27 June 2005

Focus on Europe
Close-up on European cinema

“Will Digital be the Savior of European Film?” With this question and a seminar devoted to the opportunities offered by digital technology to European cinema, the Focus on Europe event organised by MEDIA Salles opens today at Cinema Expo International in Amsterdam. The speakers at the seminar, chaired by MEDIA Salles’ Secretary General, Elisabetta Brunella, and introduced by the Treasurer, Mike Vickers, will be Joachim Ph. Wolff, Scientific advisor to MEDIA Salles’ "European Cinema Yearbook" and Chairman of The Netherlands Foundation for Film Research, Nico Simon, Chief Executive Officer of Utopia (with movie theatres in Luxemburg, Belgium, The Netherlands, France), Florent Bugeau, Head of Distribution of Rézo Films (France), David Gajda, Vice President of Access IT (United States).

For 4 days, until 30 June, European cinema will be in the limelight, thanks to a range of initiatives including the screening of the European Film of the Year, Merry Christmas, by the French director Christian Carion, trailers of the most significant recent productions, as well as meetings and prize-giving ceremonies. Such as the “International Directors of the Year" Award which will be presented to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, at “A Salute to European Film” on Tuesday 28 June at 8.30 pm and, on Thursday 30 June from 1.30 pm onwards, the "International Star Award" to Bruno Ganz and the MEDIA Salles’ "European Producer of the Year" Award to Elda Ferri, producer of films of the caliber of Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni, The House Keys by Gianni Amelio, Jona Who Lived in the Whale and According to Pereira by Roberto Faenza.
It is the award presented to the Italian producer that will be the centre of an important new initiative by MEDIA Salles, which will be making its debut at Amsterdam: Italian Cinema Worldwide. Conceived along the same lines as Focus on Europe, Italian Cinema Worldwide focuses on a particular aspect of Europe’s rich film-making tradition, Italian cinema. In this project, made possible thanks to the support of the Italian Government, MEDIA Salles will turn the limelight on the latest productions from Italy at some of the main professional meetings of cinema exhibitors, such as Kino Expo in Russia and CineAsia in China, thus crossing the threshold of markets that have traditionally seen the almost exclusive presence of US films.

For the duration of the event, MEDIA Salles is present at the “Trade Show” (Booths 112-114), where the “European Cinema Yearbook” and informative material concerning the most recent European productions are available to participants, thanks to the collaboration of European Film Promotion and the national film agencies.

Cinema Expo International is the traditional meeting for European exhibitors, which brings together over 1,200 professional operators from all countries. The event includes seminars on different aspects of the cinema industry and the presentation of films about to be released. The programme of Cinema Expo International includes an exhibition of equipment and services for cinemas, from theatre design to the most technologically advanced products.

The MEDIA Salles project operates within the framework of the European Union's MEDIA Programme, with the support of the Italian Government.
The end objective of MEDIA Salles is to foster theatrical distribution of European audiovisual products. This aim is pursued both by high profile campaigns involving Europe's cinema exhibitors and by initiatives to raise the visibility of European productions with industry players and potential audiences, creating specialized information channels on a global scale. Thus the current initiatives from MEDIA Salles dovetail in a program with a triple focus - training, promotion and information - and maximum combined effect.

MEDIA Salles
Via Soperga, 2 – I-20127 Milan
Tel.: +39.02.66984405 – Fax: +39.02.6691574
E-mail: infocinema@mediasalles.it