FIAD Secretary General - Alina Popescu - outlines how COVID-19 has impacted distributors on a Cannes

On 23 June, FIAD’s Secretary General – Alina Popescu – spoke on a high-level panel at the Cannes Marché du Film organised by the European Audiovisual Observatory where the status of the audiovisual sector in the time of COVID-19 was discussed by leading figures in the European audiovisual sector.

The discussion was introduced by a short documentary film on “The European audiovisual sector in the time of COVID” based on short interviews with its members to which FIAD has contributed. The goal was to provide a broad picture looking at the various components of the audiovisual industry looking at the crisis, the resistance and the future.

When asked a question by Maja Capello - Head of Department for Legal Information at the European Audiovisual Observatory – on how COVID-19 has impacted the distribution of films, Alina stressed the importance of the theatrical release window in generating revenues for the entire European Audiovisual value chain:

“While distributors tend to get the rights for all windows, the theatrical window is crucial for us as most of the revenues are coming from this window and this has been the most impacted during the lockdown. I think this crisis has actually shown the importance of the theatrical window."

In case you missed it, please find here the recording of the panel and the short documentary “The European audiovisual sector in the time of COVID”.