MUMBAI: Last Friday the 13th, at the Cannes Film Festival, Jean-Claude Marcourt, Minister of Economy for the Walloon Region of Belgium, launched the first co-production market for 3D-stereoscopic films in Europe and beyond.
The announcement of the market, officially called 3D Film Mart (3DFM), was made during the reception organized by the TWIST Cluster (Technologies from Wallonia for Image, Sound, and Text) at the pavilion of Belgium and Wallonia, on the Croisette. Currently, there is no film market exclusively dedicated to stereoscopic-3D films, whether for sale or for co-production.
The purpose of the market (3DFM) is to enable film producers (for cinema and television) who have projects for feature films, documentaries, etc at a development stage to meet with co-producers, sales agents, distributors, and financiers from around the world. About 20 projects will be preselected and about 10 investors will be invited. Other investors may participate as well. The project promoters and the investors will interact via pitching sessions and individual meetings (B2B). The selected projects will be ranked by a panel of experts. 3DFM is a new tool which will promote the production of 3D films at the European level. It should have an impact at the cultural, artistic, technical, and economic levels in Europe.
3DFM is an official project funded by the European MEDIA Programme. The project was submitted to the European Commission by the organizers of the international 3D Stereo MEDIA event, TWIST, and the German company peacefulfish. The market will be held as part of 3D Stereo MEDIA on 7-8 December, in Liège, Belgium.
The Walloon region of Belgium, and especially the region of Liège, located in the heart of Europe, already offers many technological and artistic skills in the field of imaging, especially in stereoscopic 3D. It is therefore natural that the European Commission decided to make of Liège the European city for the 3D (co-production) film market.
3D Stereo MEDIA is becoming recognized worldwide as the most comprehensive event that is exclusively dedicated to all forms of 3D imaging, whether stereoscopic, holographic, or other. This year, 3D Stereo MEDIA is built on four pillars: a professional forum, a scientific conference, a 3D film festival (with its now famous “Perrons of Crystal”), and a training session in 3D film-making. 3D Stereo MEDIA 2011 will take place at the Congress Center of Liège. This international event was initiated in 2009 by the University of Liège.
The Call for Projects and the conditions for participating in the "3D Film Mart (3DFM)" will be available on 6 June on www.3dstereomedia.eu. The deadline for submitting projects is 1 September. The market itself will take place on 7 and 8 December during 3D Stereo MEDIA.
