16/02/2013 - EFM Industry Debate dicusses the needs and opportunities of film production in Europe

Despite the economic situation in Europe having an impact on film production, distribution and sales business, it is still possible to get films produced. "If you have a good project you can finance it," said German production and distribution outfit Constantin Film Chairman Martin Moszkowicz (photo) at the EFM Industry Debate in Berlin. "A producer should always know who is the target audience for his movie."

According to Moszkovics, Constantin Film has 80-100 projects in development every year but only a dozen of them are actually made. "It is a big problem that producers often invest so much time in a film that they can‘t afford it to produce it," he explained. Constantin Film has not only the luxury to drop projects that don't work but also the patience to hold on to certain ideas. In 1982, Bernd Eichinger acquired the film rights to the comic The Fantastic Four for $50,000, but he had to wait 28 years until the film could be made. "It was 1995 when we started with the development," added the Constantin chairman.

The film projects at Constantin Film range from very small low-budget films to big-budget movies for as much as $150m. For films such as the $65m 3D animated motion capture film Tarzan, or the $100m picture Pompeji that goes into production in April, the Munich-based company was able to collect a huge part of the budget via presales in Cannes.

"In Russia, sizes matters in a different way," explained Catherine Mtsitouridze, CEO of Roskino. "The big productions with state financing were a big fiasco. We had a $13.5m movie that earned only $2,8m." On the other hand, the Russian low-budget film Soulless by Sergei Minaev, which was made for $3m, generated revenues of around $40m. "It is based on a popular novel for the young generation, had a clear understanding of the audience and an amazing PR campaign," underlined Mtsitouridze. "Producers need to have a better understanding of their audience."