FINAL REPORT

SALES OFFICE 2007

Remarkable increase in professional activity at the 55th San Sebastian Festival

Professional activity experienced a considerable increase at the 55th San Sebastian Festival. The over 1,200 accredited industry members (a figure slightly higher than in 2006, as is the case of the number of companies and countries represented) more assiduously frequented the Sales Office at the Kursaal Centre, where visits rose from 2,000 to 3,000 compared to last year.

There was an extremely notable increase in the participation of professionals at Cinema in Motion 3, Films in Progress 12 and the Trans-Pyrenean Co-production Forum.

The video library was a huge success yet again this year, with around 1,400 viewings for a catalogue of almost 170 films.

Two new initiatives launched in 2007: cooperation between the Sales Office and Variety with a view to improved professional information, and the daily Happy Hours were warmly received by users.

The Sales Office once again offered a series of services created for industry professionals, buyers and sellers, in an area occupying 500m² at the heart of the Kursaal Centre for improved contacts and meetings, the viewing of films and displaying of promotional material.

The Sales Office would like to thank the European Union Media Programme, EGEDA (Agency for the management and protection of audiovisual producers’ intellectual property rights), ICEX (the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade) and Cinema Do Brasil for their collaboration.

PARTICIPANTS
  • 1,210 people were accredited at the Sales Office (1,208 in 2006)
  • 797 companies(717 in 2006)
  • 58 countries(53 in 2006)
  • 2,939 visits were madeto the Sales Office during the 10 days of the Festival (2,092 in 2006)

VIDEO LIBRARY

  • 168 films available(166 in 2006)
  • A total of 1,391 viewings (1,438 in 2006)
  • The most popular films were:
  1. Mataharis (Spain, Official Selection)
  2. Caótica Ana (Spain, Day of Basque Films)
  3. Dos Miradas (Spain, Made in Spain)
  4. Déficit (Mexico)
  5. Lucio (Spain, Zabaltegi)
  6. Párpados Azules (Mexico, Horizontes)
  7. Aurora Boreal (Mexico, Horizontes)
  8. Cosmos (Spain, Zabaltegi)
  9. Ladrones (Spain, Made in Spain)
  10. El Asaltante (Argentina, Horizontes)
  11. Una novia errante (Argentina, Horizontes)

COMMUNICATION

  • For the first time, the San Sebastian Festival signed a collaboration agreement with Variety, which took charge of writing articles on industrial information at the Sales Office for the Festival newspaper.
    In addition to the printed version distributed at the Festival headquarters, this information can be consulted at the Sales Office section of the official Festival website and in the area dedicated to coverage of the event in
  • Throughout the event, a series of Newsflashes provided daily information on media coverage of the films selected in the different Festival sections.

ACTIVITIES

Cinema in Motion 3

Cinema in Motion is a space at the San Sebastian Film Festival open to feature films which have completed their shooting or are at the post-production stage made by filmmakers from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Portuguese-speaking African countries. It is organised with the Amiens (France) and Fribourg (Switzerland) Festivals in collaboration with the Tarifa African Film Festival.

82 participants, 68 entities, 17 countries. (In 2006: 59 participants, 39 entities, 14 countries)

Programme:

  • Recycle, by Mahmoud Al Massad (78 min.) (Jordan)
  • Nos lieux interdits, by Leila Kilani - First version (80 min.) (Morocco)
  • Je veux voir, by Khalil Joreige and Joana Hadjithomas (70 min.) (Lebanon)
  • Salt of This Sea, by Annemarie Jacir - First images (40 min.) (Palestine)
  • Presentations: Amiens, Fribourg and Tarifa Festivals; Avándalus, Andalusian Film and Audiovisual Portal, and Casa Arabe

Awards:

  • The four selected films each won a contribution to their Spanish subtitling from Casa Arabe for a totalamount of €13,000.
  • The filmRECYCLE, by Mahmoud Al Massad (Jordan), won:

-€15,000 in aid to postproduction from the CNC (Centre National de Cinématographie, France)

-Digital calibration provided by Mikros Image

-Conversion from digital to 35mm format provided by Swiss Effects and Kodak Suisse

-Subtitling in French and English provided by Titra Film

-A 35mm copy provided by Fribourg Festival

  • The filmSALT OF THIS SEA, by Anne-Marie Jacir (Palestine), won:

-Aid towards post-production from the CCM (Centrecinématographique marocain), to be established in agreement with the producers.

-€15,000 in aid towards post-production from the MACTARI mixing auditorium ( in Paris

-A35mm copy provided by Amiens Festival

All of the selected filmmakers will have the opportunity to participate in the annual Cinema in Motion tour of Argentina, Columbia and Mexico organised by San Sebastian Festival and the Tarifa African Film Festival. The Cervantes Institute will moreover propose an original international programme of screenings throughout its network consisting of a mixture of films and filmmakers from Cinema in Motion and Films in Progress.

Cinema in Motion 3 – Completed films proposed the Algerian films ALGÉRIE, HISTOIRES À NE PAS DIRE, by Jean-Pierre Lledó, and VIVANTES, by Saïd Ould-Khelifa.

