Two panels at the San Sebastián Film Festival framed on Tuesday multiple challenges faced by the European and Latin American artfilms industries-- and also some possible solutions.

Challenges are the same for both film industries, but situations different. Both, Latin American and European artfilms, need broader international circulation, for Latin American films beginning with other countries in Latin America itself. But some solutions were proffered by the two panels.

As of today, Latin American art and crossover films sell better to Europe than in their own region. Although selling well abroad,European are commanding lower prices.

There is also a difficulty in snagging theatrical releases, which strongly reduces international sales’ potential returns, said Vicente Canales at Film Factory Entertainment.

In Brazil, some benefits of distributing European art movies derive from their growing status as niche films. According to Ana Luiza Beraba at distrib Esfera, local audiences for European movies have become a highly specific market, formed bywomen over 40 years-old, which, however, has made European films distribution more protected against piracy.

Latin American film industries are fueled by local governments, conscious ever more of the value of film as culture and industry. For example, film incentives by promotion office Cinema do Brasil are boosting theatrical releases, increasing Brazilian films’ international markets, according to agency Ancine head Manoel Rangel.

Recent initiatives such as Filminlatino, an alliance of Mexico’s Imcine Film Institute and Spain’s online service Filmin, or Pantalla Caci, the educational VOD platform launched by the Ibero-American film agencies, suggest some step-up in the search for solutions for films’ circulation in the digital domain.

“We are facing a panorama with which we need to be receptive across a broad front,” said Imcine head Jorge Sanchez.

Organized by UniFrance in partnership with Cinépolis, a now consolidated yearly French film rendez-vous in more than 45 Mexican cities has provoked upbeat reactions, making French cinema more familiar among local audiences, according to distrib Alfhaville Cinema’s Alfonso López García de Alba.

Zentropa Spain’s David Matamoros praised this formula and suggested that the initiative could well be replicated by other European film promotion agencies, and even by groups of sales agents.

Hosted by the San Sebastian Festival’s IV Europe-Latin America Co-production Forum, panels were backed by Catalan producers Federation Proa and the Ibero- American Ibermedia Program.

EMILIANO DE PABLOS