Every two years, hundreds of people – including exhibitors, distributors and sales agents – from across Europe gather for the Europa Cinema Conference “to discuss and debate the bigger picture for cinema”.
The 23rd conference took place in Vilnius, Lithuania from Thursday November 28th to Sunday December 1st. At the conference, access>CINEMA was represented by staff members Maeve Cooke and Karen Wall, as well as Mermaid Arts Centre’s Stephanie Casey.
Karen and Stephanie have kindly shared some insights about the event, as well as sharing some photos from the conference and of the sights of pre-Christmas Vilnius.
(l to r) Karen, Meave and Stephanie at the Europa Cinemas conference
Karen’s take
Europa Cinemas, which is funded by the European Commission, provides operational and financial support to cinemas that include non-national European films in their programming. The organisation holds its regular networking conference for members biannually.
2024 was the first time that a Europa Cinemas Network Conference was organised in the Baltic countries and access>CINEMA, which is a mini network and a member of Europa Cinemas, were lucky enough to be in attendance.
While the conference officially opened on the Friday afternoon, for those delegates who arrived into Vilnius on Thursday daytime, there were opportunities to preview some European films, including award winning animation Flow, psychological character study Julie Keeps Quiet and Italian family drama Vermiglio, which was the only title I managed to catch. In the atmospheric 2-Screen Kino Pasaka, Maura Delpero’s remarkable film, inspired by her own families story, played to a rapt audience.
On the Friday morning there was a choice of attending a screening of Norwegian title Lovable, followed by a presentation of trailers or a session focusing on the Arthouse Cinema in the Baltic Countries. I attended the latter, which happened in the Raddison Blu Hotel, the conference centre hub. The session focused on the challenges and trends experienced by the three countries, Lituanaia, Estonia and Latvia. Over-saturation of the market was a noted issue and collaborative approaches to distribution was a possible solution for the states being perceived as small markets and struggling for engagement with sales agents, who want to sell to territories rather than individual countries. One novel case studies presented about promotion of a film and young audience engagement, focused on marketing around horror film Saw X and linking in with a blood drive, where blood donors were given free tickets to the film!
After a break for coffee and a light lunch the conference was officially opened by Mathias Holtz, President of Europa Cinemas, and Fatima Djoumer, CEO of Europa Cinemas, warmly welcoming the almost 500 delegates from around the world. The microphone was then passed to returning chair and moderator Michael Gubbins of Sampo Media, whose sharp tongue and wit kept the speakers on their toes and the audience engaged throughout a jam-packed weekend.
The first sessions explored identifying todays audiences and discussed their needs, hearing from speakers from the UK, Greece, Italy and the Netherlands and represented festivals, cinema owners, policy makers and marketing specialsits. As the event is an international one all the sessions are available with live translation in 5 languages (English/French/German/Italian/Spanish) and they were also live streamed on Europa Cinemas YouTube channel (where you can now find recordings of the sessions) and via the very impressive Europa Cinemas App.
While the general feeling seemed to be that cinema has recovered from the COVID pandemic dip, numbers have generally not returned to the same level as pre-2020. Perception was presented as an issue, with findings being floated that a trip to the cinema is seen as a treat and Arthouse films are considered and presented as a socially elite offer – so cinema isn’t always always for everyone…
The second session covered re-energising of business models and was very focused on localising content and curating programmes that move towards the audiences, reaching out to them. Innovative ideas around eventising films and film seasons were discussed. Writing workshops and audience participation in programming were given as examples that had been successful, as well as cinemas running workshops and training for young film makers resulting in them identifying the cinema space as their own and embracing it. This had further resulted in attendees sharing related content on their social media channels and producing podcasts about their experiences in the spaces, opening the cinemas up to many new and potential audience members.
The day wrapped with Arthouse Tales Part 1, these sessions were my personal highlight of the weekend. The floor is given to 7 Europa Cinemas members from different cinemas who present their cinema and it’s activities in 7 minutes using 20 slides with an allocation of 20 seconds per slide. The stories and people vary but it was both a grounding and fun experience which invigorated and energised everyone after a long day. One standout was, from Hungary, Eva Demeter, who brought us to her family run TISZApART Cinema which is a fun filled community hub where people can get married as well as attend live music concerts and arthouse film screenings. A novel take away from this was the idea of their film and drink ‘stock market’ where the more you buy the less you pay.
Yuliia Antypova also spoke, presenting Zhovten cinema in Kiev, Ukraine. Open for 96 years, it boasts 6 screens, a conference room, gallery and bookshop. Despite the challenges presented since Russian invasion during this time they have started a film club and started to run pet-friendly screenings while also having to address the reality of frequent power cuts and the constant threat of shelling attacks. They run events to support children traumatised by the war and also ensure all staff are fully tained in first aid, offering free courses to memebers of the public also. It was a resilent, sobering and emotional end to the day.
After dinner, delegates were bussed to Vilnius’ Forum Cinema for the presentation of the Europa Cinemas awards, which were presented by Europa Cinema Board Members to the following member sites:
- Best Programming: Biografen Zita, Stockholm
- Best Young Audience Activity: Skalvija Cinema Centre, Vilnius
- Best Entrepreneur: Stadtkino im Künstlerhaus & Admiral Kino, Vienna
After the awards there was another preview film this time a French animation called The Most Precious of Cargos, about a woodcutter and his wife who find and rescue a baby thrown from a train on its way to Auschwitz.
