EFP sets up umbrella office for the 10th time for Production and Sales Companies
at the 29th American Film Market (Nov. 5-12, 2008)
Great Response for European Meeting Point at AFM
2008 marks the tenth time in which European Film Promotion (EFP) is running an umbrella office for European sales agents and production companies at the American Film Market (AFM). With the financial support from the EU's MEDIA Programme this year, 28 industry professionals from 13 different countries will be registered at EFP's operating base located at the market headquarters in the Loews Hotel, suite 812, in Santa Monica. The umbrella office provides the necessary business services, thus giving small and medium-sized companies the opportunity to attend the AFM with the aim of making important business contacts.
"We are very happy to celebrate our 10th time at the AFM", says EFP's president and Managing Director of Holland Film, Claudia Landsberger. "Our partners at the AFM organisation have always found a way to accommodate us very well and, over the years, it feels like we have become a bit like family. The AFM is a key market on the calendar between Toronto, Rome and Berlin and it is the right time to meet our American, Asian and South American friends. We hope to do good business again in our suite at the Loews and look forward to meeting old and new friends. We are very pleased to announce that this year we have found a great co-host for our annual cocktail reception, The Hollywood Reporter, with whom we already have a long standing partnership in Berlin at our Shooting Stars event and in Cannes with Producers on the Move. This partnership will be very helpful in creating new connections to the American industry. Also, a new event will be a special screening series for some of our Foreign Language Academy Award(R) entries and I look very much forward to welcoming international distributors to screening these films together with professionals from Hollywood."
Between 1998 and 2008, 167 European sales and production companies were registered at the umbrella office, most of them several times. Some participants such as Belgium's PPA Producers & Publishers Agency have been registered at EFP's umbrella office since the beginning. A new participating member country in 2008 is Poland, represented by two companies, Polish Film Institute and Gremi Film Productions. According to Maciej Karpiński, Deputy Director/International Relations at the Polish Film Institute, "As the markets from Eastern Europe continue to open and experience strong growth, there is increasing interest from our companies in attending this important market in the heart of the filmmaking capital of the world. In addition, EFP's newly established screenings during the AFM will provide a solid and vital source of support to sales agents and producers attending this event.'"
During the AFM, EFP will organise for the first time a series of film screenings which have been selected as the national Academy Award(R) submission for Best Foreign Language Film.
Recognised as one of the most important international film markets, the AFM hosts over 8,100 film executives in Santa Monica. The AFM also organises top industry seminars and workshops which complement the screening of new films from around the globe.
Participating Companies at EFP's AFM Umbrella Office as of October 21st:
Austria
Austrian Film Commission
Belgium
Banana Films
PPA Producers & Publishers Agency
Saga Film
Denmark
Smile Entertainment
France
Arsam International
Eurociné
Germany
House of Packshots
Intuit Pictures GmbH
m-appeal
QiX Quality International Effects
Hungary
Tivoli-Filmproductions
Iceland
Icelandic Film Centre
Ireland
Irish Film Board
Luxembourg
Delux Productions
Film Fund Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Eyeworks Film & TV Drama
Holland Film
Poland
Gremi Film Productions
Polish Film Institute
Portugal
VC Multimedia SA
United Kingdom
Christopher Johnson Associates
Foundation Films
Liberty Films
Not A Number Productions
Reach Up High Entertainment Limited
Stagescreen Productions
Zephyr Films Ltd.
For more information about EFP's presence at this year's AFM as well as a list of all AFM attendees 1998-2006, please visit our website www.efp-online.com.
Contact:
Sabine Rolinski, +49 40- 390 6252, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contact at the AFM, November 5-12
Sabine Rolinski, Sharon Soboil
Loews Hotel, Santa Monica, # 812
Tel. +1 310- 458 6700 ext. 812 (through operator)
EFP is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and by its member organisations. In addition, promotion and PR activities are backed by the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) as well as by private sponsors. The Hamburg-based office is financially supported by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Department for Culture, Sports and Media of the City of Hamburg.
