When rental DVDs were still being sent by mail in Germany, Netflix was already flickering across screens in America. Trends in the entertainment industry often have their origins in the USA. A look to Hollywood is therefore also a glimpse of what may come. Participants of past delegation trips to California, organized by International Film Partners, benefit from this knowledge advantage and the opportunities to maintain and expand their own network. In 2022, it will finally be that time again. A look into the future.
Hollywood is the epitome of large-scale cinema. The leading OTT platforms and major studios are located in the greater Los Angeles area, and the tech giants are based in San Francisco. A small group of selected representatives of the German creative industry will meet decision-makers at the major talent agencies and platform operators, executives in major studios, innovative founders and influential multipliers in person. This year's trip takes up the ideas of the past eight years and creates a now unique program between the American Film Market, Hollywood, Studio City and Silicon Valley.
A visit to the American Film Market in Santa Monica on November 4th and 5th is offered as an option. Individual 1-on-1 or small group appointments are possible on November 7th and 9th. On November 8th, the delegation will visit a selection of industry-profiling companies in Los Angeles and optionally on November 10th in San Francisco. The application period starts shortly.
A whole series of well-known companies from Germany have taken part in the trips in recent years. These include service providers who sense new business in the USA or who want to expand fragile business developments in Germany with American partners. The search for top-class talent leads producers to California. Famous people live all along the west coast, including actors, directors and authors. For funding agencies and film commissions, direct contact with international decision-makers offers a unique opportunity for reflection and assessment.The agenda includes a selection of the usual suspects. The streaming platforms have long been an important point of contact, although they maintain European structures for operational contact. Netflix, Amazon, and HBO Films are happy to present their vision of the entertainment industry of the future. The major studios today include Disney, which took over 20th Century Fox a few years ago and is the industry leader. The group is many times larger than Volkswagen and is one of the most valuable companies in the world. But Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal Studios, and Sony with Columbia Tristar are also based in the greater Los Angeles area, a metropolis of 8 million inhabitants. A trip from Sony to Warner Brothers can take over an hour, despite the huge freeways.
The agencies, the talent agencies, are located centrally in Beverly Hills. CAA alone has around 3,500 employees in Los Angeles. In addition to William Morris Endeavor, UTA, Paradigm, Gersh and many other talent management companies, there are countless agents, lawyers and consultants for all kinds of creatives. Large financial investors seek close contact with the control centers of the entertainment industry. So much production power also ties an incredible number of innovative service providers to this location.
Shortly before the delegation days, the AFM, the American Film Market, takes place directly on the Pacific in Santa Monica, between Malibu Beach and the famous Venice Beach. The delegation trip fits into the immediate temporal context, which is ideal for minimizing travel costs and carbon footprint.
For the second time, International Film Partners is offering San Francisco as an optional additional program this year. Planned destinations there are Lucas Film, Epic Games and tech companies in Silicon Valley. The home of Google and Facebook is the address for innovation and disruptive ideas in practical implementation.
You can of course find out more about the delegation trip and the upcoming application period from us.
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