Films in Progress 12

Professional rendezvous organised by the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Rencontres Cinéma d’Amérique Latine in Toulouse for Latin-American and Spanish feature films at the post-production stage.

198 participants, 127 entities, 21 countries(In 2006: 184 participants, 124 entities, 18 countries)

Programme

  • Acné, by Federico Veiroj (Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, Mexico)
  • A festa da menina morta, by Matheus Nachtergaele (Brazil, Argentina, Portugal)
  • La extranjera, by Fernando Díaz (Argentina)
  • Gasolina, byJulio Hernández Cordón (Guatemala)
  • Sol na neblina, by Werner Schumann (Brazil)
  • Una semana solos, by Celina Murga (Argentina)

Awards

  • Industry Award: Gasolina, by Julio Hernández Cordón (Guatemala). Estudios Exa, Kodak (Cine Profesional Division, Mediapro, Molinare Madrid, No problem Sonido Technicolor Entertainment Services Spain and Titra Film will jointly assume the pending post-production of the film until achieving a 35mm copy with English subtitles.
  • TVE Award: Acné, by Federico Veriroj (Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, Mexico), andSol na Neblina, by Werner Schuman (Brazil), consisting of the purchasing of the broadcasting rights for the winning films.
  • Casa de América Award: Gasolina,by Julio Hernández Cordón. Aid to post-production carrying €10,000 (gross).
  • Signis Award: La extranjera, by Fernando Díaz (Argentina). Carrying $25,000 as part of its 6th Film Post-Production for Latin America Competition.
  • CICAE Award: Gasolina, by Julio Hernández Cordón (Guatemala). Backing in the 1,000 AFCAE cinemas in France (and subsequently abroad) as part of its “Cinédiversité” operation.
  • All of the films participating in Films in Progress have access to international diffusion on the Cervantes Institute world network.

III Trans-Pyrenean Co-production Forum

Organised by IBAIA (the Basque Independent Audiovisual Production Company Association), in coordination with the Sales Office. Presentation of five documentary and five feature film projects.

107 participants, 65 entities(In 2006: 74 participants, 54 entities)

  • Documentaries: “La Chanson de Roland”, “Contando el tiempo. Las paredes de Munttogorri”, “Che Guevara Attitude”, “Life and Film. (The laberynthine biographies of Voftech Jasny)” and “Nadar”
  • Feature films: “Les veus del pamano”, “Cámera Obscura”, “Luna Lunera”, “Salim, the animal magician” and “Reykjavik”

Programme:

  • EGEDA at the service of audiovisual producers: Audiovisual SGR, Filmotech, Aribsan, byFernando González.
  • Small European Countries, bySusan Newman-Baudais (European Audiovisual Observatory)
  • The “Irish case” bySimon Perry, Director General of theIrish Film Boardand discussion with Angela Bosch (Catalan Films & TV), Ferran Tomas i Olalla (Institu Catalá de les Industries Culturals – ICIC) andIñaki Gómez (Basque Government)

Moderator: John Hopewell, director of Variety in Spain.

Professional meetings held at the Sales Office
  • nTrade Meeting with the sloganLove Across Borders.
  • Working sessions of the European Producers’ Club.
  • Information session byMEDIA Antena Euskal Herria: MEDIA aid to independent European producers.
  • Spain Film Commissionmeeting.
  • Bilateral meetings between Cinema do Brasil andFAPAE (Spanish Federation of Audiovisual Producers)
  • Meeting between representatives of the MEDIA Programme and European distributors
  • Meeting between Olivier-René Veillon (Ile de France Film Commission) with the filmmakers participating in Cinema in Motion 3.
  • French-Spanish co-production lunch organised by the Ile de France Film Commission and theMadrid Film Commission, with the participation ofUnifrance.
  • AnnualRoots Programme meeting.
  • VI International Film School Meeting: “Speed Meetings” by the First Team Foundation.
  • Europa Distribution (Independent European Distributors Network) meeting.

Other professional activities and presentations

- European Films Crossing Borders. An intensive training programme focussing on international audiovisual distribution and promotion.

- Round table: “New film consumption trends”

- Preparatory meetings for the III Trans-Pyrenean Co-production Forum

- Panavision photography workshop with Affonso Beato and Alfonso Cuarón

-Presentation of the AudiovisualInnovation Pole by Fomento de San Sebastián.

- Presentation of theSpanish Independent Video Association (AVEI).

- Presentation of the second and third stages of City of Light.

- Presentation ofEAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs)

- Presentation of the Lux Award

- FAPAEnews conference

- Presentation of Cancun Festival

- Presentation of Objective Canarias: New opportunities for the audiovisual industry

- Presentation ofAnimadrid

- II Day of Andalusian audiovisuals

- Presentation of Abycine

- Presentation of Las Palmas Festival

Happy Hours

  • Cinema Do Brasil
  • Objetivo Canarias
  • Presentation of Films in Progress 12
  • Presentation of the VI International Film School Meeting
  • Galicia Terra de Cine
  • Catalan Films & TV

Work points installed at the Sales Office

-Catalan Films &TV

-Cinema do Brasil

-Egeda

-Madrid Film Commission

-Media

-Objetivo Canarias

-Televisión Española

-Vereda Filmes

-Films in Progress 12 / VI International Film School Meeting