24/10/2024 - The distributor spoke about her outfit’s business model, two recent successful campaigns and the peculiarities of the Hellenic market, among other topics

For our October Distributor of the Month interview, we headed south to speak to Ioanna Panagiotidou, managing director of Greek distribution firm Rosebud.21. During our chat, we took the opportunity to explore the outfit’s business model, some of its recent releases and the challenges of distributing independent cinema in Greece.

Cineuropa: How would you describe your business model and editorial policy? How has it changed over the years?
Ioanna Panagiotidu: We position Rosebud.21 as a boutique distribution outfit with independent titles, coming mainly from Europe. We now distribute 20-25 titles per year. Over the last ten years, we have managed to double the number of movies we release per year and to level up on the local market share. This past year, we also entered two more major market genres. The first market is horror movies, which are becoming very popular among younger, multiplex-orientated audiences. We successfully released When Evil Lurks, and we’re now ready to release In a Violent Nature and Oddity [+see also:
film review
film profile]. The second are animation titles, which are now taking a serious part of the market share. We were the first ones in Greece, eight years ago, to believe that non-studio, non-US animation [productions] can work in our market, and we’re the only Greek company to attend both Cartoon Movie in Bordeaux and the Annecy Festival. So far, we have already successfully released numerous titles, including Ooops! Noah Is Gone…, Ooops! The Adventure Continues, The Amazing Maurice [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Cats in the Museum. Moreover, we have invested in more than 25 upcoming animation titles. We also introduced a separate label within the company, the Rosebuddies!, aiming to target kids and families only.

How is your company staffed?
There are five people in the main office, handling general management, acquisitions, distribution and accounting, and we also have permanent partners in creative [roles], the press office and marketing.

Could you mention some of the recent titles you’ve been distributing?
This year, we saw major success with the Greek horror flick Don’t Open the Door by the Unboxholics, the top YouTube content creators in Greece. The low-budget film, starring only two actors, generated fan-driven pre-sales a month before release, had a record-breaking opening day and reached 150,000 admissions within two weeks.

This summer, we distributed Out of Season [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Brizé
film profile] by Stéphane Brizé; Two to One [+see also:
interview: Natja Brunckhorst
film profile], starring the super-talented Sandra Hüller; The Braid [+see also:
film review
film profile], based on the best-selling novel of the same name; and the comedies It’s Raining Men and Bernadette [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. Among our winter releases we have The Return [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche; April [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dea Kulumbegashvili
film profile], the winner of the Special Jury Prize at Venice; Opera!, premiering at Rome this month; and Last Breath [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Costa-Gavras
film profile] by Costa-Gavras, which premiered at San Sebastián. We’re also excited to distribute Niki [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] from Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, along with highly anticipated European animated flicks like Giants of la Mancha [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Niko 3, SuperKlaus and Heidi.

How has the split of income changed between theatrical and other sources of revenue over the last few years?
The split hasn’t changed significantly. Theatrical releases remain our primary source of income, as VoD revenues continue to be low. TV sales have remained steady, but the biggest challenge is that private TV channels are still hesitant to acquire European independent films.

What are the peculiarities of the Greek audience? Which audience segments do you work with the most, and which ones do you struggle to attract?
I think the Greek audience has a strong appreciation for European cinema and follows notable directors closely. They pay considerable attention to film critics and particularly enjoy open-air cinema during the summer. Our core audience consists of people aged 50+ and the festival crowd aged 25-30. We face challenges in expanding to the 40+ demographic and attracting younger audiences.

Could you touch on some of your most successful campaigns?
We love using films as inspiration for creative and innovative marketing campaigns. Over the years, we’ve focused on originality in partnerships, premiere settings, movie creatives and online campaigns. Two of my favourite campaigns were not tied to specific films, but were rather aimed at encouraging audiences to return to theatres. The first, called “The Show Must Go On”, which ran in May 2020, was launched for the reopening of outdoor cinemas after the first COVID-19 lockdown, and the second, called “Summer is... Open Air Cinemas” in 2022, was a nostalgic campaign celebrating the connection between Greek summers and the magic of open-air theatres. In both campaigns, our company logo was featured prominently.

Are festivals still important, and do they serve as a good springboard ahead of theatrical releases? Why?
Absolutely! Festivals play a key role in our business, both for acquiring new films and for promoting them. Festival buzz is often the first indicator of a film’s potential, and world premieres provide a great opportunity to generate early publicity, which we can then leverage in our local marketing efforts. Home festivals, like Athens and Thessaloniki, are especially valuable. They not only help promote films, but also give us the chance to gauge audience reactions before the broader release. These festivals are highly respected, and many filmmakers trust them, often choosing to attend and showcase their work there.