During this edition of CIIF Market, several days of conferences and keynotes have been scheduled, in which experienced professionals have been discussed and discussed on cinematographic and audiovisual news. These have been followed via live streaming through our YouTube channel , which during the days of the market has recorded more than a thousand views of its contents.
On Wednesday, April 28, the conference “UPDATE ON THE TAX INCENTIVE” was held, given by Jaime Sanz , director of Macaronesia Films .
Natacha Mora, coordinator of Canary Islands Film ; and Pilar Moreno , Director of Investment Attraction at PROEXCA (a public company attached to the Ministry of Economy, Knowledge and Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands), discussed the audiovisual sector in the Canary Islands and the work carried out by their respective departments.
Natacha Mora spoke about the subsidies for audiovisual productions, the training plan, the promotion of the Canarian audiovisual, aid for market assistance, professional advice, and support for events carried out by the audiovisual department of the Government of the Canary Islands.
Pilar Moreno, for her part, declared that the fundamental objective of Proexca is the internationalization of Canarian companies and the attraction of strategic investments to the Islands . “Currently, it is very difficult to attract foreign investment with digital formats, which is why we greatly value holding the face-to-face part of the CIIF Market at this time,” he stated.
For Jaime Sanz, the audiovisual reality in the Canary Islands, despite the current difficulties due to Covid-19, is a dynamic sector that has been able to continue , thanks to the work that the Administrations have been doing, which have been able to react quickly. He summarized the tax innovations imposed on cinema in the last year in the Canary Islands and remarked that “The Canary Islands are undoubtedly already a first-rate cinematographic destination , not only at a technical and legal level, but also at an industrial level”.
You can see the conference again at this link .
On Thursday, April 29, the Keynote took place “EVOLUTION AND TRENDS OF FICTION IN SPAIN: CONFLUENCE OF FORMATS AND SITUATION OF INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTION BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF PLATFORMS” , in which we have David Martínez , director of Fiction Content at Secuoya Studios; and Antonio Saura , CEO of Latido Films .
With the presence of Jairo López, manager of the Canary Islands Audiovisual Cluster , moderator of the presentation and who reviewed fiction in the Canary Islands and its transformation.
Antonio Saura spoke about the development and variation of fiction in cinema, he crossover of formats towards television through the entry of the platforms, the radicalization of the selection of festivals, the current position of independent distribution in the face of these continuous changes, the most recent trends and what is to come in the immediate future.
The general director of Latido Films talked about how the market and legislation are influencing content, having a clear impact on creation. “There is an increasing polarization of content. The way in which films are made is changing, there is an algorithmic dictate, an evolution of fiction to those groups that are represented in the majority and that have information on how we consume, so it seems that everything that is not that is left out” .
“For this reason, if we talk about movies, not series, the festivals are including a different type of cinema to the one offered on a platform, betting on other types of more formal languages, not differing in the narrative, in the type of stories, but in how those stories are told. We try to have a plurality of offer in Latido, and we don’t take more than 20 movies per year. We don’t want to focus on just one type of product, that makes us work and risk more and the difference is created in how to sell that film.”
Antonio Saura also spoke about the objectives of the recently created association VICA (International Sellers of Audiovisual Content), which he chairs and of which Filmax, Film Factory and Latido Films are part, three companies that represent the largest volume of films produced in Spain, having developed fundamental work in recent years in the promotion of Spanish cinema in the markets and in the international festivals. “It is necessary to create an association that brings together the interests of sales agencies, which allows us to give a united voice in those forums and debates where it is essential to assess the importance of the international market to help guarantee the international viability of the cinema we represent, and I hope that many more agencies will join”.
For his part, David Martínez, made a tour of the transition that has taken place in Spanish fiction in recent years, reaching the present, with the search for niche audiences, “something that was impossible before because you had to reach an audience wider on televisions. Now instead the niche is the business, horror fiction, black comedy, comics, have increased considerably, and with it the market has increased, since they have a very recognizable narrative structure and travel better than comedy, which contains a cultural element that is very difficult to sell abroad”, he pointed out.
“At Secuoya Studios we are looking for those trends, those new niches, listening to the platforms and looking for new stories that fit the profile and strategy set. Right now there are two ways to produce series, the search for an original production; and another model that is close to the traditional one of the cinema, try to pre-finance the series, selling windows, that is, risking money because the product is created and in windows that can be profitable and have not yet been marketed. At Secuoya we are on both sides and we pay attention to the platforms to see what they are looking for, local products that have tremendous success in the territory where they are broadcast and that at the same time can travel, the so-called “glocal” content.
