European film market leader on shielding sales agents
In May, the Berlin Film Festival Tanja Meissner named the director of Berlinale Pro*, a role that includes leading the European film market and supervises the co -production market of Berlinale, Berlinale Talents, the program for young filmmakers and the World Cinema Fund and the World Cinema Fund and the .
Meissner, a German-French citizen, has more than 25 years of experience in the film industry, including working at leading sales agencies Celluloid Dreams, from 2000 to 2007, and Memento Films, from 2007 to 2021.
Running the EFM is particularly challenging, because the core customers, the sales agents, are becoming increasing economic pressure. “The sales agents are still a very important link in the value chain for independent films, and if the market becomes too much smaller, it is favorable for no one,” says Meissner Variety. “So I am very aware of their cost sensitivity. We have kept the prizes at the same level as last year because we want to respond to the challenges with which they are confronted. ”
She adds: “Our role is to offer a hyperefficient infrastructure for them and to remain affordable.”
The EFM is not only a trading platform, but offers other possibilities for participants, the most important is the chance to network.
“Networking is a powerful tool that I wanted to improve at EFM,” she says. “I think Mingling is essential.” These opportunities include The Breakfast Club, The Happy Innovation Hour, A Dine and Shine Dining Event with Berlinal Talents and a mixer for festival programmers. The co -production market offers a different way to meet producers, financiers and filmmakers.
In addition to sales agents, Meissner plans to make EFM a hub for other people in the film industry. For example, she has introduced a distributor prize to recognize the commercial, social and political contribution of Distribution by both industry and society, which is ‘often undervalued’, she says. “When stories limits to borders, it promotes a deeper concept [between cultures and communities]. We often discuss the importance of promoting this kind of mutual understanding. This year the prize goes to Huub Roelvink from the film distribution of Cherry Pickers in the Netherlands.
Embracing technology and innovation is of growing importance for producers and is equipped with the EFM innovation hub. “I want to create relevant offers for producers who are really progressive and want to explore innovation and new business models,” says Meissner. “Technology is a real enabler and it is still a bit of a black box for many of us, but we must be technically skilled as an industry.”
She says that Berlin offers countless opportunities for ‘Peer -To -Learning’ at his best, through all its various activities. She adds that the company “has become so complex that you need a wide range of expertise”, especially for producers. “So that’s something we want to encourage.”
Meissner explains about the broad assignment of Berlinale Pro*that the festival wanted to make a platform that would serve all sectors of the industry. “This is a multi-perspective approach that we promote here,” she says. Priorities include career development and promoting innovation and social cohesion. “There is a lot of knowledge,” she says. “It is also about recognizing the power of community structure.”
Series remain an important focus for Berlinal Pro*, and his efforts are channeled through Berlinal Series Market Selects, which is in his 11th year. Many companies now produce both films and series, and the streaming platforms have “a more cinematic approach to telling stories,” says Meissner, and “It’s important for markets to acknowledge that.” EFM and Variety Working together this year on a day of panels devoted to series.
Berlinale Chief Tricia Tuttle and Meissner have been established that the EFM and the other industrial activities remain under the direction of Meissner in “close to the closeness” of the festival, both geographically and operational, and there are many synergies that exist between the two. The career of the German director-writer Nora Fingscheidt illustrates this. In 2017 she participated in the talents of Berlinale and was the same year in the Berlin script station, where she wrote ‘System Crosser’, who won the Zilveren Beer van Berlin in 2019 and became the German Oscar candidate. Then, last year, Fingscheidt’s “The Outrun” played in the Berlinale and was nominated for two Baftas.
“As an image for that kind of careers we see it as a spiral,” says Meissner. “To be able to build on something and then come back. It provides a very healthy pipeline. It is a way to ensure that there are synergies between the emerging talent in industry and are a springboard to make a sustainable career out of their talent. “
Another example is the Spanish filmmaker Carla Simón, who had various projects on the co-production market of Berlin, and won the best first function prize in Berlin with “Summer 1993” and the Golden Bear with “Alcarràs”.
