17/11/2005

Owners of 600 theatres, Europa Cinemas converged on Budapest today for the annual conference of the network headed by Claude-Eric Poiroux, which currently accounts for 1420 screens in 322 towns. Until Sunday, professionals will alternate workshops and projections, with Jeanne Moreau and Claude Miller (president of Europa Cinemas) awarding the prizes for 2005 to Hungarian theatres in Muvész, Puskin and Szindbád, owned by Budapest Film (best programming), to French Anne-Marie Faucon and Michel Malacarnet (Utopia - best entrepreneurs) and to the Estonian cinema Sõprus run by AS Tallinnfilm (best young public). As for films, the exhibitors can see trailers of European films and previews of 11 features: Allegro [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Christoffer Boe (Denmark), Pavee Lackeen [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Perry Ogden (Ireland), Guernsey [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Nanouk Leopold (Holland), Sommer vorm Balkon by Andreas Dresen (Germany), 7 Virgenes by Alberto Rodriguez (Spain), Johanna [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Kornel Mundruczó (Hungary), A Cock and Bull Story by Michael Winterbottom (UK), Viva Zapatero! by Sabina Guzzanti (Italy), Le Petit Lieutenant by Xavier Beauvois (France), Stesti [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bohdan Slama
interview: Pavel Strnad
film profile] (Something Like Happiness) by Bohdan Slama (Czech Republic) and Le temps qui reste [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Time to Leave) by François Ozon (France).

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As for the debates, three workshops will allow a chance to talk about the current situation and the future of European film exhibition. On Friday afternoon, a debate entitled What perspectives for the future of European film exhibition? will deal with the subjects of admissions, profusion of product and competition (from DVD, home cinema, mobile phones, VOD, Internet, piracy), and among the participants will be Susan Newman (Observatoire Européen de l’Audiovisuel), Mattias Nohrborg (Triangelfilm, Sweden), Enrique Gonzales Macho (Alta Films, Spain), Lionello Cerri (Anteo Cinemas, Italy) and Johannes Klingsporn (director of German association of distributors). Saturday, the theme digital cinema: what structural evolutions for distributors and exhibitors? will be discussed notably by Peter Buckingham (UK Film Council), Patrick van Houdt (European Invesment Bank), Laurent Danielou (Rezo Films, France), San Fu Maltha (A-Film, Holland), Torsten Frehse (Neue Visionen , Germany) and Marcin Piasecki (Kino Świat, Poland). Finally, a debate will be dedicated to the means ofreinforcing the visibility of European films in the theatres with, among others, Claudia Bedogni (Istituto Luce, Italy), Ferenc Port (Budapest Film), Monika Weibel (Frenetic Films, Switzerland) and Renaud Davy (Pan Européenne Distribution - Wild Bunch, France ).

(Translated from French)