By Ramesh Mathew
Even as panellists raised, shared and debated their concerns on the issues faced by the film world on “producing and distributing independent and international films in the global market” at the Doha Talks held as part of the Tribeca Film Festival 2009, the audience took them to task, demanding to understand the “realities” that the industry encounters.
The session, moderated by Tribeca’s chief creative officer Geoff Gilmore, saw heated discussions.
Sandy Climan, British Academy Award winner and president of Entertainment Media Ventures Inc, an active US media investment company, said: “It is great to be an entrepreneur but it is too tough a job to run a media company at a time when the industry is faced with too many challenges”.
“From my more than three decades of industry experience, I have no hesitation to record that the last 15 years have been extremely tough for the films everywhere, and no region is an exception,” he said.
Palestinian-born film director Hany Abu Assad said even though people like him were keen on experimenting new themes and exploring new strategies, there was virtually none to back up such projects. “Probably, because the market in the Arab region barring Egypt is too small.”
Abu-Assad, who was nominated for the Academy Award, said the Arab film producers had suffered badly in the absence of proper business plans. “Even though the region’s production costs are much lower than most other frontline film producing nations, most producers fail to realise that the market too is very small.”
“While the youngsters everywhere are influenced by American movies, Arab film world, including those from Egypt, is facing an uncertainty,” he said.
Producer Cat Villiers, already working on some joint ventures with some of the region’s actors and producers, insisted that the world scene was not that disappointing as some participants were claiming. “There have been a number of good movies across the world in different markets that have been culturally and economically successful, at least in the last one decade.”
Film producer and entrepreneur Bob Berney said it was unfortunate that a number of directors overlooked audience point of view in their creations and found fault with the industry when films flopped at the box-office. Without taking audience into confidence, no film-maker could ever be successful, he argued. He attributed to lack of support the desperate situation of international movies in USA. |
