Venice FF To Host Parallel Film Market

Just what the world of film needs…..another film market.  The venerable Venice Film Festival, which recently hired Alberto Barbera as Artistic Director, has announced that it will present an official Film Market during its late August, early September dates. Pascal Diot, a respected producer and international sales agent, has been tapped to head the new Venice Film Market.  While a Business Center and Digital Video Library, as well as market screenings for Festival titles and those introduced at Cannes and other festivals, can be an asset for buyers, the concern here is that the event happens just on the eve of the Toronto International Film Festival, a must-attend event that has stolen the spotlight from Venice in terms of industry attendance and business. Although Toronto does not have an official market, it is clearly the place where sellers and buyers congregate, so it will be interesting to see if Venice is successful in luring them one week earlier. There is also the wild card of the Rome Film Festival, which is now headed by former Venice topper Marco Mueller, which has gained traction with its market sidebar event over the past five years. Venice may need to do what it must to lure buyers, but a misstep here could be embarrassing for the new Venice management team at a time when they have a lot to prove.

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