“In the investigation of these new audiences and with the impact of social networks, what there is is a search for the young adult, the “young adult”, who is a prescriber, a young person active in networks that makes the marketing strategy work. Right now, thanks to the platforms, series in different languages can work beyond their borders, this has always been taboo in the cinema, watching original movies with subtitles, but with the arrival of VOD this has been achieved with the series.
The Director of Fiction Sequoia Studios also advanced the next projects of the production company, announcing in scoop that They are developing a youth comedy series to be shot in Tenerife and another great series with international windows (Latin America, USA, Germany…) which will take place at the end of August on Easter Island. He also talked about the ambitious production of “El Zorro” . “We are very excited about the series, which we hope to start filming next year in the mythical studios in the Tabernas desert, in Almería,” he declared.
“It is a unique moment of great opportunities, with an expanding market, Spanish is one of the assets that is growing the most in the world, backed by indisputable successes here in Spain with “La casa de papel”, “Las chicas del cable “, among other series, or “The hole” in terms of movies. We must take advantage of the talent and creation that is being done and that has been done in Spain. We have shown that we are at the level of the best cinematographies in the world and now we are also doing it with audiovisual fiction , thanks to the promotion and internationalization of content with the arrival of platforms. We have to let go of complexes and be all together”, he concluded.
Keynote available at this link .
On Friday, April 30, the last day of conferences was held, with the Keynote “FROM BOOKS TO CINEMA AND TV, HOW TO DEAL WITH PLATFORMS”, offered by Sydney Borjas , general director of Scenic Rights.
He was accompanied by Concha Diaz Ferrer, coordinator of Tenerife Film Commission, who spoke about the 20 years that the TFC has recently celebrated, positioning itself on the island as an international benchmark for hosting all kinds of audiovisual productions and value the talent of local companies and the commitment of the companies that have decided settle in Tenerife to work in the sector. Having as next objectives to continue advancing in the digital transformation and in the development of the special effects sector.
With offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Prague, Scenic Rights is the Leading agency in the Hispanic market representing intellectual properties of the most important authors and creatives in Spain, Latam and US Hispanics, which has led her to be present in more than a hundred projects in different phases (“Hernán”, “El Cid”, “La Templanza”, “Memorias de Idhún”, “Promesas de arena”, “La Cocinera de Castamar”etc.).
In the last six years, Scenic Rights has reached agreements with more than 50 publishing houses and literary agencies that represent 95% of the most important authors in Spanish. They currently have some 120 projects in development and production in fifteen countries. His next objectives are to open new paths to the adaptation of Hispanic authors in Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia.
Sydney Borjas reeled off the keys when analyzing a book for its possible adaptation to screens. “Audiences are currently connected horizontally and Spain has become a reference center for international quality thanks to the recent successes of series such as “La casa de papel” or Élite”. There is an admiration for Spain, to the productions that are made, both at a creative and artistic level, as well as a technical one. Before, for example, in Latin America Spanish series were not seen and now they are sweeping, this was difficult to think of 15 years ago. I would almost say a leap has been made planetary of productions”, he stated.
“In all of this, the role of literature is being fundamental, conditioned by a technical and economic nature and another of a risk investment nature, in terms of content and the authorial part, which makes everything connected. The Anglo-Saxon world has always been governed by copyright rules different from those of European and Latin American continental law, where the so-called moral right of the book is taken more into account, but now this model is also being applied in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom… and it has to do precisely with that horizontal connection of the market and the audiences, due to the impact that not only the platforms are having, but also the international studios and the large production hubs.”
The director of Scenic Rights also stated that “With the adaptation of bestsellers, you have an audience predisposed to see it. An advantageous starting point. And this has weight at the business level and at the level of content bets. The value price of a book has to do with the book itself, if it is a bestseller, if it is written by a brand author, sales in other countries, translations that have been made, etc., all of that counts. when “opting” a book. There have even been series or films based on literary works, which have led to more books being sold, that is, the literary/editorial and audiovisual sectors feed each other” .
“The value of a book usually rises to 3% of the direct cost of production in the case of cinema, and 2.5% in the case of television. This difference of half a point is derived from the fact that on television additional payments are usually made for each episode produced. These percentages generally have a floor price and a ceiling price, because there are other expenses that skyrocket. The normal thing is that the ceiling is double the floor price, more or less it is established that way,” he emphasized.
“Once the direct cost of production is defined, that is what the percentage is applied to, and the resulting price is the value of intellectual property. It is not something that is legislated, but they are conventions when it comes to negotiating that are within the standard. Then come the adjustments, since you have to take into account that the prices have to be adapted to the reality of your market, a Netflix series shot in the US is not the same as it is in Colombia, Uruguay… the platforms use the prices local market and adapted to the audiences”, he clarified.
The full Keynote can be viewed at this link .
