With erratic international theatrical box office performances over the last 18-months and continually shifting audience patterns, there are many hits and many misses that confound traditional release patterns and expectation from industry and audience perspectives.

For filmmakers and alongside the production, distribution and exhibition sectors, this can present a range of challenges in what audiences actually expect, how to give it them and how producers can present their works to markets.

From a production, distribution and sales perspective, this session continues our annual deep dive in the contemporary approaches from the business sector around how to best reach audiences and finances through traditional business structures while forging new ones through self-distribution, active participation from filmmakers in the release of their titles and the recalibrating of what can be achieved.

What tools do Producer’s need to arm themselves in reaching audiences, and how are those working in acquisition thinking outside traditional business modes to deliver new types of content, with new models to a changing marketplace.

This session asks the hard questions of people in the know to trace audience and market movements and expectation and speculates on what we may see manifested in the immediate and long-term landscape.

Panelists Feature:

• Ari Harrison: General Manager, Umbrella Entertainment

• Renee Melbourne: The Solid State

• Walter Bienz: The Solid State

• Chair: Richard Sowada: Director of Revelation & St Kilda Film Festivals