EUROPEAN EXHIBITORS AND DISTRIBUTORS COME TOGETHER OVER DIGITAL CINEMA 

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Press Release
Speakers and presentations
Conference Report

Inaugurated by Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Zanussi and Borys Lankosz, the 14th Europa Cinemas Conference was held in Warsaw from 19 to 22 November 2009. These three days of debates welcomed more than 550 professionals from approximately 40 countries, made up mostly of exhibitors and distributors, but also producers, sales agents, consultants, and bankers, bringing together all players of the film industry. 15 professionals from Asia, Latin-America and the Mediterranean attended this event as network partners in the framework of Europa Cinemas International.

The debates focused on the search of partnerships for the transition to digital, and on the new ways offered by the Internet to renew audiences.

As digital projection becomes a reality in all European countries – particularly with 100 digitally-equipped screens in the network - exhibitors and distributors acknowledged the validity of the “Virtual Print Fee” model (VPF), which allows the money saved on prints to be redistributed back to the cinemas. This model has its limitations, unfortunately, with regard to single-screen cinemas and smaller markets. From this comes the necessity to find complementary forms of financing or corrective schemes: resource sharing funds (France, Norway), tax credit (Italy), buying groups (United Kingdom), public funding (Poland, Czech Republic), European aid (MEDIA, Eurimage), European regional development funds (European Commission)… All these solutions require exhibitors to mobilize themselves and developing common measures between all professional groups, and to involve public authorities in the support of independent screens.

Providing screens with digital equipment raises the question of the availability of European films on this medium.   The producers and exporters invited to this debate did not all agree on the matter of delivering digital masters to distributors, which is essential to facilitate the circulation of European films internationally.

The digital revolution in the cinemas has to be linked to the development of Internet.  Distributors and exhibitors find themselves working together once again to invent new promotional practices to attract new audiences to films and film theatres. Nowadays these tools allow us to create a new level of interaction, bringing spectators into virtual communities where their tastes can be more easily identified. Internet users can also find their creativity on the big screen, which welcomes more and more alternative content.  It is at the film theatre, rather than on Facebook or Twitter, that young people who want to share a fuller cinema experience should meet and exchange ideas.

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Europa Cinemas Awards 2009

The 2009 Europa Cinemas Awards went out to:

- Best programming: Kino Pod Baranami, Cracow, Poland
- Best Young Audience Activities: Multisala Pio X (MPX) et Excelsior, Padova, Italy
- Entrepreneur of the Year: Folkets Hus Och Parker (FHP), Sweden

The awards were given at the Muranow cinema, member of the Europa Cinemas network, by Agnieszka Odorowicz, director of the Polish Film Institute, Andrzej Jakimowski, director of Tricks (Sztuczki), and Borys Lankosz, director of Reverse (Rewers).  This last film, which will represent Poland in the best foreign film category at the Oscars, was screened for the network exhibitors.

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Preview screenings of European films

The conference opened on 19 November at the Kinoteka cinema, also member of the Europa Cinemas network, with the preview screening of 11 European films:

Lourdes, Jessica Hausner (AT/FR/DE)
Applause (Applaus), Martin P.Zandvliet (DK)
Cooking History, Péter Kerekes, (SK)
Eastern Plays, Kamen Kalev, (BG)
Gordos, Daniel Sanchez Arévalo (ES)
The Forest (Las), Piotr Dumala (PL)
The Front Line (La Prima Linea), Renato de Maria (IT/FR/GB/BE)
The Last Days of Emma Blank, Alex van Warmerdam (NL)
North (Nord), Rune Denstad Langlo (NO)
La Pivellina, Tizza Covi & Rainer Frimmel (IT/AT)
Soul Kitchen, Fatih Akin (DE)

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Screening of trailers for European films

The participants had the opportunity to watch a program of European films trailers. It was a chance to have a look on latest productions from all Europe: Mr. Nobody, Videocracy, Nothing Personal, Persécution, Women Without Men, Hadewijch, among other.

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Documentation

- Press release
- Conference Report
- Speakers and presentations
- Programme
- European film previews
- Trailers programme

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Images (from top)

1 - Claude-Eric Poiroux, Andrzej Wajda, Jean-Michel Frodon and Borys Lankosz
2 - Conference, Hilton Hotel
3 - Krzysztof Zanussi
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Archives

- 13th Annual Conference, Paris

- 12th Annual Conference, Bucharest

- 11th Annual Conference, Paris

- 10th Annual Conference, Budapest

- Annual Conferences Proceedings

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