SIFF MARKET｜SIFF MARKET Builds Global Film and TV Exchange Platform

In recent years, SIFF MARKET has kept upgrading its function as an industry platform, attracting Chinese and global exhibitors with its exceptional influence. This year, SIFF will further strengthen the connection between film markets in the world, enrich itself with international elements, and strengthen the integration of resources, to provide quality services for exchanges across the world film industry.

This year, SIFF has made great efforts to improve the quality of market events as well as market screenings, striving to cover more links in the industry chain, reinforce the SIFF’s capabilities in digital and platform empowerment, and deliver a better experience for guests and better services for exhibitors.

Global exhibitors gathered offline and online

Exchange and negotiation in full swing

To create a diversified landscape covering the entire industry chain, the exhibition has invited a number of international film and TV production companies, distribution companies, film bases, film foundations and other exhibitors to promote exchanges and cooperation in the film industry, provide opportunities for the promotion of film and TV projects at home and abroad, build a stage for major film and TV institutions to showcase their strength, and create opportunities for the integration of industry resources.

"This year, the International Film & TV Online Market has attracted a number of domestic and international film and TV industry institutions as ever: Greek Content, Brazilian Content, Content Thailand, TBS, MBS, France TV Distribution, Vienna Film Commission, and the International Film Commission. Vienna Film Commission...... Overseas exhibitors gathered at the International Film & TV Online Market to showcase nearly 300 film and TV projects, offering a great opportunity for domestic buyers to find quality content from overseas, and for domestic exhibitors to communicate with overseas buyers.

 Rich market events

In-depth exchange between global filmmakers

The festival’s SIFF MARKET events comprise a series of promotional sessions, industry salons and market screenings, all of which are interlinked to provide a full spectrum of services for participating film projects. SIFF MARKET is open to all kinds of guests, including global buyers, film project owners, production service institutions and IP rights holders, and aims to give full play to the potential and influence of the film market as a quality platform, to inspire the new generation of the film industry, and match Chinese filmmakers with global film industry resources.

Market event:

Buyer’s Conversation - Pathways and Strategies for International Distribution of Films

This salon featured five important guests from the industry to discuss the innovative path for overseas distribution of films.

Bai Lingyan, founder of Hugoeast, said the company had maintained close communication with its international peers through online conferences during the previous three years after the outbreak, and had also gone to many film festivals this year. The most direct feeling was that the global film market had shifted from the original globalization process to a de-globalization process, with films increasingly focusing on stories and character changes based on local happenings in the context of the times. Therefore, it is a new task for the buyers to find ways to introduce these films with distinctive local characteristics to their own markets.

 Founder and producer of Airmita Pictures, Du Liang is more concerned about the performance of overseas films in the Chinese market. He believes that although the international film market is in a “deflationary” environment, buyers can promote more films at a lower cost in terms of rights and distribution, exposing audiences to films of more countries and genres, thus promoting the creation of phenomenal films and driving market development. So, it may be time for the industry to get back on its feet.

 In addition to sharing their experience in distributing Chinese films in North America, Jiang Yanming, President of China Lion Entertainment Production Inc., said that they are now expanding into the European market, by holding commercial screenings of Chinese films in countries such as Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, to give Chinese films more opportunities to be showcased at commercial events in the West and continuously promote Chinese films to go global. However, due to differences in language and viewing habits, there is still a long way to go before Chinese films can be released on a large scale overseas.

Xie Meng, founder and producer of Red Corner, talked about his experience of dealing with distributors in various regions overseas: due to the epidemic, on the one hand, distributors in various countries have basically been de-stocking their films accumulated over the past few years; on the other hand, new films have been increasing, so there is greater pressure on marketing. When it comes to Chinese cinema at the moment, he noted that the film festivals around the world are very interested in Chinese filmworkers creating Chinese stories, and that the attention of film peers and audiences in various countries to Chinese cinema is growing day by day.

Producer and co-founder of the film media DeepFocus, Xu Jiahan, shared her experience on developing strategies to promote films in overseas distribution. For example, when THE SHADOWLESS TOWER was shortlisted for the main competition at the Berlinale, she would arrange for the filmmakers to be interviewed by some Chinese language media, hoping to get fans who follow this film to read these reports. But the overseas sales this film were different. She found that overseas film marketing is now very much focused on recommending the film to buyers on social media, trying to have promotion of the film reach distributors in each region while they open their social media, which is more likely to boost the buying behavior.

When talking about the promotion and distribution strategies of films, each of the five guests shared the promotion strategies of overseas films such as JUST REMEMBERING, SMALL, SLOW BUT STEADY, DECISION TO LEAVE, GOING VERTICAL and A DOG NAMED PALMA, as well as the cases and experiences of Chinese films going global such as THE SHADOWLESS TOWER, THE BREAKING ICE and BALLOON in overseas promotion and distribution, in an attempt to provide inspiration for film makers who aspire to bring their films to the international market.

In a relaxed conversational setting, this salon focuses on the potential for international distribution of films, with the hope of bringing fresh insights into the international spread of Chinese cinema.

Market event:

Russian Content Showcase – Promotion of Russian film and TV productions

At this marketing event, the Russian film promotion institution ROSKINO introduced the 18 production, distribution and sales companies with which they are co-exhibiting and brought their latest film and TV projects and trailers, ranging from feature films, dramas to animations. The promotion showcased film and TV works of a wide range of genres with exciting videos, presenting the highly promising and innovative aspect of Russian film and TV productions.

Market screenings of films from five countries

With unparallel foreign flavors

SIFF MARKET Screenings unblock channels and build bridges for the exchange and cooperation of quality films, to facilitate industry exchanges and bring more films with commercial distribution potential to the limelight. 5 films from around the world were screened at the SIFF MARKET Screening Hall from June 10 to 12.

After the market screening of the Mexican film A PLACE CALLED MUSIC and the German film SANITATEM, the directors and producers also interacted with the guests present at the screening. Director Enrique M. Rizo said that China has a rich cultural heritage, such as the tradition of reverence for nature, diverse ethnic cultures and traditional cultures, so Chinese audiences may be able to better understand the culture of ethnic minorities and natural heritage in the films, and he also hoped that through SIFF, he could start more exchanges and cooperation with his Chinese counterparts.

The growing international influence and distinctive features of SIFF MARKET epitomize the years of hard work and accumulation of the SIFF, as well as the trust and recognition of film institutions and filmmakers from around the world, demonstrating the huge potential for the flourishing of the film and TV industry worldwide. SIFF, bringing together the best of the world’s cinema and promoting exchanges and mutual appreciation in the film market, will further strive to be an important platform for international cultural exchange.