In the media world, there’s no bigger headliner than the Marché du Film, located in Cannes, France. Celebrities, producers, distributors, and tech-enabled service providers across the media value chain gather for two weeks to discuss trends and buy & sell content. In a recent webinar Arjun Mendhi, CEO at MOLTEN, sits down with Linda Nelson, CEO at Indie Rights, to discuss how to make the most of the year’s biggest industry conference.
Let’s be clear: although most of the world colloquially refers to the conference as “Cannes”, there’s really two events going on in the city. First, there’s the Cannes Festival, which is a film festival - a competition that takes place at the same time as the market. The festival features select movies from all walks of life, with at least one premiere a night. Second, there’s the Marché du Film, which is a film market and our focus for this post. The film market is a trade show with booths and keynotes. There are hundreds of companies with booths, as well as myriad buyers perusing for content they’d be interested in licensing.
If this is your first look at MOLTEN and you find yourself with any questions or curiosity about the platform, our partnerships team is happy to answer any questions or provide a demo. We look forward to keeping you in the loop as we continue to expand our platform and build partnerships with key players in the media industry.
You’ve heard of first-in-first-out or last-in-first-out. We’re introducing, first-in-last-out. Having participated in Marché du Film for years, Linda suggests arriving a few days early and staying a couple of days afterwards. Market attendees are traveling from across the globe for business, and arriving early helps to combat jet lag. By getting some rest and your legs under you, you’ll be better prepared for productivity in what will be a two week sprint from dawn to dusk.
Time during the market flies by. Maximizing your business impact from the market depends greatly upon your pre-work. Every pass-holder has access to Cinando, which serves as a database for the event’s participants. Before arrival, do your research into which companies are in attendance that you’d like to speak with. If possible, reach out to – better yet, get a warm introduction to – the companies that you think would be most interested in buying or selling titles from you.
This (almost) goes without saying, but if you’re an independent filmmaker, nail your pitch! Many market participants are there primarily to sell, so they don’t have a lot of time to listen to an anthropologic dissertation. Keep it an elevator pitch and practice it thoroughly so that it comes off naturally and is battle tested.
Similarly for distributors and sellers, prepare your content! Having nice avails is vital. Aesthetically pleasing posters and screeners catch a buyer’s attention. Beyond eye candy, having strong organization and visibility into exactly what’s available, when, where, and in what format, can make or break the speed of closing your deals. Having the ability to run instant avails and send screeners at the touch of a button is what determines whether the buyer signs now, or someone else gets ahead in line. Time is money, and money is limited. If content is king, speed is queen ♡. Linda uses the MOLTEN Cloud to quickly run complex searches, send screeners, and even deliver content at the market.
"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth" - Mike Tyson
With so many things going on and such limited time, things are bound to go off script. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t form a plan to tackle the market, but it’s a reminder to roll with the punches.
For example, with everyone gathered in the city, the internet is going to be spotty. What this means for you is to make sure you have your avails offline. Linda brings a binder of her avails separated by genre (an easy export from MOLTEN). For such a digital industry, having pen and paper at the conference goes a long way.
When asked whether it’s best to arrive with meetings already scheduled or to employ a “boots on the ground” approach, Linda advises a combination of both. Leading up to the market, you’ll want to do your research and begin making connections and scheduling meetings well in advance. If you’re a distributor that means sending out your avails and reaching potential licensors ahead of time. If you’re an independent filmmaker looking for a distributor, you’ll want to identify companies that are a good fit for your content and set up around 3-4 meetings per day of the market. Between those meetings is when you would employ the “boots on the ground” strategy and explore the booths. Cinando can be a great resource for identifying and setting up appointments.
While the festival and market are two separate events, tickets to movie premieres are readily found at the market. If you’re an exhibitor with a booth, you’ll receive tickets to the premieres. Most nights there are at two or so premieres, and all of the stars that are in the various films walk the red carpet. If you manage to snag a premiere ticket, it is absolutely required to dress in black tie event attire. For women that means high heels and gowns; for men that means tuxedos. Even the paparazzi have to wear tuxedos.
The festival is absolutely gorgeous. The theater is one of the most magnificent movie palaces, and connects you to a dazzle that is unique to this industry. What that means in practicality is to ideally find housing somewhat close to the premiere. Having to travel long distances can limit the amount of time spent working the booths or attending happy hour events for networking. Of course if budget is a concern, you can look into Airbnb locations as a cheaper alte
We would be remiss not to offer any guidance for taking care of yourself during the conference. Largely these items are optional and you’ll know which ones are most helpful for you. As far as business reminders goes, you should bring more business cards than you think you’ll need – if you’re doing your job right, you’ll be meeting a torrential amount of people. While the movie premieres are red carpet attire, the market is not. Feel free to wear sharp looking shoes that are made for walking, as you will certainly be getting your steps in. Now is not the time to break in new shoes.
For rest and recovery, we recommend you bring along some combination of cough drops, honey and tea. As you’ll be speaking for hours and hours each day, it’s helpful to keep your throat happy as while each day feels like a sprint, the event is actually a multi-day marathon of speaking. Don’t forget to hydrate throughout the day. With so many participants congregating, we recommend you bring vitamins and other preventative supplements like Airborne to boost your immune system. Eye drops are a lifesaver for those with contacts, and if you’re a light sleeper, it can be helpful to bring a night eye mask and earplugs to start recharging as quickly as possible. One final note is to bring a bathing suit if you’re interested in enjoying the beach after the Marché du Film.
Marché du Film and Festival du Cannes are world-class events that happen just once per year. We hope you enjoy this experience! If you’re interested in how Linda can run instant avails, create screeners, and send packages in platform-approved formats all within 5 minutes, let’s chat at Marché du Film. Find a time to meet with our partnerships team in Cannes!
