US attendance up 7% at Marché

Business might be slow but the Marché du Film is reporting a bumper year in terms of attendance with US participation up by 7% to 2,000 attendees.

“One of the most surprising trends is the increase in Americans. Beyond the fact that US companies are selling more non-US titles more US producers are coming to Cannes looking for projects and finance… we had a number of US producers attending the Producers Network this year,” commented market chief Jerome Paillard.

“We’re also seeing a big increase in Anglophone Africa… South African attendance was up by 29% for example,” he continued. “There is a dynamism in places like South Africa and Kenya.”

Mid-market figures revealed a 4% rise in attendance with 11,700 participants, which was expected to reach 12,000 by the end of the market.

Paillard said that new initiatives such as the Cross Media Corner, presenting a number of innovative multi-platform works, and a new dedicated space for smaller companies called the Riviera Showroom had been well attended.

“Some 250 people turned up for the Cross Media events. We could sense there was a real appetite to learn more,” commented Paillard.

The Riveria Showroom attracted 14 companies including Breakthrough, Tomcat Films and The Open Reel.

‘We created the space for smaller companies which don’t necessarily want a stand but need a place to meet. They have a table and a reception desk. Given the weather this year, which stopped people meeting on the terraces, a space like this was great resource,” said Paillard.

This year 108 countries were represented, with seven new nations making an appearance: Albania, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Ivory Coast and Sri Lanka.

In total 5,362 pictures, compared to 4,659 titles in 2012, were represented, 3,340 of which were market premieres.