The CineAsia show held this week was a return to form in the new/former home of Bangkok after a gap of three shows, since its last event in Hong Kong in 2018. While it had been previously held in Bangkok many years ago, there were a lot of uncertainties about the move and inevitable challenges about a new venue. Fortunately there was widespread agreement that the show in its new guise was a great success. While we cannot do the show full justice here, we wanted to share some impressions while it is still fresh in our minds and offer our congratulations to Andrew and Bob Sunshine, as well as the whole Film Expo Group team.
Apart from the weather (goodbye HK Christmas chill; hello hot BKK humidity), the biggest change was going from a closed conference centre to an open shopping mall venue; the very upscale IconSiam complex. This presented its own set of challenges, but Jordan, his FEG and local teams (including Goldenduck Group) overcame them elegantly. They were more than ably assisted by their venue partner, Major Cineplex Group, whose magnificent new cinema was the home to the presentations and screenings. The show also included a river boat tour to the no-less impressive SF Cinema Terminal 21 Rama 3, which had also recently opened.
All five big Hollywood studios were well represented and put on impressive slate presentations, with regional films also given their due. While we can’t comment on individual films, it was reassuring that from February of next year there is a solid schedule of releases every month, with gaps as was the case in Q3 this year. Assuming no further release date shifts, cinemas can thus look ahead to the first “normal” year in terms of year-round releases, since the start of the pandemic. There were some minor grumblings about the need for an “overspill” screen (11) when the primary screen (12) rapidly filled up during presentation, while the Asians’ attachments to their smartphones was also initially underestimated. On the other hand, the IMAX screen was a great venue for everything from the State of the Industry Keynote by Kurt Reider from Warner Bros., the obligatory MPA presentation and the executive roundtable.
CineAsia once again saw GDC Technology return as the main sponsor of the event and the cinema technology solutions provider did not disappoint with a torrent of press releases about new deals. Other companies also staked out their claim to next generation cinema technology advances, including Christie’s impressive Cinity demonstration, Qube, CJ 4DPlex, Dolby, DTS:X, the Vista family and Cinionic. The trade show floor was somewhat small, as it has been at every conference this year, but there was definitely delegate traffic and vendors spoke of having productive meetings with lots of leads and even deals. It is also the only cinema show we’ve been to where Coke and Pepsi were equally represented.
There were plenty of international dignitaries as the Global Cinema Federation (GCF) convened in person, with Fithian looking chipper on his last official visit and Jackie Brenneman by his side. UKCA and UNIC President Phil Clapp also attended and said on LinkedIn, “I’ve been hugely impressed by the attendance and the sheer joy shown by people in getting back together after four long years.” It was this happiness, hearty handshakes and hugs between colleagues that had often not seen each other for four years that became the defining memory of the show. Zoom and webinars have their place, but there is no substitute for meeting industry folks in person, at least once a year.
There was just one notable absence at the show, with Chinese delegates, cinemas and vendors effectively the absent hole in the CineAsia donut. The Zero Covid restrictions were just being lifted in Mainland China, but few Chinese made the journey to avoid having to face long quarantine on their return. This made the final day’s luncheon award so much more poignant, when the recognition for Exhibitor of the Year went to Lumiere Pavilions from China. Accepted by President Jane Shao and Chairman and CEO Jimmy Wu, the latter was overcome with emotions and tears welled up as he recounted the early impact of the pandemic (Lumiere has a cinema in Wuhan) and the terrible financial, personal and emotional toll the pandemic had wrought on them.
“That was so necessary,” one executive told Variety shortly after the awards. “It is so easy to see our dealings with China through a political lens. But these are real people, real lives and real businesses that are in pain.” No wonder this was the one award that made the entire room rise and give a standing ovation to the recipients.
