The Zurich Film Festival, together with the San Sebastián Film Festival organizes a film market for independent productions. The aim of the Zurich Market initiative is to revive the film business and to bring together the most important players in Zurich.
The market takes place physically in Zurich from Friday, September 25, to Monday, September 28. The approximately 20 new titles will be presented to interested buyers and festival programmers in dedicated market screenings. International sales outlets will travel to Zurich to present and sell their films at the Zurich Market. “Due to the ongoing global pandemic, many independent films with artistic merit were unable to hold market premieres and now threaten to remain without a theatrical release,” explains Christian Jungen, Artistic Director of the Zurich Film Festival. “We want to help them find a distributor and are therefore organizing the first Zurich Market together with our partner festival San Sebastián.” The approximately 20 titles that will be shown at the Zurich Market are highly anticipated productions that have not yet had any market premieres.
“We want this initiative to serve as an opportunity for films unable to screen, to be shown to an audience of buyers and distributors and to do our bit in revitalizing the global film industry. We would also like to thank our friends at the Zurich Film Festival for the collaboration in this forward-looking initiative, starting this year”, emphasizes José Luis Rebordinos, director of the San Sebastián Film Festival, which provides strategic support to the market, but will not host a physical event.
Zurich Summit – Think Tank 2020
Alongside the market, the Zurich Summit once again brings together the industry’s key players. The Boutique Conference features a top-class line-up of international and national producers, sales executives and creators in film, TV and entertainment as well as technology entrepreneurs and financiers. The need for exchange and inspiration on the future of the film industry regarding distribution, deal-making and international cooperation is more urgent than ever. During the Zurich Summit, the most influential players from Europe and North America will meet again physically for the first time to discuss the issues of the future.
Market participants can communicate online through the Zurich Film Festival’s “Who’s Who” directory and arrange one-to-one meetings themselves. “The film world has not waited for a new film market, but extraordinary times require extraordinary measures,” declares Reta Guetg, Head of Industry. “We are planning the market as a unique initiative, in a new world in which we have yet to find our way around.” Christian Jungen adds: “The fact that the initiative is meeting with great interest in both the European and American film industry is of course highly encouraging.”
Interested buyers, sales agents and festival programmers receive additional access to the market with their industry accreditation. Accreditations can be applied for online by 17 September at the latest.