Alternative Futures and Future Alternatives: Provocative Messages from The Europa Cinemas Conference Paris, 2010

From Alternative Content to Cinema on Demand via Playstations, from virtual architecture to neuroscience, the agenda for this year’s Europa Cinemas conference grappled with some of the key issues around the future of Independent Cinema. Rachael Castell examines some provocative statements and what on earth to do about them….

On reflection, despite the seemingly traditional profile of this year’s conference, there were actually some pretty controversial /
radical concepts being bandied about. Looking back at my notes, these
are what stand out, so I thought I’d pop them in a blog and see what you
think.

15,000 people turned out to watch Lawrence of Arabia at Secret Cinema

Controversial statement #1:

Maker of the statement: Ian Christie

Topic: alternative content

Statement:


Alternative Content was a major area of interest at the conference. That sentence previously read ‘a major area of debate’, but realistically, there wasn’t any debate. It is agreed that alternative content is a success. The statistics listed by Monica Törnblom (Film Booker & Cinema Consultant, Folkets Hus och Parker, Sweden), were enough to silence any doubters. This cinema’s diverse programme of alternative content events had brought in approximately €3,6 million to the organization. Compare this with the income from 3,711 screenings over the same period: €4,5 million, and you can see why they are going to continue programming live opera and theatre beamed in from across the world. Staggering figures. And if Ian’s statement is true, and these audiences are more loyal, what does this mean for independent cinema?

Conclusion:

Well ‘provocateur Christie’ ;) , I personally don’t think that independent cinema is going to be pushed into a corner – other statements from the conference (see below), as well as my every day experience, tell me that independent cinema has a healthy future ahead of it… And if AC is bringing new audiences into cinema spaces where they are subsequently familiar, comfortable and exposed to the cinema programme, then so much the better!

Controversial Statement #2:

Maker of the statement: Prof. Dr. Gundolf S. Freyermuth (Director, Cologne Game Lab / Professor, Cologne International Film School, Germany), quoting Jesse Schnell

Topic: Video Games and Cinema

Statement:


Wow. Uh… OK – so I am not a ‘gamer’. But I have to admit that by the end of the conference, I was seriously considering buying Playstation. This is a sentence I never thought I would utter! But Efe Çakarel (Founder & CEO, MUBI, UK) is a convincing man, and mubi.com is a convincing site. They are genuinely devoted to making specialized films available to a wider, and now young and gaming audience – thanks to their announcement that they are partnering with Playstation to expose millions of unsuspecting stoned teenagers to the works of Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Gondry, Welles etc.! Genius.

Conclusion:

Having said that I’m not a gamer, I’m forever encouraging cinemas to offer incentives and rewards to audiences, to have fun, to play. So, perhaps I am a gamer after all. Perhaps we all are…

Controversial Statement #3

Maker of Statement: Fabien Riggall

Topic: Event Cinema

Statement:


It was actually quite tricky to extract the most radical statement from Fabien Riggall’s presentation, because, realistically, Secret Cinema and Future Shorts are basically a series of improbable statements made real. How about a monthly short film festival held simultaneously in 62 cities and 12 countries across the world? They’ve done it. How about getting 20,000 people / month to sign up and pay up to £30 to watch an unknown film in an unspecified location? Yup – done that too. How about getting 15,000 people in London to watch Lawrence of Arabia on one weekend? In the bag. Future Shorts and Secret Cinema are the epitome of the ‘event cinema’ model and they are proof that it works. As with alternative content, an expanded offer seems to be the ticket that sells tickets (if you see what I mean). Again, everyone was agreeing that supplementing the film with an event – be that a talk, live music, poetry, an art exhibition – works wonders for incentivizing audiences to come out to play. Ooh – play – perhaps this is the real theme of the festival – we want more fun!

Conclusion:

In addition to promoting PS3s(!), Efe Çakarel also made this very positive and salient point: “Audiences for independent cinema have not gone down, they are just behaving differently”. In a way, I suppose they are more demanding and why not in a world of such choice? Secret Cinema is proof that if you challenge, stimulate, and offer something extra, people will respond. Personally, I think event cinema is great, and as Ian Christie mentioned, what FS are doing is really a return to traditional showmanship in cinema – embracing the spectacle of cinema. Between this and opera, perhaps the future is in the past… Oh – what a lovely paradox.

Controversial Statement #4

Maker of Statement: Nick Shaw (27 Times Cinema)

Topic: Film Education through filmmaking

Statement:


Now, Nick Shaw wasn’t talking specifically about Film Education. He was talking about his own discovery of independent cinema. But his statement resonated throughout the conference as it became increasingly clear that there is an important emerging trend in cinema education: that of encouraging cinema literacy through the making of film. As the (ever wise) Ian Christie highlighted “teaching literature was a new idea at the end of the 20th Century with all the same confusions”, and that, just as young people learn to write they learn to read, that media literacy through filmmaking should encourage a familiarity with cinema that lasts throughout life.

Conclusion:

And what joys educative filmmaking gave us at the conference, from Magic Latern’s le chat qui voulait faire un film to Ciné-monde’s short film about Love, introducing young people to cinema by putting a camera in their hands, is the perfect way to make everyone happy.

Controversial Statement #5

Maker of Statement: Thomas Isnard (Managing Director, 4Bridge, France)

Topic: EasyCinema...(?)

Statement:


OK. So this was probably the most controversial statement of the entire conference, and one which flared a fair few tempers. Applying purely commercial models to arthouse cinema, and drawing parallels between independent film and cheap flights was a brave thing to do in a room of exhibitors, and it certainly inspired some lively conversations over coffee. And in the room itself. As Megan Price of Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff pointed out – you can’t justify negotiating a price for art, particularly when you’re a cinema whose job is to make film available to everyone and not just to those who can pay more…

Conclusion:

It seems to me that the overwhelming response to such a concept was one of outrage, and therefore, it will never take off in the world of independent film. However, are we cutting of our nose to spite our faces? Are audiences looking for this kind of purchasing model? I hope not… but what do you think?

Hope for the Future

Personally, coming out of the conference, I am definitively hopeful. I see a future in which more people are exposed to cinema, particularly young people, with multiple platforms for debating, recommending and sharing film than ever before. I see arthouse cinemas becoming vibrant cross-arts venues, reaching out to audiences from multiple disciplines, inviting them in with local art and music, food and drink. I see live events and pop-up cinema bringing a mixture of content to a diversity of people in a variety of places – perpetually exciting people and reminding them of the magic of watching a film collectively in a shared space.

Personally, I’m looking forward to it.

Thanks Europa Cinemas!