A happy conclusion to the show was that not only were those attending treated to several new glimpses of Pandora, but on the last day of the show the positive reviews for “Avatar: The Way of Water” started pouring in, confirming that the much anticipated film (if that isn’t an understatement) will deliver in spades and bring a happy ending to 2022; a year that began with high hopes, but saw its fair share of challenges. “We should not say that the cinema market has recovered,” GSC’s Koh Mei Lee said at the executive roundtable, “but rather it has evolved.” So too has CineAsia and in a very positive direction. We already look forward to being back in Bangkok 4-7 December 2023.
Film Festivals
Sundance Film Festival Announces 2023 Selections
The Sundance Film Festival announced the slate of independent films selected across the feature film categories for its 2023 edition. Next year’s festival will take place 19-29 January 2023 and will be the first time Sundance has taken place in person since 2020, with the event being called off the last two years because of the pandemic.
The line-up includes the latest films from directors Nicole Holofcener and Ira Sachs, biodocs about Brooke Shields, Michael J. Fox and Little Ricahard. Several entries focus on the Ukranian war and the treatment of women in Iran. The festival has a reputation of launching films that are often nominated for numerous awards throughout the remainder of the year, especially documentaries. In 2021, “CODA” premiered at Sundance and went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture earlier this year.
There are 101 feature-length films representing 23 countries in the 2023 program. First time feature-filmmakers represent 28% of the selection, or 32 of 115 titles, while 17 of the feature films and projects announced were supported by the Sundance Institute in development through direct granting or residency labs.
Sundance waded through 15,855 submissions, including 4,061 feature-length films to program next year’s festival. Of the 4,061 feature film submissions, 1,662 were from the U.S., and 2,399 were international.
Source: Celluloid Junkie
People
Stuart Dickinson Named Vista Group CEO as Kimbal Riley Retires
Vista Group, a leading provider of technology and data solutions for the global film industry, continues to make personnel moves as 2022 draws to a close. The latest is the retirement of Kimbal Riley, who has been the company’s CEO for the past five years, originally joining Vista in 2013. Over the past year Riley spoken openly about eventually retiring, though the timing was dependent on when a replacement could be identified.
That replacement was named this past week when the company’s board announced Stuart Dickinson will step into the role of CEO starting 11 April 2023. Dickinson joins Vista Group as an accomplished leader with more than 25 years’ experience in the technology sector, most recently as New Zealand Country Manager of NYSE listed DXC Technology.
Dickinson will come up to speed over the next four months on Vista’s company culture, it’s many businesses and the industry they serve. Based on the verbiage in the announcement, it seems Riley will be there to help the process along to assure a smooth leadership transition.
Source: Celluloid Junkie
Current Events
Jason Kilar on The Future of Movies and Streaming
The name Jason Kilar may still cause cause cinema operators to grit their teeth. The former CEO of WarnerMedia was the leading voice behind sending every 2021 Warner Bros. movie straight to HBO Max. Now, after departing the company when Discovery took over, he is writing opinion pieces for the Wall Street Journal on the future of the studio and streaming business.
Some of what Kilar had to say could hardly be described as groundbreaking to those working in the industry. For instance, he predicts what many before him have; that no more than three streaming services will be able to ultimately survive, so expect some consolidation in the next 24 months. At least he’s giving us a timeframe for such activity.
As for the multiplex, Kilar says to look for “continued evolution” as theatre operators look to differentiate themselves from home viewing. He uses Alamo Drafthouse and IMAX as examples in the same breath before going on to suggest that cinemas show diversify their programming by showing television content on the big screen. And yes, Kilar has a thing or two to say about theatrical windows and whether they will soon be tied to consumer demand. (Someone may want to tell him how Universal Pictures’ 17-day PVOD window is based on a film’s opening weekend performance.)
Source: Wall Street Journal
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Celluloid Junkie is the leading online resource dedicated to the global film and cinema business. The Marquee is our newsletter focused on motion picture exhibition; keeping industry professionals informed of important news, the latest trends and insightful analysis