Cannes Take-Away's

Distilled takeaways from the market and where the opportunities are ahead

It’s been a minute…. my last newsletter was a couple weeks ago entitled Industry Turmoil, Cannes Opportunities, and Picking Apart Projects. So while you’re getting settled into a new week, I wanted to give you a few quick updates since this last post…

Well as you can probably tell by reading the trades (pick any publication!), industry turmoil continues with strikes, threats of more strikes, layoffs, cutbacks, productions cancelled, and more more more doom and gloom.

Despite all that (!) - I’d like to keep focusing on the opportunities and where those are for folks like us…. independent filmmakers and creators of all stripes plus independent production companies who can be nimble and creative in their approach to generating and selling their work (very much a sweet spot right now).

I opted not to attend Cannes this year as I had some production and post-production issues that needed dealing with at home and were more of a priority than attending the market. We had a project pre-selling there that my sales agents are more than qualified to do in my absence and in fact, reported back more positive results than I expected. Win!

Even though I didn’t attend Cannes, I’ve spoken to all of my contacts that did and can boil down a couple opportunities and take-aways for you right here….

FIRST - if you’re sitting on a completed film or one in post, we’re seeing pandemic-level demand for completed features right now as buyers stock pile finished product in preparation for a supply shortage later in the year and next, brought on by strike-induced production slow downs.

---

---

I had paused my Distribution Consulting services this year due to enough supply in the market, but now that demand is picked back up I’m going to put together a small slate of completed or post-production stage films to help strategize and guide distribution and leverage favorable market conditions. If you’re interested in working together in that capacity, or you’re a small production company looking to strategize how to navigate current market conditions on your own slate, just email me at stacey@filmspecific.com and send more details on the project and we’ll go from there.

---

SECOND - if you’re sitting on anything unscripted, documentary, or low cost scripted series that is created and can be shot internationally, I believe there’s strong opportunities there. I’m playing in these arenas myself and will report back as I go but I’m using MIPCOM in October as a goal post for getting some projects to market and adapting them for the current realities. I’m actually most excited about these opportunities as I believe it’s aligned perfectly with where future production, commissioning, and distribution trends are headed anyway.

OK I won’t overwhelm you with too much today as I know we’re all just tuning back into work after what seems like a prolonged holiday (lol)… but wanted to touch base and plant the seeds with some positive industry updates.

So I’ll wrap things up here... more coming soon and don’t forget you can post any questions you have in the comments section below.

Thanks!

To your success,

Stacey

++++++++++++++