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“EFM continues to open ears to the consumers while at the same time strives to renew itself,” said Beki Probst, the president of the European Film Market (EFM). The EFM which is held during the Berlin International Film Festival is the first opportunity of the year to see the trends of the international film market. With the film industry continuously changing, film markets are also focusing on the tastes of the consumers. Let’s look at the trend seen at the 2015 EFM in Berlin.

How would you describe the trend at EFM this year?
Beki: The film industry continues to strive for innovation while how the consumers spend on films have changed over time. The EFM is also looking for new changes in the industry. Currently, the audiences are interested in TV series. That’s because of the Drama Series Days we’ve launched. However, we don’t plan to become a market for TV. It will continue to be a market with its focus on films.

 

Due to the recession in Europe, I heard that the sales for Korean films have also been in decline.
Beki: There’s something I always say to questions such as this. Even at a grocery market, in order to sell their apples the farmers try to grow them perfectly that gear towards consumer’s tastes. That is the only way the apples will be sold. The same thing applies to films. If it’s a good film, it won’t matter if we’re experience recession or not.

 

What do you think are the differences between EFM, Cannes, and HK Filmart?
Mattijas: Recently, buyers and sales companies from China, Japan and other parts of Asia has been expanding. Especially China. EFM is always waiting for more Asian participation. We can see the influence they’re making in the industry.

Beki: There are no markets that are the same. Of course Cannes is the biggest. Hong Kong is also becoming more influential. However, they all have their unique characteristics. So I don’t see a point why EFM and the others should be compared. But what is important about EFM is that it’s the first market of the year. Timing-wise, that’s the biggest difference.

It seems like you’re focusing more on TV contents lately.
Mattijas: TV contents won’t become the main focus of EFM. We’re a film market. Of course broadcast buyers have been coming to the market to find film sales companies for a while. If a film sales company wants to meet with a European TV buyer, EFM is the best place to do it. There will be more daring attempts with TV contents in the future but it won’t be the major focus.

 

European Depression Influences EFM
This year’s most talked about issue at the EFM was the European depression. With the financial difficulties, European buyers wasn’t as open to purchasing international titles and many attendees have commented that EFM was more slower than usual. However, as it is the first place to get a taste of the year’s international line-ups, companies hoping to show great films to the world were at the market, looking for new works. American Film Market (AFM) has also been dying down and with the depression in Europe, EFM is also becoming slower. It seemed like the Korean film companies are focusing more on introducing the films rather than selling them.

 

Showbox/Mediaplex Inc.‘s JUNG Soo-jin commented, “It’s true the vibrancy at EFM has died down. It’s quiet but the European buyers are interested in the intense action thrillers from Korea. Also marketing Korean films through the Korean wave is important. In that point of view, Asia and Hong Kong Filmart became more important to Korean marketers. But since EFM is the first market to start off the year, it’s still important. Many are interested in Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island this year. With the success its original Detective K, the buyers are familiar with the title and are showing interest.”

 

CJ Entertainment’s international sales team manager, KIM Sung-eun said, “As it is the first market of the year, EFM is a place where each of the companies reveal their line-ups. After attending EFM, there’s Cannes in May. More films will be sold in Cannes, but the response from EFM is important.” Ode to My Father which was invited to the Panorama section of Berlin International Film Festival is doing well at EFM. KIM added, “The response to the film is positive. We’re already seeing sales. We have our hopes up for Veteran and Empire of Lust as well.” Not only that, the South American market is also booming. “With the increased activity from Latin America, more and more industries are paying attention to the region. Number of sales have also been increasing due to more active relationships. Meeting the actual buyer is important so we’re looking towards Latin American market as well.”

9ers Entertainment’s CHOI Eun-young said, “I can feel the impact of the European depression. I’ve met with buyers from Germany, France and Turkey this year. In Previous years, I’ve met with buyers from Spain, Italia and Greece bas well but there weren’t many from those regions this year,” mentioning that attendees from the aforementioned countries have dropped.

 

M-Line’s SON Min-kyung also pointed out the decreased market size. “KIM Ki-duk, Hong Sangsoo, PARK Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho and NA Hong-jin are favored in Europe. But with the market’s depression, the works sold are becoming more and more specific. Also, the number of Korean films released in an international theater have also dropped.”

 

Market’s Influence Wears Off in the Online Era
Some say that as online screening becomes more common, the power of the film market has decreased. A Korean film marketer said, “It’s no doubt the activity at markets have become weak. Few years ago, we weren’t able to see films if we didn’t attend the market nor could we meet with the buyers. But after online screening facilities became more common, people can watch films in advance and contact the sales company. There are more times the contract is signed over email than at the market,” emphasizing that this is the reason why attendees have decreased. But the marketer also added that film industry is based on relationships and that the attendees will still continue to participate at the market. “Market booths are not just for buyers to get in touch with the sales companies. Industry professionals also meet here and if one doesn’t attend, it might be disadvantageous to their work. Especially at international markets, consistency is important, The markets give priority to companies that had booths in the previous year, so it might be harder to book a booth if you don’t attend regularly.”

 

 
EFM Acts as Stepping Stone for International Markets
United Pictures’ SHIN Ji-min said that they attend all international markets. United Pictures boasts for a diverse line-up as it is composed of works from OPUS Pictures, Zip Cinema and BK Pictures. “Each production company have its own unique color, so we’re able to meet diverse buyers who are looking for different films. The hottest title right now is Black Priests starring KIM Yun-seok and GANG Dong-won. Through The Thieves, Haemoo, and The Chaser, KIM Yun-seok became a familiar name to the buyers. GANG is also quite popular with previous works like Woochi and KUNDO: Age of the Rampant.” Meeting at EFM is important because the buyers and sales companies more likely to connect again at Cannes. Although there might not be an actual sales happening at the EFM, that’s why many still attend.

 

Of course, there are some areas that EFM could improve. It has a good system and it does its job for the purpose of a marketplace, but the major setback is the distance of the market location to the film festival area, which is far away in comparison to Cannes and the Cannes market. An attendee of the EFM commented, “It’s hard to meet with the festival attendees unless we go to a red carpet event. For Cannes, the festival and the market place is relatively close so you can feel the festive energy all around. Whereas EFM is more on the quiet side.”

 

First time participant at EFM is More In Group’s LEE Shin-jae who saw the market in a positive light. LEE thought that if it’s a good film, it’ll have a chance to find a new vision in the European market. “It’s true the market was impacted by the financial woes, but it’s a good place to bring films that will speak to the audiences of Europe. For example, The Tenor Lirico Spinto had a hard time being distributed in Korea, but the market here has more potential as its subject matter is interesting to European buyers. We showed the film to 30-40 different countries and many cried, clapped and enjoyed the film together. It has been sold to Israel and countries like France, Swiss, Spain, Italia and Germany are showing interest.”