatre, but can be launched across a range of channels including the exciting possibilities of social media, where you may just achieve the holy grail of going from trailer, to buzz, to a viral sensation screening to millions…at no charge. It’s all ahead of you in this session

Our panelists in this session are masterminds of tie-ins and promotions who, in their early days, were criticized for blatantly ‘mixing art and commerce’ by putting the logo of their media partners on a poster. Once a shame, now a game – the ability to artfully tie in promotions and revenue generating opportunities through the promotion of your film are now not just desirable, but a necessity.

Media partnerships, tie-ins, merchandising and promotional strategies, contests and in-theatre promotions, screening strategies and the amount a great premiere can add to your bottom line – these are the things you’ll be discussing in this thought-provoking session. Are there limits to commercial visibility? How can you keep your positioning without compromising the partnering brands? The key word is optimization and the rule is ‘win-win’. Game on!

As most people involved in film know, there is an extensive international short and festival circuit, which adds vibrancy and a truly global nature to the film world. Submitting your film to thousands of individual festivals can be both painful and costly - so how can you access the power of this international audience and resource?
In this session, our experts explore how to make smart commercial decisions about which festivals deserve your films, where to invest your money, and how to submit using ten different digital global industry platforms. We look at what you should do when selected, how to leverage festival ‘guerilla marketing’ and identify your online allies.
This is your chance to learn from the head of the French Short Film Agency, a master with several hundred festivals under his belt and a network of several thousand festivals on his books. Learn from the master and start thinking BIG!

Cinando is the depository of the best and most comprehensive collection of film industry contacts, contracts, projects in development, films for sale, and schedules of upcoming festivals, and is partnered with a host of the very best major international film events including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, Hong Kong, Busan AFM and Sundance.
Its scope, quality and size make it one of the most crucial tool for any film maker who wants to optimise attendances and maximize the outcome of major film events – and this session will help you learn how to use it to your best advantage.
Our expert at this session will teach you more about what Cinando is and how you can leverage the contacts and information it contains, how to access it and why it might be useful, the best way to browse the Cinando database and utilise its online screeners and mobile viewer apps and, best of all, how to use Cinando to promote your content and network with your peers. Open the door to endless resources and opportunities – this session is the KEY!

The international film industry is made up of literally hundreds of sales companies and distributors, which provide the ‘backbone and lungs’ of the industry – the cash and distribution channels it relies on for success. Competition is tough and you will need all your skills and ingenuity to ensure your film can benefit from this worldwide network.
This session is your ticket into the world behind the industry’s most prestigious festivals – because behind every Cannes or Berlinale, there is a market with a much larger and more significant impact than the festival itself – the market which conducts business transactions in the billions of dollars.
Learn from our experts as they share their experience on how to discover, identify and pitch to buyers, how to negotiate the best deal for your project, when and how to invest, how to identify and capitalise on your markets, the various distribution channels, how to recoup your investment through sales, and how to successfully juggle the many hats you will have to wear to make your project a success.

 

Scriptwriting Session

So what is an Acting Coach? You’ll probably find as many definitions as there are coaches, many complicated and even contradictory. Our expert will cut through the confusion and explain how acting coaches work and what they can offer to help Directors get the best out of their actors.

So what is an Acting Coach? You’ll probably find as many definitions as there are coaches, many complicated and even contradictory. Our expert will cut through the confusion and explain how acting coaches work and what they can offer to help Directors get the best out of their actors. Far from taking over your role as Director, the Acting Coach assists by helping to prepare the actors and build their confidence before filming begins, and to work as a liaison between actors and Directors so that the expectations and requirements are not only clearly understood, but met or exceeded when the actor gets in front of the camera. In this workshop, we’ll explore what really goes on between actors and directors, the tools great coaches use to effectively improve acting performance, and how to avoid costly and time-consuming problems on set. The skills and insights you’ll gain from this session could transform your next film production, so don’t miss out!

 

Pitching Lab 

importantly, making people want to invest their time and money in your project.

Focus on Short 

We see shorts as a very good way to engage the international enterainment world market, both a school for humility and perfection.
We will learn from our panelist about the key role of the French Film Center (CNC)  in the shorts industry. Morad Kertobi who runs the shorts department at CNC will cast a light on the key figures in the shorts industry, and put it in perspective.

Who show shorts films in theatres and festivals and how. Who buys them in France and abroad, which price, which monetization avenues and how to connect to them.   We will share on the needs for platforms for co production.  

We will also discuss the specific strategies filmmakers should follow when designing their festival circuit. Short film and big ambitions, think smart and network.
Morad Kertobi heads the Short Film Department at CNC (Direction de la Création, des Territoires et des Publics) his key missions : manage the various subsidies granted to short film producers  and coordinate with the different players in the industry: authors, producers, syndicates, schools, broadcasters (theatres, festivals, networks distributors…)