Toronto Expecting Brisk Sales Environment

Expectations are high as the Toronto International Film Festival, the season’s first major industry event, enters into high gear this weekend. While the Venice Film Festival, which ends on Sunday, is viewed as more of a promotional event, the fact is that the who’s who of the industry are here in Toronto ready to do serious business. With strong activity at May’s Cannes Film Festival and a (slight) lifting of the worldwide economic malaise, this looks to be a stronger year for independent and international film (certainly as compared to the desperate seasons of years past). Equity financing from different sources (including the booming economies of China, India and the United Arab Emirates) are allowing more films to find production coin but buyers are much more conservative since many of their films have not met expectations. With the major studios dramatically cutting back on their production slates and new media platforms continuing to expand, there is more optimism this season than has been the case for a long while. The strong international box office performances of such films as BLACK SWAN, THE KING’S SPEECH and Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS are a few of the success stories that have buoyed the market. However, it should be note, that at a festival which is premiering over 300 films, there is still stiff competition to hand pick the best of the lot….and even then, there are few if any guarantees. However, an update mood is better than a desperate one any day.

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