Monday 25 April was the International Day, moderated by Julien Marcel, CEO, The Boxoffice Company. It was kicked-off by International Keynote Addresses from Alejandro Ramírez Magaña, CEO, Cinépolis and Steven O’Dell, President, Sony Pictures Releasing International. UNIC CEO then delivered Special Remarks about the Recovery of the European Cinema Sector. On the same day, Richard Patry, President of the French Cinema Federation, Marc Olivier Sebbag, Secretary General of the French Cinema Federation and UNIC CEO Laura Houlgatte delivered a panel presentation on the French media chronology. UNIC then attended the following two other sessions: Blockbusters or Bust and the International Filmmakers Roundtable which featured Denis Villeneuve.
On the afternoon of 25 April, UNIC and Film Expo Group co-hosted a CineEurope reception which gathered more than 100 colleagues.
On Tuesday 26 April, John Fithian, CEO and President of NATO, delivered his state of the industry speech. He focused on the value of theatrical exclusivity and announced that day and date was dead as a serious business model. He also focused on piracy, emphasizing that “Robust theatrical windows protect against piracy “. He was followed by Charles Rivkin, CEO of the Motion Picture Association, about the dangers of digital piracy and how the MPA is working to combat illegal uploads and downloads of cinematic content.
Over the following days, UNIC met with partners, distribution and exhibition colleagues in one-to-one meetings, and attended various panel discussions and slate presentations.
Huge congratulations to our colleagues at NATO and CinemaCon for a great event! More information here.