28/10/2021 - The organisation is preparing for its first physical annual conference since the start of the pandemic, where exhibitors will be at the heart of the discussions

Europa International, the Belgium-based organisation that groups together 45 leading European film sales companies, will see its event held in partnership with the Seville European Film Festival (10-12 November). The conference will welcome both heads of companies as well as junior executives, who will take part in the Audience Development and Innovation Lab run by Europa Cinemas. Since the beginning, the EI annual conference has been held in conjunction with Europa Cinemas, and has explored collaborations between the two sectors, the sales agents and the exhibitors, especially through Tales Of Europe, an initiative launched four years ago and supported by the Creative Europe - MEDIA programme, which has seen over 30 European titles exhibited in the North American market through a close network of US exhibitors Art House Convergence.

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Among the topics on the agenda, the impact of the pandemic is undoubtedly going to be a major discussion, especially with changing business models and the impact of streamers on the market. Other topics that will be key at this year’s event include diversity, inclusion and green policies.

Europa International, which was founded in 2011, was set up to promote European sales companies and films. With a board comprising seven members and a president, voted for biannually, it has close dialogues with both institutions, such as Creative Europe and Eurimages, and professional partners like Europa Distribution and European Film Promotion, and has played a core role in structuring distribution support in Europe as well as consulting on major online markets. This November’s conference will also prepare the elections for the new board and a new presidency.