The inaugural Australian Feature Film Summit has today unveiled a dynamic line up of sessions and world-class speakers for its virtual event taking place on Friday 22 October 2021 from 10.30AM-3.30PM (AEST).
Bringing exhibitors and distributors together with filmmakers for the first time; stage one features a bumper program designed to inform, empower, and set the stage for the in-person Summit in February 2022, with the ultimate mission to grow the success of the Australian feature film sector.
Speakers at the virtual event include a number of forward-thinking leaders in their field including Joel Pearlman (CEO Roadshow Films); Claire Gandy (General Manager Content, Event Cinemas); Stephen Basil-Jones (Executive Vice President, Sony Pictures Entertainment); Jodi Matterson (Producer, Made Up Stories); Frank Perikleous (Managing Director, Comscore); Kristian Connelly (General Manager Cinema Nova); and David Court (Executive Director Compton School).
“The focus for stage one is to really drill down into what success looks like for Australian feature films and what we can learn from this,” says Summit Convenor, Gino Munari. “Until now, no other forum has effectively brought together exhibitors, distributors, producers, creatives, investors, and screen agencies into the one ‘room’ with a joint focus on building on the success of the local feature film sector. It’s a prelude to the main event in February next year and all filmmakers, distributors, exhibitors and investors are encouraged to join and contribute their ideas.”
Summit Director, Sue Maslin AO continued: “Box office data and audience insight confirms that Australian films often behave differently to Hollywood films and usually have far less marketing spend to support the initial launch. Yet the competitive nature of the theatrical market means that in order to succeed, Australian films must open strongly or run the risk of reduced sessions or being dropped very quickly from the programming schedule. It is time to look at how we can all be more collaborative and strategic in finding audiences for local films – from the ideas writers create and the films producers choose to develop, to how marketing is financed and films programmed by exhibitors.”
The full program has now been released and registrations open at: www.affsummit.com.au