When the film and TV industry emerges from self-isolation to a forever altered landscape, one silver lining will be the online savvy newly gained by traditionally digitally-shy businesses, some of whom have reacted with lightning speed to devise virtual showcases.
“There is so much that’s been changing already in our business that we’ve adapted to, and that will continue. Will it accelerate as a result of all this? Probably.” Oliver Bachert, executive VP of the “Atlantic Crossing” producer-distributor, says, “For us, the value of a market like Berlin or MipTV is to create buzz and serve as a catalyst to push forward, so our challenge was how to transfer that to the virtual space.”
“We saw it coming and worked out in advance,” explains Armoza Formats boss Avi Armoza, who launched virtual marketplace ArmozaFest the day after Reed Midem pulled the plug on the troubled spring TV event. The value in a virtual market, says the executive, is having the structure to converse with buyers and get the ball rolling on pre-production, as well as plan for the industry’s inevitable resurrection.
Emmanuelle Namiech, CEO of London-based distributor Passion, which has leaned heavily into a pop-up showcase of its own, echoes Sarro’s observation. “Ultimately, our business remains a relationships business where programming is the product, but people are the key resource.”