Based in Strasbourg, France, the European Audiovisual Observatory is set to take the pulse of the current Russian cinema industry and look at the challenges and chances offered by this dynamic film market. It will hold a conference within the KINO EXPO and St. Petersburg International Content Forum events in St. Petersburg, Russia on September 19, 2018 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Entry is free, registration to KINO EXPO is not necessary and the conference languages will be English and Russian with translation. All media professionals, journalists, and academics are welcome to attend the conference, which will be opened by the Russian Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication deputy head Vladimir Grigoriev.
The European Audiovisual Observatory will provide contextual background analysis with its latest data on European market presented by the Observatory’s Department for Market Information film industry analyst Martin Kanzler. The observatory’s Department for Legal Information head Maja Cappello will run the participants through what is new in European media legislation relating to the film industry.
Russian consultancy Nevafilm will present its latest report titled “Trends in the film industry in the Russian Federation.” Conference participants will receive a free copy of the report, which is commissioned by the European Audiovisual Observatory.
The Russian Cinema Fund executive director Anton Malyshev will make a presentation on Russian cinema audiences. A round table of experts from the fields of production, distribution and exploitation will then zoom in on the real challenges and chances for Russia’s film industry, including working within Europe and the international scene.
The European Audiovisual Observatory executive director is Susanne Nikoltchev. She is looking forward to “the Observatory’s traditional Russian annual conference focusing this year on the latest developments in the biggest European film market in terms of potential audience.”
As the fifth biggest cinema market in Europe, Russia has been a major economic player in film production and exploitation for several years now. Admissions rose year on year by a massive 10 percent between 2016 and 2017, gross box office rose by around 9.5 percent over the same period and Russian national films hold a very respectable market share of around 24 percent.