Cathy Overett of New Holland Pictures attended Berlinale, 9-16 February 2012, in Berlin, Germany

Berlinale was a fabulous experience for us. Iron Sky was the most talked about film of the festival and the second fastest selling ticket. There was a real buzz about the film which helped us significantly in meetings and networking and culminated with a North American sale to eOne.

Wayne Denning of Carbon Media attended KidScreen Children's Television Market, in New York City in February 2012

The KidScreen Summit 2012, which was held in New York, provided a great opportunity for Carbon Media to engage and network with the world’s top experts in the children’s television industry and use it to the springboard acquisition and production activities for the company’s children’s television series Letterbox, Go Lingo! And Handball Hero.

There were a number of marketing outcomes from attending:

• Successful one-on-one meetings with representatives from listed International and Australian producers and broadcasters and commitment to develop and present projects;

• Networking events with speakers sharing the newest content for the newest platforms and trends in digital media impacting of Children’s television production. I particularly enjoyed Splict Screens: How Social Media and Apps are Affecting Kidnets. It proved to be a primary market place for commisioning.

• Carbon Media meet with and is negotiating with experienced International Children’s television producer Diana Manson whilst at Kidscreen (she is based in New York). It is hoped Diana Manson will consult to Carbon Media on the establishment and marketing of Children’s Television slate.

Overall, Carbon Media was able to successfully fulfill our marketing objectives due to the unique and rewarding opportunity provided by Screen Queensland. It is hoped next year’s summit and the upcoming MIPCOM/ MIPJNR and KidScreen in Asia will build on the opportunities presented for Carbon Media in New York.

Norm Wilkinson of Visionquest Entertainment attended AIDC in Adelaide, and Belgium/UK Markets - travelling between 19 - 29 February 2012

 In short we came away from this trip with at least one 3D cinema transmedia co-production with Canada.  The interest of our Great Apres distributor in another 3D film package.  An MOU with a leading UK producer to work on a package of 4 or 5 short factual series.  Two possible packages of maybe 6 with both a UK channel and also a South African co-producer/distributor.  If i only get two of the dicussed options we will be in very good shape

Dean Gibson of Carbon Media attended AIDC, in Adelaide, 27 February - 1 March 2012

AIDC 2012 represented a great opportunity to see what the current world andAustralian factual trends are at the moment and what is being considered into 2013.  Everything trend seemed to point towards broadcasters looking to fill as much time of  their schedule with big character series – so not a great deal has changed since AIDC 2011.  A fresh opportunity lies with ABC3’s intention to commission and develop factual programmes and series. They always go into development and will be looking towards content incorporates sports and arts in the year ahead. Like adult factual, they too are looking for big characters and big stories.

Richard Stewart of MFP Media Management attended EFM, in Berlin, Germany 7-18 February 2012

The EFM in Berlin is an excellent market as it is compact with most companies very accessible and I had no difficulty getting meetings.  There was a generally good feeling with this market and presales were being closed and there was a great willingness to consider all types of projects.  I was able to conclude two co-production deals here with films that are completely financeable so I think it was an excellent market. I was also able to secure co-financing and sales for a new project with Tri-Coast Intl. I was able to discuss and market-test a number of new projects that our company may commission including Elvis Lives (working title), Clarence the Camel and Amichai, with very strong interest in all this material.  As stated elsewhere I was able to obtain a sales agency and financing commitment for Clarence.  There was very solid interest in the entire project line up at EFM with a total of 27 meetings.  I was also able to discuss co-productions with a number of companies the principal ones being FFP New Media - Germany, Daneille Raaphorst – Incredible Film and Mountain Road, Netherlands.  The FFP New Media contact has resulted in a quality television series co-pro proposal.

Larry Zetlin and Clare Thompson of Gulliver Media Australia Pty Ltd attended AIDC, in Adelaide, 27 February - 1 March 2012

Overall AIDC 2012 was productive in terms of meeting many commissioning editors within a week, attending useful sessions to learn of new trends and techniques and also to network. Because we focussed on meetings, there was less time to attend sessions, but I found the sessions I did attend to be not as fresh and inspiring as previous years. The attendance of the Chinese broadcasters and the session on digital media touchscreens were both of interest. Thanks again to Screen Queensland for the opportunity to attend.

Angela Walsh of Angela Walsh Productions Pty Ltd attended EFM, in Berlin, Germany 07-18 February 2012

This narrative summary is shorter than usual because this trip was mainly about networking for me. I was determined that I would meet with those I had met with last year at Berlin and other markets/events of 2011 to assure them that my projects were still alive if not actually active. Unfortunately, there were some job changes and company restructures so I could not see everyone I wanted to, even though I emailed and stalked when and where I could! But I did have three meetings that turned out to be extremely beneficial for three different projects.

The beneficial meetings could result in two co-productions and one sales offer. These relationships are all script-dependent and only one project has a fully developed script so I now have a lot of work to do but it’s achievable.

I may not have any solid deals in place yet (letter of interest pending) but I feel extremely positive about the contacts I made and the conversations I had.

I met some great directors and other creatives that could be suitable for projects now or in the future. Plus I am pleased that there is consistent interest in what I have on offer. Once I have directors attached to two of my projects, I am reasonably confident of securing deals.

This year’s EFM was truly beneficial. I learnt a lot more than I expected to and go into 2012 with a great deal more hope for the future than I left 2011 with.

Grant Bradley of Limelight International attended TIFF, in Toronto 8-12 September 2011

I found TIFF to be less valuable this year than previous years.  I did not attend in 2010 and the layout had changed from the former centre at Sutton Place, to the new Lighthouse centre and the Hilton Hotel.  As I had a lot of my time prep-scheduled there was little time to “explore” and I did not see a lot of company offices.  I understand they were there … but even now I don’t know where they were.  The large display areas had some value for identifying government agencies and bodies, but overall there seemed to be a lack of distributor/sales agent offices.  In 2012, I am more likely to plan only 3 days at TIFF, with a couple of days in New York, Vancouver, and Los Angeles.

Sue Clothier of Northern Pictures attended The World Congress of Scientific and Factual Producers 2011, in Paris 27 November - 3 December 2011 

The Congress is in relative terms a small focused market attracting quality producers and broadcasters who are regular Congress attendees.  The location of the Congress in France meant there was a good representation of European and based broadcasters who may not travel as frequently to the southern hemisphere.  This years Congress had a wide selection of hosted and interactive sessions as well as information sessions with key broadcasters.  The Congress could be described as a venue for premium stakeholders.  This year an additional 100 delegates attended over 2010.

Veronica Fury of Wild Fury Pty Ltd attended SPAA, in Sydney 13-16 November

SPAA is where Australia producers meet the market place. Not just broadcasters but commercial players too. Also key international players attend. It is the one stop shop for the Australian screen  industry and includes television, feature film, animation, documentary, TV commercial and interactive media production companies, as well as services and facilities providers, such as post-production, finance, distribution and legal companies.  I found I could have meetings about projects past present and future with all the key areas from completion bond to presale to funding body.