"FINANCIAL CRISES IN THE FILM INDUSTRY"

  The financial crisis is now being felt in the film industry as well. While cinemas have not yet seen a decline at the box-office – in crisis times this business is even regarded as anti-cyclical – the downturn has long since hit home at the beginning of the production chain. The triggers are declining pre-sales to dealers and distributors. These film buyers are tending more and more, particularly in the independent sector, to sign a contract only after a film is completed, they are no longer willing to put up production capital. And even purchases of finished films are down, making an impact on film markets and festivals such as Sundance or even Tribeca of late. The main cause behind this development is the credit crunch in which distributors and film dealers are now caught up. A second factor is the decline in television advertising proceeds, leaving the industry with fewer resources for purchasing film rights. 

Especially hard hit are the producers of indie and low-budget films. The big American studios were the first to react to the crisis. They not only cut down on production in general, but also closed down indie film departments or subsidiaries by the dozen. Paramount Pictures already pitched its “Paramount Vantage” label last summer and Warner Bros. Follow suit shortly thereafter, closing “Independent Pictures” and “Picturehouse”. 

  The longer the crisis goes on, the stronger the presence of online dealers is becoming – so much so that they are now touting themselves as rescuers of the independent film scene. They target their efforts primarily at filmmakers and producers whose films, after running through the film fest circuit, have still been unable to find a theatrical distributor or which were perhaps not even shown at the festivals. Particularly in these days of crisis, online companies as rivals of classic distribution are enjoying an enormous upswing. I personally feel as though this will cause the film industries hunger for new material to grow inevitably, eventually forcing them to pay top dollar for the well deserved.