Davide Abbatescianni, Author at Celluloid Junkie

By DavideAbbatescianni

The Europa Distribution session at New Nordic Films in Haugesund brought together an eclectic mix of speakers to discuss how this celebrated subcategory of international cinema is marketed internationally. Festival premieres, awards success and recognisable auteurs can be invaluable, but they don't tell the whole story.

Nordic Cinema Doesn’t Have an Export Problem. It Has a Conversion Problem

A Europa Distribution session at New Nordic Films in Haugesund looked at a well regarded subcategory of international cinema, and found that a reputation for quality doesn’t always lead directly to strong ticket sales. At festivals, Nordic films travel extraordinarily well. They win prizes, attract…

(From left) Moderator Cathrine Jakobsen led the case-study discussion during the "Youth, Trends and Taboos on Films" seminar at Haugesund 2026. Silje Salomonsen, co-director of “Back to Tottori,” and Norwegian distributor Linn Barholt participated in seminar on August 25, 2026. (Photo: Grethe Nygaard)

Young Audiences Already Like Cinema. The Hard Part Is Giving Them a Reason to Go

The film industry may be asking the wrong question about younger audiences. Rather than wondering how to persuade teenagers to care about cinema, new Nordic research suggests the more immediate challenge is turning an already positive attitude towards theatrical viewing into an actual trip to the mo…

(From left) Locarno's Mitchell Harper moderated the "It Takes A Village: Investing in Film Beyond Cinema" panel, which featured Darcy Heusel, of Outside Pictures; Nicola Ofoego of Black Mic Mag, Logical Pictures; and Samuel Tebandeke of Kiasi. The panel took place on August 8, 2026, as part of the Swiss film festival's industry platform. (Photo: courtesy of Locarno Film Festival/Ti-Press)

At Locarno, Restored Films Face Their Next Challenge: Finding an Audience

At Locarno Pro 2026, archivists, exhibitors, distributors and filmmakers explored why restoring a classic film is only the first step in putting it back in front of audiences. Locarno Pro (August 5-11) – the Swiss film festival’s industry platform – closed its biggest edition yet this August with 2,…

(From left) Moderator Zac Ntim of Deadline, Oscar-winning producer Mollye Asher ("Nomadland," "The Rider," "On Swift Horses") and film marketing strategist Mathias Noschis of Alphapanda participate in the "Audience First: Rethinking Film Marketing Before Distribution" panel at the Karlovy Vary IFF on July 6, 2026.

Indie Film Marketing Can’t Wait Until the Film Is Finished

A panel at Karlovy Vary examined the need to begin the marketing conversation at the earliest possible stage… even before production begins. At Karlovy Vary’s Industry program (July 5-9), a sharp conversation held on July 6 on audience strategy argued that independent films can no longer afford to t…

(From left) Host Aylin Kazi; TikTok creator Melo Nsuka; Jackie Meire, EU Head of Social at Amazon Prime Video, UK; and actress Runa Greiner, who participated in the EFM 2026 panel "From Community to Box Office: How Fandom on TikTok Drives Impact," held on Feb 13, 2026. (Photo: Winson, courtesy of EFM)

Social Media, Fandom and the Hard Question of Conversion

The question of whether social media buzz can actually drive potential audiences to cinemas is as pertinent as ever. As the first reactions for “The Odyssey” break, we reflect on panels that explored this topic at the European Film Market earlier this year… The news that Christophe…

(From left) Ruun Nour, Vancouver International Film Festival programmer and No Evil Eye Cinema co-founder; Can Sungu, artistic director of SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA; Kira Simon-Kennedy, film producer and volunteer member with La Clef collective; and moderate Jeremy Chua, producer at Potocol and executive director of the Singapore International Film Festival, who participated in the Cannes Docs panel “Micro Cinemas and Macro Impact: Independent Exhibition as a Social and Communal Practice,” held on May 16, 2026 (Photo: © Cyril Chateau / Marché du Film)

Micro Cinemas, Major Impact: How Grassroots Exhibitors are Rebuilding Film Culture

At a time when traditional distribution remains under pressure, micro cinemas and independent exhibition spaces may be offering one of the most concrete answers to the question of how films can still find committed, physically present audiences. That was the central argument emerging from the Cannes…

(From left) Nicolas Edmery and Elisa Joliveau-Breney, film analysts at the European Audiovisual Observatory; Naohiro Kaji, director of the Culture and Creative Industries Division at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; and Martin Kanzler, deputy head of department for market information at the Observatory, who participated in the "FOCUS on World Film Market Trends" at the Marché du Film in Cannes on May 15, 2026. (Photo: courtesy of European Audiovisual Observatory)

Global Cinema Attendance Inches Up, But the Recovery Belongs to Asia, Says the Latest FOCUS Report

The global theatrical market continued its uneven recovery in 2025, with Asia emerging as the main engine of growth and Japan standing out as one of the few major territories to surpass its pre-pandemic attendance levels. That was the central message from the launch of the 2026 edition of FOCUS – Wo…

(Left to Right) Berlinale chief Tricia Tuttle speaks with filmmaker and festival director director Shekhar Kapur during a panel on November 22, 2025 at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, India

Imperfect Is Beautiful: Shekhar Kapur and Tricia Tuttle on AI’s Role in Cinema’s Next Act

Under the winter sun in Panaji, Goa, where palm trees and festival banners spill out along the Mandovi River, the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which took place 20–28 November, once again felt like one of Asia’s most vital A-list gatherings. The industry-focused Waves Film Bazaar…

(Left to Right) Torsten Frehse of Neue Visionen, Rebecca Hartung of Pluto Film, Anne Schultka of KIDSreggio and moderator Alasdair Satchel during The Shrinking Gap Between Theatrical and Streaming Releases panel on November 20, 2025 at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia

Industry Panel at Tallinn Debates the Consequences of Europe’s Shrinking Theatrical Windows

At this year’s Just Film Industry Days, held 19–21 November as part of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, a panel of European industry professionals examined how rapidly shrinking theatrical windows are reshaping distribution models, audience expectations and the long-term health of cinema exhi…

The panellists sit on stage with a screen behind them, from left to right: Michele Casula; Alessandro Usai; Davide Novelli; Federica Lucisano; Simone Gialdini; Sonia Dichter; Valentina Torlaschi

Moviegoers Return But Italian Cinema is Running Out of Stories, Say MIA Panellists

Italy’s audiovisual sector benefits from sophisticated tools to track audience behavior and box office performance. Through box office tracking company, Cinetel, attendance data is collected in near real-time, while CinExpert – the weekly monitoring service that tracks the sociodemographic character…