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LYON, France — Classic film markets are ever more international and so is the International Classic Film Market (MIFC), part of Lyon’s Lumière Festival and one of the world’s very rare business meets and marts for the heritage
film business.
Equally, classic films are commanding ever larger audiences, especially among younger cinema goers.
Both trends look set to play out at this year’s MIFC, which unspools in Lyon over Oct.13-16.
In highlights at this year’s Classic Film market, Paramount’s Charlotte Barker will join Park Circus CEO Douglas Davis for a panel on the “Anglo-Saxon” model for classic-film distribution and rights.
Wearing multiple hats, Paolo Moretti, head of ECAL university’s cinema department, Geneva’s Grütli Cinemas and Fondazione Prada’s Film Fund, will take part in a special conversation.
Spencer Collantes, VP of Clockwork, Warner Bros.’ specialty film division, will present a case study on re-releasing Ken Russell’s controversial 1971 film “The Devils.”
As part of its regular work connecting national film industries with buyers, distributors and programmers, the MIFC is spotlighting Greece as its country of honor and Taiwanese cinema in a dedicated Focus.
As Greece takes center stage at the MIFC, its government is rolling out a €750 million ($840 million) Greece On Screen plan that supports production and distribution while also putting money into preserving, digitizing and restoring the country’s film heritage.
The Taiwan Focus builds on years of restoration and international circulation through cinemas, television and DVD/Blu-ray, as local rights holders, the government and international distributors work to bring more of the country’s film heritage back into circulation.
Now heading into its 14th edition alongside the Lumière Film Festival, run by Cannes chief Thierry Frémaux, the MIFC remains relatively small but occupies a unique position as a marketplace devoted entirely to classic and heritage film. One of its key achievements has been to give key players a permanent meeting point each October in Lyon, says MIFC co-head Anaïs Desrieux.
“One way in which the MIFC has made a difference is by structuring the sector through a physical venue, by materializing this moment where people can meet,” she adds. “That has firmly established the MIFC on the industry calendar, alongside the festival and its enormous pulling power.”
This year, the market moves from the Institut Lumière, the organization behind the festival, to the Grand Hôtel-Dieu, a major historic site in the heart of Lyon, bringing participants closer to the festival’s cinemas, restaurants and the city center.
One sign of the importance of film libraries is demand for the MIFC’s catalogue holders session, which was the first event to fill up this year, according to Gérald Duchaussoy, who co-heads the MIFC.
Major groups such as Studiocanal and Warner Bros. have created dedicated catalogue labels, he notes, reflecting “growing recognition that these films represent genuine added value rather than a burden.”
“It reveals a strategy in the way companies expose and exploit their films, at festivals, through theatrical releases, on DVD and Blu-ray, and through international sales. It is a fairly fast-moving niche sector, and you can feel things accelerating,” he adds.
Multiple challenges remain, however. One is how films reach audiences. The Paramount-Park Circus panel will examine the central role played by specialist intermediaries such as Park Circus, which often act as the point of contact for rights, DCPs, prints and subtitled materials across territories.
“You can be in Australia and speak to Park Circus to obtain a Universal film,” said Duchaussoy, noting that other rights holders may sell directly in some territories while working through local distributors in others.
Wider access, however, can create problems of its own for rights holders.
Warnings are coming from industry professionals about what they call “hyper-distribution,” says Desrieux.
“Rights are sold and then resold in fragmented pieces, and you can lose traceability, visibility and control over those rights,” she notes, warning of potential revenue losses.
That said, as the film industry grapples with an overwhelming volume of content, fragmented audiences and an ever-expanding range of distribution windows, some of the answers may lie in classic cinema.
“Heritage cinema is a tremendous laboratory for exploring these questions and, ultimately, a laboratory for the future,” says Desrieux.
The challenges are increasingly familiar across the wider industry, she adds: making films stand out in an abundant market, renewing audiences, preserving diversity and coordinating theatrical, streaming and DVD/blu-ray releases.
For Desrieux, the MIFC’s own future lies in becoming more European and international, while broadening the conversation beyond heritage cinema alone. She also points to the Classics Innovation Corner, showcasing new tools aimed at making rights information clearer and easier to share, ultimately helping more films circulate.
For Desrieux, the distinction between “classic” and “contemporary” cinema may itself eventually become less rigid.
“Many of the questions we have been addressing for years in heritage cinema have now become central questions for the entire industry,” she says.
And the logic works both ways: “Today’s contemporary films will be tomorrow’s heritage films.”
