A consortium of 24 individual TV and film markets that take place in Europe have formed an alliance to focus on protecting the future of in-person market events as the global entertainment industry works through seismic digital and environmental shifts. This new cooperative will be known as the Film and Audiovisual Markets in Europe Alliance (FAME).

MIFA Annecy (France) and Animation Production Days (Germany) are among the markets involved, as are Agora TiFF (Greece), DocsBarcelona Industry (Spain), Glasgow Film Festival Industry Focus (UK), NewImages Festival (France), Sunny Side of the Doc (France), Young Horizons Industry (Poland) and Zurich Film Festival (Switzerland). 

FAME’s core goal is to preserve in-person industry events, which offer valuable business, education and networking opportunities and are an important “first link” in the production chain, according to a statement from FAME. They also create jobs and stimulate economies in the locations where they are held.

Identifying a need for attendees and sponsors to have access to more information to support their business decisions, one initiative that FAME is working on is a platform that will house key performance data and activity reports for the European production and distribution industry. And the hope is that this will trigger new opportunities to offer training sessions and help customers better understand current and future trends.

FAME will also advocate for all of its member markets with one unified voice and facilitate more open dialogue with European funding agencies at the regional and national level. 

FAME’s member markets formed this alliance in the wake of three 2023 think tanks that sought to identify common challenges they’re all facing and examine the future of TV and film markets. Some of these challenges include a rise in producers doing business online as opposed to face to face, and a reduction in business travel to save money and/or protect the environment. Among the takeaways from last year’s think tanks: Markets need to offer access to valuable information and connections, as well as promoting sustainability in new ways. 

Image of MIFA Annecy 2023, courtesy of Audiovisual from Spain.