Why it is important that Spain is the central country of the Cannes Market

2023-05-15 22:46:09

When it is said that Cannes is the most important festival in the world, it is said for a matter of artistic ego. The Palme d’Or is the most prestigious award a director can get. However, the importance of the contest does not lie there. Or at least not alone. Its importance lies in what happens in its catacombs, in the basements that are literally under the rooms of the Palais des Festivals where the most anticipated films of the year are shown every night. As Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio walk the red carpet, underneath them will be a producer selling a movie and getting financing for it to shoot. There will be a distributor fighting to have the new jewel that everyone wants (and to get it at the best possible price) and there will be sales agents trying to get the movies out of their borders.

The Spanish cinema that goes to festivals arises from the scarcest aid

Further

The market is like a souk, a big bazaar where everyone wants to sell their products. Among so much offer it is difficult to stand out, and that is why having a seal like the Official Section of Cannes or Cannes Premiere makes some titles stand out. This year, in an edition full of glossy titles, the Festival has decided that Spain will be the guest of honor at the Cannes Market (Marché du Film). A title that may seem like just an empty medal, but which places our films in the international spotlight and which comes to consolidate the strength of Spanish cinema, which for a couple of years has triumphed in all international competitions.

From the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) they believe that this decision (we are the second country after India, a producing power, to receive this mention), they say that “Spanish cinema is at the point of interest for international industry; that we are a solid, professionally attractive cinematography; that we offer, as a country and as an industry, consistent collaboration opportunities, either because of tax incentives, or because projects, including co-productions, are strengthened through aid”.

“Being a country of honor at the Marché du Film is part of a process in which the prominence of Spanish cinema, both artistically and at the industry level, is on the rise. It is a moment of confirmation of our potential as generators of quality works in any genre and format that we set out to do”, adds Navas. This event will put all eyes on the “largest film market in the world”. In all market communications, in the physical spaces around the venue of the event and in many other places, “visibility will be given to the ‘Spain, Country of Honour’ label associated with the event itself”.

But the bulk of the event will be the activities linked to this position of honor. Spain will be in all the official programs of the Marché du Film. Within the prestigious Producers Network, a forum that brings together more than 400 producers and producers from around the world, there will be a presentation of the latest works and upcoming projects from five Spanish production companies and attendance at meetings by eight other production companies. We will be co-hosting Co-Production Night, the biggest co-production event that happens on those days, and there will be screenings of Spanish projects, an exhibition of short films and talks to “talk about business opportunities and collaboration between Europe and Asia”. Spanish producers will have an easier time standing out in the maelstrom of the market.

Reaching that position is, for Beatriz Navas, “the result of a collective effort, both in the sector and in a diversity of institutions that have managed to consolidate their actions after years of work”, and here it includes “from film schools to festivals and the industry sections that have been incorporated, going through the aid of regional and local administrations, transversal and inter-ministerial policies”. Of course, none of this would be possible “without the vision and talent of great creators and creators, emerging or renowned”. “It’s time for our cinema,” she says confidently. “When you need to catch your breath to be able to name all the recognized films on the festival circuit, with so many awards, the feeling is sweet at the moment”.

Being a country of honor at the Marché du Film is part of a process in which the prominence of Spanish cinema is on the rise. It is a moment of confirmation of our potential

Beatriz Navas
— Director of the ICAA

An event that comes a year after the controversial approval of the audiovisual law. It was precisely at the Cannes market where all the producers read a very harsh letter against the Ministry of Culture for having neglected the sector with the approval of the text. For Navas, “the industry has never had such determined support from the State: we have, for the first time, a plan for a sector of the creative industry in which several ministries are getting involved, aware that it is a key sector: the Spain Audiovisual Hub Plan for Europe”.

“The approval of the new Film and Audiovisual Culture Law, promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, is pending, to update and adapt the current law, so that we can improve support for the sector according to their needs and that puts the emphasis, especially, on the claim and enhancement of the audiovisual heritage that we have been generating. The industry is taking advantage of, and will be able to take more advantage of, the measures that are being carried out: from the budget increase, which reverts to the different lines of aid; improvements in tax incentives; the commitment to innovative projects for the training of professionals; in addition to regulatory adjustments that stimulate activity. We believe that the harmony is good and the work, as always, must be done hand in hand between the sector and public institutions to continue advancing”, says the director of the ICAA when asked about that moment of tension.

The case ‘As bestas’

At the press conference to present the Official Selection, the director of the Cannes Film Festival, Thierry Frémaux, mentioned up to three times the beasts, the film by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, which began its international career at the festival in the Cannes Premiere section and ended up sweeping the Goyas and winning the César for best international film. One of the producers of the film, Sandra Tapia, repeats this year in the contest with Robot Dreamsthe animated film by Pablo Berger that will have a special screening within the Official Section.

She knows better than anyone what it means to be in Cannes and in the market. “Having the seal of the official selection is creating great interest for international sales. Festivals are good for us, especially for sales, and this is a perfect time to, for example with Robot Dreams, reach the market. In addition, the fact that Spain is the guest country makes the focus on Spanish production even higher for buyers, which is why it is something very positive for us”, he explains.

It is clear that for the beasts Being in Cannes “was key because it was the goal of a film like that.” “There began a path, not so much for sales, but also, but a path of recognition or a path of prestige by the festival. There is one thing that is done in France before the start of Cannes. They make some projections only for the exhibitors with the most important thing that is going to be seen at the festival. We managed to be one of the films and it was the film awarded by the exhibitors. That start of the career, which was cooked over a slow fire, in a thoughtful and reflected way together with A Contracorriente –the film’s distributor–, to show it without haste and for it to flourish and grow, was very important ”. A strategy they want to repeat with Robot Dreams.

For her, that Spain is the country of honor is a “symptom of maturity and recognition”. An acknowledgment that is the culmination of years of work but that, in addition, comes “at the time of the maximum explosion in the production of platforms and Spain has not become small, but has grown enormously”. They notice it when she comes out of it, that “eyes are on Spanish cinema and what is happening.” “There’s been an update or follow up on what’s going on and you no longer have to introduce the directors or the movies.”

The surprise of the Fortnight

One of the surprises of Spanish cinema this edition was in the Directors’ Fortnight, where it appeared Creature, the second film by the young director Elena Martín, who debuted with Julia Is and that here deals with female sexuality. For two of its producers, Marta Cruañas and Ariadna Dot –together with part of those responsible for Alcarràs–Cannes is “an incredible platform that allows you to access a lot of people, apart from the press visibility that it gives you”.

An impulse so that Creature “It can be seen in many more places and can have more sales to other countries.” “There are more and more films, it’s more complicated, and in the end what you’re trying to do is position your film, to somehow attract attention, and festivals are this site that puts the film in the spotlight for this type of cinema”, explains Dot, who also stresses the importance of “developing new projects”. In the end, Cannes only shows the tip of the iceberg, but “movies have big budgets and there are a lot of people involved, and places like the Cannes market, where they are bought, sold and advertised, are important.”

They believe that the place of honor in Spain is “no coincidence”, and they believe that it is a recognition “to the production companies that make this type of cinema”. “A claim. That is to say, from the industrial part that this matters, that it is of interest”, Cruañas ditch. Now there are fifteen days left of meetings, races, auctions and projections that will confirm if Spain has made good use of that position of honor that the Cannes Film Festival has reserved for it.