16/10/2002

This year's London Screenings is a casualty of the current difficult economic climate affecting the whole film industry, and the independent film sales and financing sector in particular. The last to arrive is often the first to leave, and in spite of its popularity among top US buyers, the London fair will be a shadow of its former self this year, due to the boycott by the majority of film providers from both sides of the Atlantic. Nicole Mackey, chairman of Film Export UK and until recently, head of sales at Signpost Films, was one of the initiators of the London boycott, with Capitol Films' Jane Barclay. Mackay explained the reasons behind the boycott to Cineuropa.
"Most of the UK sales companies felt from the beginning that the London Screenings were unfair to the rest of the world, but they've become almost as impractical for us who are based in London. Duplicating costs between London and MIFED just doesn't make sense anymore", she said. "So at the end of last year, I got together with representatives of sales organisations from France, Italy and Germany, and we met with the MIFED organizers to see whether they would be willing to improve their screening conditions and services and extend MIFED by a few days. They said they would and along with a group of key UK and US sales companies, we decided to boycott the upcoming London Screenings".
The group of high profile boycotters includes Capitol Films, Focus Films, IAC Films, Lakeshore, Intermedia, MDP, Miramax International, Myriad Pictures, New Line, Signpost Films and Summit Entertainment.
Since last summer's announcement of the boycott, all of the UK's have joined the protest, as have their French counterparts. Alison Thompson who heads France's Pathé's International Sales arm in London expressed the view shared by many protesters: "I will screen absolutely nothing in London and I've heard that nobody else will", she said. "Personally, I've never supported the London Screenings even in the early days. I've always felt that MIFED functioned pretty well as a set up and infrastructure for a proper and efficient film market, in spite of administrative problems. Over the last three-four years, I have forced myself to fully participate in the London Screenings, but now that nobody will attend this year's event, it's a big relief. Having two markets was like a two double-headed monster with two separate, diluted and back-to-back markets. As things are a bit tough nowadays, it just didn't make sense anymore. But I think that this year, it will be the first time in many years that there will be a buzz about MIFED as it is the first market since Cannes where people will unveil their new titles. And this is positive for the whole international film community" she concludes.
Joy Wong, Head of Sales at The Works also believes that "MIFED is more efficient than London". "The London Screenings got out of control and people started screening not only premiere movies but other films already shown before. It has become ridiculously expensive for people without offices".
In spite of the confirmation from a dozen key UK sales agents to Cineuropa of their London boycott and the certain 'no shows' from all their key buyers, London's various organizers and service providers try not to let their disappointment transpire. "We have less than 50% of the usual bookings and screenings this year", acknowledges London Screening Ltd's coordinator Jo Jo Dye. "But 90 international buyers have stated they would attend among which Paramount, Aurum Films, BSkyB, Buena Vista, Columbia, Constantin Films, Gaga, Helkon Media, ZDF, Media Trade, and UGC," she said.
According to Dye, this year's drastic reduction in film screenings and office rentals in London was not caused by the boycott by a dozen sales companies but by market forces and the general lack of new products.
Whatever the reasons for this year's 'non-event', the 2002 London Screenings will be remembered by some UK sales representatives, such as IAC Films' Claudette Alderson as "an experiment to force MIFED to improve its facilities", and for others such as Renaissance Films' Angus Finney as a "positive thing to rationalise the marketplace for distributors and sales companies".
Next year's London event -if there is one- will need to take into consideration criticism from all sides and will probably only have two options if it wants to survive: go back to basics, i.e. to screening premiere movies only, without even renting offices - the way the London Screenings were originally run, or set up a coherent infrastructure under one single roof, capable of offering the whole film community the same professional services at competitive prices.

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