Program
The inaugural Australian Feature Film Summit in-person event will be taking place on Thursday 12 May 2022 at Event Cinemas, George Street, Sydney.
8.30 am Arrival Coffee
9.00 am Welcome and Introduction
9.15 am Capturing the audience
Focus: Data is increasingly at the core of industry business and creative decisions but who has it and who needs it? How can we ask better questions, capture better data and aggregate anonymized data so that it benefits all parties along the value chain and results in greater connections between films and audiences? What are we not capturing? How can producers access and work with data?
Moderator: Patrick May (Manager of Strategic Policy and Insights, Screen Australia)
Speakers: Matt Liebmann (Chief Operating Officer, Movio), Sue Maslin (Producer/Distributor, Film Art Media), Nick Palmer (Managing Director, Screen Audience Research International)
10.15 am Building Audience
Focus: Audience development at every stage of the value chain. From strategic unit publicity, social media campaigns, film festivals through to distribution and exhibition strategies. What can we do better to grow Australian audiences over time? Can exhibitors be incentivised to better support local films and give them time to find their audience?
Moderator: Sasha Close (Program Manager, BIFF & GCFF)
Speakers: Michael Matrenza (Senior Marketing Manager, Madman), Fiona Nix (Company Director, Nix Co), Anthony Grundy (Distribution Manager, Screen Australia), Mitu Bhowmick Lange (Director and Founder, Mind Blowing Films)
11.00 am Morning tea
11.30 am Incentivising Success
Focus: How can we leverage investment in Australian films, significantly increase marketing spend, offset producer and distributor risk, incentivise streamers to support theatrical windows and make it feasible for exhibitors to screen films made by streamers? How do we deliver an equitable risk/reward ratio in the recoupment waterfall that works for all parties along the value chain?
Moderator: Sandy George (Journalist)
Speakers: Craig Rossiter (Writer and Researcher), Cailah Scobie (Chief Content Officer, STAN), Deanne Weir (Co-founder, Storyd Group), Emma Madison (Head of Commercial and Industry Services, Screenrights), Claire Gandy (General Manager of Content, Event Cinemas)
1.00 pm Lunch
2.00 pm Case Study – The Drover’s Wife
Focus: What makes an idea cinematic? The creative process and how it informed the business strategy. Transforming the film into a screen experience that engages audience on a culturally significant work. An opportunity for exhibitors to see up close how a production comes together and for delegates to gain further insight into an entrepreneurial business approach.
Moderator: Sandy George
Speakers; Leah Purcell, Bain Stewart
3.00 pm – ROAD TEST THE IDEA – PITCH FORUM (1.5 hours)
Focus: Ten producers have 3-4 minutes each to test a feature concept with an exhibitor panel comprising both majors and independents/mini-majors.. The purpose is to determine if there is an audience for the idea and answer, “Would you play this film at your cinema? If so, why? If not, why not?”. The exhibitor panel will give 5 minutes in-session feedback on each pitch. All AIMC delegates present will also be invited to complete an online survey on each pitch. All feedback will be collated, ranked and shared privately to filmmakers.
Moderator: David Court - Founder, Compton School
Exhibitor Panel:
Alex Moir – Head of Marketing at Palace Cinemas
Claire Gandy – General Manager of Content at Event Cinemas
Ingrid Van Den Berghe – Managing Director of Luna Palace Cinemas
Sasha Close – Program Manager at Brisbane & Gold Coast International Film Festivals
Kieren Dell – Chief Executive of Majestic Cinemas Qld & NSW
Michelle Gater – General Manager Programming at HOYTS Group
4.30 pm Networking Drinks
(Sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners)