Film Indies & U.S. Agencies Set Dates For Virtual Market To Run Alongside Cannes Online Marché

April 16, 2020

Led by CAA Media Finance, Endeavor Content, ICM Partners, and UTA, the coalition Deadline first revealed of more than 30 independent film companies are confirmed to convene remotely June 22-28 for a virtual market in lieu of the physical Cannes Film Festival.

The six-day market will be structured to offer global buyers screenings of finished films, early footage, and filmmaker presentations and sales meetings. The initiative will coincide with the official Marché du Film’s own online offering.

Packages are already in the works and tech details are still being worked out. The companies will use digital platforms for buyers and sellers. Screenings and filmmaker presentations will be scheduled to accommodate a variety of time zones, given the remote nature of the market.

Among the companies teaming up for the initiative are 30WEST, AGC Studios, Anton, Archstone Entertainment, Brickell & Broadbridge, CAA Media Finance, Capstone Pictures, Cornerstone Films, Endeavor Content, The Exchange, FilmNation, Goldfinch, Hanway Films, Highland Film Group, ICM International and Independent Group, Independent Film Sales, Lionsgate, Mad River International, Miramax, Mister Smith, MPI Media Group, Protagonist Pictures, Rocket Science, Sierra Affinity, Solstice Studios, The Solution Entertainment, STX Entertainment, UTA Independent Film Group, VMI Worldwide, Voltage Pictures, West End Films, and Wild Bunch International.

As is clear from the list of companies signed up for the initiative, this will be a largely English-language affair. Expect prominent sellers not listed above to either dip in and out of this market, do their own business on the side or primarily operate within the Cannes Marché’s virtual offering.

As far as we know, there won’t be a fee to join the agency-led initiative. Cannes Marché will charge a fee.

As we revealed last week, Cannes was planning to run from June 23. The plan was always for the digital markets to run from the festival start dates should the physical event not be possible.

By Scott Roxborough: The Hollywood Reporter