The coming edition of the San Sebastian Festival’s European Film Forum, running on Tuesday, September 22 from 3 to 4.45 pm and broadcast live on the Festival website, will reflect on the challenges and opportunities faced by the European audiovisual industry in the context triggered by Covid-19. It will also make an in depth analysis of how this situation is affecting the European audiovisual sector, which was already undergoing a process of transformation in its business models and structure due to the digital revolution.

The European recovery plan, Next Generation EU, recently approved by the European Commission, will serve as the framework for reflecting on and discussing the actions that institutions and organisations at different levels must introduce to their plans in order to reactivate the audiovisual ecosystem.

The discussion will start by analysing the effect of the crisis on the sector and by setting the scene for the new landscape.

Along the same lines, the first panel will look at further incentives and measures for recovery. Representatives of audiovisual funding and regulatory institutions and organisations will present the different measures taken during the most critical phase of the pandemic; especially, those to encourage the creation and renewal of the fabric of the European audiovisual industry.

The second panel will focus on the transformation that the sector is experiencing. After Covid-19, the crisis in the production and distribution structures of independent cinema will probably require some changes. The panelists will address questions that concern the professionals such as: What scenario will European independent production operate in after the pandemic? Or, what new funding and distribution models can be consolidated from now on? Will this crisis be used to standardise more sustainable practices in line with the “green shooting” movement? What new opportunities may emerge after the increase in the consumption of audiovisual contents online?

The diversification of business models and audiovisual formats, the collaboration between the different links of the audiovisual value chain, experimentation and technological innovation or the capacity to adapt to different scenarios may be values on the rise in the future of the European audiovisual sector.

INTRODUCTION AND MODERATION

• AC Coppens. Founder and CEO of The Catalysts (Germany)

WELCOME

• Joxean Muñoz Otaegi, Department of Culture and Linguistic Policy Advisor - Basque Government (Spain)
• Beatriz Navas, Director of the Institute of Cinematography and the Audiovisual Arts - ICAA (Spain)

PRESENTATION – THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE EUROPEAN A/V SECTOR

• Gilles Fontaine, Head of the Department for Market Information at the European Audiovisual Observatory (France)

PANEL 1: INCENTIVES AND MEASURES FOR RECOVERY

Speakers:

• Lucía Recalde, Head of Unit Audiovisual Industry and Media Support Programmes, European Commission, (Belgium)
• Luis Chaby. President of EFAD (European Film Agency Directors Association) and President of the Board of Directors of ICA (Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual, Portugal)
• Peter Dinges,  CEO FFA – German Federal Film Board (Germany)
• Iole Maria Giannattasio. Research Unit Coordinator, DG Cinema e Audiovisivo, MiBACT (Italy)

+ Q&A

PANEL 2: TOWARDS A TRANSFORMATION OF THE EUROPEAN INDUSTRY

Speakers:

• Álvaro Longoria, President of the European Producers Club. Producer and member of Morena Films. (Spain)
• François Yon, Partner and Head of Sales and Business Development of the Playtime Group (France)
• Álex Martínez Roig, Content Manager at Movistar+ (Spain)

+ Q&A

FINAL CONCLUSIONS