The event started with a presentation by Alain De Greef, Secretary General of Film Matters, who explained the work done by the Belgian distributor’s association, Film Matters, and new features on Cinemapp.pro, the app used by Belgian distributors. This was followed by a presentation from Thierry Laermans, Secretary General of the Federation of Belgian Cinemas (FCB), who highlighted the main challenges for Belgian cinemas and presented the association’s White Paper for the upcoming federal and EU elections.
The last presentation of the morning session was given by Laure Galtier, Events & Project Manager at UNIC, who presented European cinema figures as well as the latest news and trends in European cinema. She invited everyone to attend this year’s CineEurope in Barcelona – check here.
The networking lunch was followed by a presentation of the Nostradamus Report, from Johanna Koljonen. The report aims to analyse the future of the European film industry and its sustainability. Johanna Koljonen stressed the importance of cinemas being connected to their local communities and understanding their needs as well as cooperating with distributors.
Afterwards, presentations were held by Matthew Deboysere, Research Coordinator at the Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds (VAF) presenting figures from the VAF and Sylvain Bethenod, CEO of Vertigo, sharing conclusions on the Belgian cinema-goer profile from the Vertigo Study.
Anny Schmit, from Sony Pictures Releasing, then presented the activities of the ‘Marketing Work Group’ initiated by Film Matters, conducting research to improve marketing efforts and attract more audiences to the Big Screen.
Finally, Stijn Vanspauwen from Kinepolis Group delivered a presentation on the exhibitor’s strategy to build consumer-brand love, offering audiences premium formats and new experiences.
Throughout the event, the audience had the opportunity to watch trailers of upcoming film releases in Belgium and network. We look forward to attending the next edition!