Nearly 400 professionals, exhibitors and distributors from 32 European countries, including 15 in Central and Eastern Europe, met at the 10th Annual Europa Cinemas Conference in Budapest (17-20 November 2005), which was inaugurated by the two filmmakers Claude Miller and Kornél Mundruczó.
Several topical issues were at the heart of the discussions, particularly:

• the drop in attendance and the outlook for European exhibition.
• digital cinema and the implementation of economic models for distributors and exhibitors.
• the placement of European films in film theatres by distributors and exhibitors and raising awareness among young viewers.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE

The exhibitors and distributors present showed great concern at the threats facing the priority release of films at film theatres, particularly as a result of renewed discussion of the regulations on the chronology of methods of exhibition, and the economic consequences of piracy on attendance at European films.
Discussions on digital cinema focused principally on the need to develop, over the next few months, an acceptable economic model for distributors and exhibitors so as to reinforce the presence and the visibility of European films at theatres.
This 10th event was marked by the prestigious presence of Jeanne Moreau who, alongside Claude Miller, presented Europa Cinemas awards to 3 European network exhibitors:

SESSION 1 - WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR EUROPEAN EXHIBITION?

• Study of the development of film attendance in Europe
• How do cinemas respond to the enormous number of films on offer?
• DVD, Home Cinema, Mobile Phones, VOD and the Internet - do these represent new competition for cinemas?
• Economic consequences of piracy on European films
• What conditions must pertain if cinemas are to maintain their role in the first screenings of films?

Conducted by Pascal Rogard (General Director, SACD, France)

• Susan Newman, Analyst, European Audiovisual Observatory
• Paul Callaghan,Senior Advisor, Screen Digest, UK
• Björn Ringdahl, Distributor/Exhibitor, Triangel Films, Sweden
• Enrique Gonzales Macho, Distributor/Exhibitor, Alta Films, Spain
• Lionello Cerri, Producer, Exhibitor, Lumière/Anteo Cinemas, Italy
• Chris Marcich, Director of MPAA Europe
• Johannes Klingsporn, Chief Executive of the German Film Distributors' Association
• Frédéric Delacroix, Chief Executive of the Anti-Piracy Association - ALPA, France

DIGITAL CINEMA: WHAT STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENTS ARE EMERGING FOR DISTRIBUTION AND EXHIBITION?

• Presentation of economic models by the profession and the public sector
• What is the impact of digital technology on the allocation of investments and box office takings at cinemas?
• Distributor/exhibitor convergence in the transition to digital technology
• Could digital projection generate new markets for distributors and exhibitors?

Conducted by Anders Geertsen (Danish Film Institute/European Digital Cinema Forum, Denmark)

• Peter Buckingham (Head of Distribution and Exhibition, UK Film Council)
• Bernard Collard (General Director, XDC, Belgium)
• Jens Schneiderheinze (Exhibitor, Münster/Hambourg, Germany)
• Patrick van Houdt (Economist, The European Investment Bank, Luxembourg)
• Nico Simon (Exhibitor, Utopolis Group, Luxembourg)
• Laurent Danielou (Distributor, Rezo Films, France)
• San Fu Maltha (Distributor, A-Films, Netherlands)
• Rolv Gjestland (Advisor, Cinema Design and Technology, Norway)
• VJ Maury (Exhibitor, Palace Cinemas, Hungary/Czech Republic)
• Patrick von Sychowski (Director of Business Development, Unique Digital, Norway/UK)
• Torsten Frehse (Distributor, Neue Visionen, Germany)
• Marcin Piasecki (Distributor, Kino Swiat, Poland)
• Christian Guillon (Deputy-President, CST, France)

This 10th event was marked by the prestigious presence of Jeanne Moreau who, alongside Claude Miller, presented Europa Cinemas awards to 3 European network exhibitors:

- Award for Best Programming: Müvész (5 screens), Puskin (3 screens) and Szindbád (2 screens) cinemas in Budapest, managed by Ferenc Port (Budapest Film).
- Award for Best Young Audiences' Activities: Kino Sõprus (1 screen) in Tallinn (Estonia), managed by Katrin Rajasaare (AS TallinnFilm).
- Award for Best Entrepreneur: Utopia (Anne-Marie Faucon and Michel Malacarnet) with 5 cinemas and 22 screens in France.

The Europa Cinemas Awards presentation, that took place at the cinema Urania, was followed by the screening of the film Stesti (Something like Happiness) by Bohdan Slama.

9 other European films were screened on the first day of the Conference.
European Film Previews Program

- PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE

- PROGRAM OF THE EUROPEAN FILM PREVIEWS