The 12th edition of the Geneva Digital Market (GDM), the Swiss event focused on audiovisual innovation, opens today (November 4) with its signature mix of masterclasses, discussions and networking
The GDM, which takes place during the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF), is moving this year from Radio Télévision Suisse’s shiny floor studios to GIFF’s main venue Théâtre Pitoëff in order to locate the event in the heart of the festival action.
“While it was impressive to go into a working television studio it was also a bit tricky for us to have a physical venue separating our market activities from the festival,” says GDM head of industry Mathieu Gayet, who returns for his second year at the helm of GIFF’s industry strand.
“It’ll be a challenge for us to stage the range of industry events in the festival’s main theatre but at the same time it will be easier for everyone to attend.”
The 200-plus seat Pitoëff Theatre at GIFF will be readied and used by GDM during the day before being returned to its cinema screen glory for GIFF’s evening screenings.
“We plan to close the market every day early, around 4.30pm, to give people opportunities to share a coffee or beer on site before going to enjoy the virtual experiences,” says Gayet. “It is the synergy we are looking for with GIFF’s lineup and the market goers. My fantasy is that people from the cinema industry will be interested in immersive, immersive industry will understand what the TV industry is doing and so on,” says Gayet. “There is opportunities for every professional to learn things and to have new light shed on innovation, the direction the audio-visual industry is traveling.”
The GDM is also upping its matchmaking service, a tailor-made web-based meetings programme between participants and international programmers and curators, both on site and online open to every accredited person.
This year the web platform operates from November 1 to 15, extended to run after the festival officially closes Nov. 10.
“I’m pushing that extension so when accredited professionals leave Geneva they can still connect with people they’ve met and rendezvous with people after,” Gayet says.
It will also be available for accredited professionals who do not make it to the Swiss city. “That’s important for us, because it will help continue discussions whether you were onsite or not and boost business.”
For 2024, the GDM has partnered with Migros Culture Percentage Story Lab, the Swiss-based foundation that helps digital projects or audio visual projects get going, for pitching sessions. “We have two Swiss pitching sessions and one international strand, with 15 projects in the mix,” Gayet notes.
Installations and large scale XR projects are among the international project hopefuls alongside 360, online content, interactive large scale and location- based projects. “Producers are eager to find an audience and the pitching sessions should help,” Gayet says.
The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the creative industries will also be examined during GDM’s four days: Joseph Couch, co-founder and CTO of Australian research lab Othelia Story Technologies will deliver an assessment of the opportunities and challenges that come with using AI. Couch will argue that done right, using AI can spark originality; done wrong, it risks producing generic content and harming the creative economy. The solution lies in thoughtful product design and innovative business models, he will posit.
Additionally, Rémi Tereszkiewicz, CEO of France’s BetaSeries, will examine how AI can improve the TV series business model.
“Last year, we did a bunch of workshops on AI because we wanted to take the audience by the hand to the topic and build the discussion. This year, because AI is evolving so fast, we are shifting to examining it as an everyday tool now,” says Gayet. “The audiovisual industries use AI every day to write text, create mood boards, to help process post-production, voiceovers. AI is becoming more of a tool and we are not afraid of it now.”
Further high-profile GDM events will include a discussion on the trend in immersive entertainment in cinemas, a panel on the potential for interactive live broadcasting and an presentation set to deliver an insight into the research and development (R&D) department at the BBC.
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