3 Key Takeaways from a Very Positive EFM

The usheru team attended the 2024 European Film Market (EFM) at the Berlinale earlier this month where the international film industry once again descended to strike deals and forge networks. The Martin Gropius Bau was the home to most of the market, with talk of a potential move away from Potsdamer Platz on the cards from next year for the main festival. 

Our key takeaways from a very positive EFM:

1. Market Optimism: busy and buzzy the market welcomed optimistic buyers but the word is only completed works and star driven projects were selling well. But beyond sales, though,our experience was of a really fruitful space for organisations to meet and strategise with partners and international colleagues.
2. Data and innovation are being embraced.  In constructive meetings with our friends and colleagues from Spain to South Korea, Scandinavia to Colombia and everwhere in between,  we discovered a renewed openness to innovation. In particular there was a strong willingness to harness the power of data in global film promotion. This was underlined with the market session  on the ambitious pan-Europe  Crescine project.
3. Text to Video is the talk of Potsdammer Platz! Sora, OpenAi’s text to video proof of concept amazed and disturbed in equal measure with its incredible filmic qualities. How this rapidly advancing technology will impact the market for independent film is an area of debate – but there is one thing that can be said is that the tech is only getting better – and fast!