This year the trades will be in full force at the Cannes Film Festival, offering their own perspective on events, films and red carpets, convinced they are providing a real service to the film industry.
Cannes is as important for the trade magazines as it is for the film companies that attend. The three big entertainment trades, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Screen International, have been the staple of the film and entertainment business for decades. Each has been sold and resold and/or merged and are now significant corporate entities. New platforms have emerged like The Wrap and most recently The Film Verdict, along with EU-supported platforms and other independent trades. A crowded Croisette.
Trades are only relevant to the industry if the content and platforms they provide are directly impactful for the filmmaker. A “trade” is exactly that, a publication meant to stimulate trade activity within the industry and independently drive awareness and commerce within the international film community.
Each trade platform and magazine believes in their own relevance; however, it is up to the film community to decide what is relevant to their companies. At The Film Verdict (TFV), we believe that international film reviews are the most relevant content at a film festival, as well as market and festival news and features. But to remain relevant in an ever-expanding market, a trade can’t sit on its laurels; it needs to stay close to the market and provide new and innovative opportunities.
Although it is the youngest member of the trades, The Film Verdict was born simply to fill the basic need for film reviews felt by the international community, which includes Hollywood. TFV refocused back to the simplicity of a trade magazine’s mission: to provide a bridge between filmmakers and the larger industry of acquisition executives and festival programmers. In essence, an independent voice to drive trade and commerce; ergo, a trade. As a true international trade, TFV has been innovative in providing new and relevant platforms for an ever-expanding international film market.
This year at Cannes, The Film Verdict will officially announce its launch of Al-Takdir, the first international trade platform for films in the Middle East and North Africa, meeting the growing demand for Arab films that are now being sold world-wide. The Film Verdict will also be announcing TFVNetworks (TFVN), a platform of industry podcast content reaching a global audience, and shortly, it will formally announce its Cannes Market Screening Rooms in the Metaverse, providing an expansive marketing platform for films attending the Marché.
A trade magazine/platform is only as relevant if the film community which supports its initiatives and understands the value of having a trade provide them with content that improves their business and expands their opportunities throughout the global film community. In the end, it is the responsibility of the industry to support its preferred platform – and that determines the relevancy of the trades.
Eric Mika is the President and Publisher of The Film Verdict. He has served as a senior executive for both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