Bright and early on Saturday morning, after a gorgeous breakfast and lots of coffee, I attended a session about new trends in audience development. Rep film screenings, interactive gaming events, partnering with the in-house café to create Sunday Brunch screenings – there were many creative ideas on show, some big, some small but all working to create engagement and committing to a long-term relationship with the audience. The conversation was all about sharing and the idea that curation is a co-operative partnership and not just one way. A session on updating communication and marketing strategies followed, where aligning with your brand, investing in high quality promotional materials but also being realistic about what you can do with the resources at hand were discussed. Stepping back and looking at processes, streamlining them so that time can be saved long term was deemed essential when operating in our often time-poor industry. AI was floated as a digital tool that could be utilised to reach audiences and offload some work where possible (and ethical). Live broadcasting from one cinema to many was highlighted to create shared experiences and add value to film screenings and events.
After a well needed break for a quick lunch, I took a whistle stop tour of the city visiting Gediminas Castle Tower, the tiny republic of rebellious Užupis via a nice walk by the river and some speedy shopping! Vilnius is a small city and most of the major tourist sites are within 30 minutes’ walk from each other. A city break here is very much recommended!
Back at the Radisson after lunch and the future of cinema was on the table, which was all about people, namely the staff, and ensuring they are well taken care of, which is essential investment. Rep titles appeared again and eventising film screenings with added value, intros, Q&A’s double bills…. ‘More’ was the word that kept resurfacing. Doing more, offering more, working more, which nicely reinforcing the importance of ensuring staff wellbeing is supported.
Before the day wrapped there was an exploration of the film ecosystem and how it could benefit from becoming more circular than linear, with audiences being part of the conversation from the start of the film making process rather than only being considered at the end. Finally, it was Arthouse Tales Part 2- Hrönn Sveinsdóttir from Iceland’s only Arthouse Cinema, Bio Paradis, spoke and was an entertaining highlight with creative marketing stories relating to The Substance – publicly warning people not to come to their screenings as audience members were fainting and vomiting when in attendance! The day finished with a very pleasant drinks reception, a few of us set out for the Christmas markets to enjoy some festivities followed by dinner.
An early morning flight back to Dublin on Sunday meant I missed the final day’s sessions, which was unfortunate, but I felt I had a great sense of overall take aways from the conference and where the conversations were heading. Most of the different perspectives presented had a shared sense of direction and while there continue to be huge challenges to the Arthouse film industry there are also many opportunities for solutions. Having the mindset and courage to embrace the challenges and take the risks, can be one of the biggest issues we face. There were many conversations about failure, which is inevitable, and it was truly inspirational to hear what our peers are doing internationally and comforting to see that many of us face the same challenges – time poor, burn out, conservative audiences taste etc. In one of the biggest film industry events in Europe, we were all, for the most part, in the same boat.
Stephanie’s take
Thanks to a bursary kindly offered by access>CINEMA I had the privilege of attending the Europa Cinema Conference held in Vilnius, Lithuania, a biennial event dedicated to exploring the latest trends, challenges, and innovations within the European film industry. The conference brought together various stakeholders from across Europe and further afield, creating an invaluable platform for dialogue, collaboration, and exchange of ideas.
One of the most exciting aspects of the conference was the spotlight on emerging initiatives and projects that are reshaping the European film eco-system. Many of these initiatives are designed to address challenges such as audience engagement, inclusivity, diversity, accessibility and sustainability. There were many discussions in the conference around today’s audiences, who they are and what they want, relationships with communities, re-energising business models, catering for audiences with an experience/event ie. something more than just a film, an example of this being a sauna session offered alongside the documentary film Smoke, Sauna, Sisterhood enhancing the audience’s overall experience.
Other interesting sessions included discussions on the Cineville loyalty programme, new trends in digital and audience engagement which were particularly impactful. access CINEMA spoke of their New Audiences Initiative Programme which aims at offering their network additional promotion and marketing support for certain titles. All innovative ideas for the continued evolution of the industry.
The importance of film festivals as platforms for innovation and discovery was emphasized throughout the conference. Speakers shared insights into how festivals are evolving to reflect the changing tastes of audiences and there were interesting discussions centred on the role of alternative screening spaces in fostering local film cultures and how these venues are becoming key players in the community, one example being the outdoor Cinema Under The Stars Festival.
A significant portion of the conference was dedicated to networking, allowing delegates to engage with like-minded professionals from across the European landscape. The conference underscored the importance of collaboration and as the film eco-system continues to change, these conversations are vital in shaping a more inclusive, sustainable, and culturally rich future for European cinema.
Attending the Europa Cinema Conference in Vilnius, I gained valuable insights into the diverse and dynamic approaches to film in different European cities, along with a deeper understanding of the initiatives and strategies driving the future of European cinema. It provided me with a new wealth of knowledge into the diverse approaches to cinema particularly focusing on the unique initiatives and ideas being implemented across European cities. One word from the conference that stands out to me particularly is Togetherness… being both part of the cinema and being part of a community.
Thank you access>CINEMA for an eye-opening, motivational and enriching experience!
Photos: Karen Wall and Stephanie Casey
