The Event Cinema Association this year will host two events at CineEurope June 22-25 in Barcelona. The CineEurope Focus Sessions – a panel discussion on the trade show floor on Tuesday June 23 at 4:00 pm – will feature some high profile, first time speakers: Emma Keith of NT Live, John Bullen of Sony Europe, Duncan Connal of Vue Cinemas, John Lewis of Broadway Cinema Letchworth, and Grant Calton of Fathom Events. This will be followed the next day by a poolside reception.
The panel will offer an overview of where the event cinema industry is currently and an analysis of future trends and box office share. That will be followed by a high profile drinks reception on Wednesday June 24, co-hosted by the ECA and Screen International at the poolside of the AC Hotel Barcelona, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
Melissa Cogavin, managing director of the ECA said, “Every year at CineEurope we like to do something different in response to what our members ask for. We produced an online survey recently for our members and it emerged that networking and industry information were key requirements for them. This year we are delighted to have been invited to host the CineEurope Focus Sessions on the Trade Show floor and we’ve got some wonderful speakers plus a new industry report by IHS to announce, which will I’m sure be of interest. And then on Wednesday night we’ll be hosting our poolside drinks reception with Screen International, which is likely to be one of the highlights of CineEurope. Thanks must go to all our sponsors for helping to make this possible.”
The ECA& Screen International Drinks Reception will take place on Wednesday night from 6:00 pm; an exclusive invitation-only event with a large amount of publicity provided by partners Screen International. Scott Benfold, sales manager for Screen International said, “CineEurope is a major event in the exhibition calendar and Screen International is delighted to be partnering with the ECA, representing as it is such a growth area in the cinema market. We are sure that our ECA & Screen International Drinks Reception will be one of the highlights at this year’s event in Barcelona and we look forward to working together for many years to come.”
Fabrice Testa, CEO of DSAT Cinema said, “Our association with the ECA goes back some years now. Together DSAT Cinema and Ymagis are now offering the largest delivery network in Europe for event content providers; we consider Event Cinema to be of significant importance in a post-digital world. Our own activities, organising and broadcasting live events as well as delivering recorded content, are an integral part of the Event Cinema industry, so we are very happy to be supporting the ECA’s activities at CineEurope.”
John Bullen, content and VPF distribution, Sony 4K Digital Cinema, Sony Europe added, “Sony 4K Digital Cinema is hugely excited to be working with both the National Theatre Live and Vue Entertainment International in this unique partnership. Over the next year we’ll collaborate on projects that will redefine the boundaries of event cinema with extraordinary new viewing experiences. We’re delighted to partake in the ECA hosted conference at CineEurope, as it’s the ideal forum to share our excitement and news with the exhibition industry in Europe. It’s clear beyond traditional feature films event cinema represents an increasingly important slice of box office receipts”.
Niels Van Duinen, general manager of Philips LightVibes summed up the opportunities at CineEurope and the ECA’s continued presence there, explaining, “The importance of this event can’t be overestimated. The ECA provides us the essential platform for further exploration and research around event cinema, finding meaningful ways to unlock its full potential. LightVibes delivers compelling, subtle ambient lighting to every viewer’s peripheral field of vision, enhancing performances and events – as well as documentaries, pre-show programming and advertising. Through our collaboration with the ECA, we identified striking combinations of content and technology, bringing innovation to life.”
Cathy Huis in ’t veld, CTO of Gofilex said, “Gofilex is uniquely positioned in Europe to provide a broad range of products; our dedicated content delivery network and streaming services are perfect for the event cinema market, and we are committed to growing this side of our business. We are therefore delighted to be supporting the ECA at CineEurope as they are raising the profile of the event cinema sector."
The growth of the event cinema market has been little short of phenomenal and the ECA has risen in profile as it has sought to provide the networking opportunities, industry data, theatrical trailers, best practice and trade show presence vital to such a new and vibrant sector.
In the last 12 months alone the ECA has hosted a conference as well as the second annual ECA Awards, collaborated on a second industry report due later this month, published the Technical Delivery Handbook and developed a training course based on the hand book for those seeking a better understanding of live content delivery in cinemas.
At trade shows in particular the ECA provides the space for ECA members and their guests to meet and network but it’s the first time that the ECA has had the opportunity to curate its own panel, showcasing the best that the industry has to offer and provide valuable insight into the achievements and challenges the event cinema industry is facing in 2015.
For more information about the ECA’s activities at CineEurope and how you can become a member please visit: http://www.eventcinemaassociation.org/