International buyers attending the Spanish Screenings in Málaga this week are relishing the opportunity this year’s super-sized event is providing to network with the vibrant Spanish industry ahead of Cannes.
“It feels like a different event altogether, the scope of it,” says Kim Foss, CEO of leading Danish arthouse distributor Camera Film, of how the screening showcase has grown. Alongside the many screenings, it now includes initiatives such as Remake Day and Animation Day.
“My pockets are not deep enough to buy Almodovar but they are deep enough to pick up some of the other titles,” says Foss of what he is looking for. Camera’s recent Spanish pick-ups include The Good Boss and Carla Simon’s Golden Bear winner, Alcarras, both sold by mK2.
“If you have the right content, people [in Denmark] are very keen to watch films from the south,” Foss suggests of how his audiences respond to Spanish cinema. “It’s winter half of the year; it is dark, it is gloomy. If you can give them quality drama with a topping of olive trees and some sunny views, they are very eager to go. That’s not to say the films have to be light…but the setting does make a difference.”
Even though “Spanish film is not a huge presence in the Dutch and Benelux market,” Huub Roelvink’s Cherry Pickers has picked up some recent Spanish titles. They include Carmen & Lola and three of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s films including El Reino. “Those did quite nicely for us,” Roelvink says.
The managing director of the Amsterdam-based arthouse distributor was intrigued to come to the Malaga for the first time. “Since they were ramping it up a bit, I thought I would have a look and see,” he says. I know a couple of sales agents here. It’s nice to see them in a different context. And if you’re invited, it is always tempting, right?”
First-time attendee
Another first-time attendee is Franziska Gärtner who oversees acquisitions at Berlin-based X Verleih. “We usually meet our Spanish partners during the big international festivals and markets. But we want to get a deeper insight into the current Spanish film market. [Malaga’s Spanish Screenings] seems to be the perfect opportunity,” she says.
X Verleih is looking for international co-production opportunities as well as scouting for what would be its first Spanish acquisition. “There is a variety of Spanish directors that have their faithful following in our territory, but we are also looking to discover new talent,” Gärtner observes.
The Spanish Screenings have more titles than ever before with plenty of genre fare and comedies, even if local humour can be a tough sell outside its home territory. One title arthouse buyers agree is generating buzz is Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s Lullaby, sold by Latido.
Stefan Paul, CEO of German outfit, Arsenal Filmverleih, has picked up Spanish titles including Salvador Simó’s Buñuel In The Labyrinth Of The Turtles in recent years, but is in town to network as much as scout potential new additions to his slate.
“You have more time to talk to people,” says Paul of the event. “This is the advantage of a national film market before the big festivals. During Cannes, I would not spend so much time on Spanish films. [Here] I have a nice survey now of what is coming out and what is going on.”
Attendees, some of whom have been stuck at home since the pandemic, are happy to be out and about. “These things are always really valuable, You exchange so much information, between the lines as well,” Roelvink says.
Camera’s Foss shared a taxi from the airport to his hotel with a colleague from Poland, swapping information about releases and marketing strategies. “We already had an exchange before even checking into the hotel,” he says of the type of informal business encounter that isn’t possible on Zoom.
“You meet all the distributors from around Europe which is very important after Brexit and catch up with the sales agents between Berlin and Cannes. After two years’ absence, it’s good to come,” says Dena Blakeman, acquisitions executive at the UK’s New Wave Films.
Rene Wolf, head of acquisitions, at Amsterdam’s Eye Filmmuseum, programmes an annual season called “Previously Unreleased” for which he acquires rights for films which have “been on the market for a while which have been overlooked for distribution but are still interesting enough to be seen on the big screen,” as he puts it.
Films he sees this week may eventually surface in 2023. Wolf is an exhibitor as well as a distributor - so welcomes the chance to see titles like Alcarras. which will be distributed by September Films in the Netherlands, on the big screen in advance of showing them at EYE.
Theatrical priorities
Not that European arthouse buyers are under any illusion about the prospects for Spanish or any other films in a post-pandemic market. Most argue, though, that theatrical is still key to their businesses. Revenues from VoD remain skimpy and most see cinema releasing as crucial to building awareness of new titles.
“In Germany, the online business is really very slow, very little. All the German subsidies are based on the theatrical release. If you don’t release the film theatrically, you won’t get any subsidies for distribution,” says Paul.
Camera launched its own VoD platform in Denmark just before the pandemic. It now has 700 titles. “What I keep saying is that [streaming] is only the icing on the cake. I don’t see how we can sustain a living if we are supposed to generate substantial revenue from VoD,” Foss notes. “It is simply not happening.”
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