Breaking Boundaries: Representation and Access in the Global Market
This panel explores the evolving landscape of global entertainment, emphasising the increasing demand for local-language content and strategies for accessing international markets. It highlights how diverse cultural narratives can achieve global success, focusing on the importance of representation and the challenges of negotiating fair deals. The discussion addresses the creative and commercial benchmarks for ensuring international appeal, as well as the specific challenges European producers face in expanding beyond local markets.
SPEAKERS
ARABELLA FLORES
Manager, Black Bear Pictures / USA
NEERJA NARAYANAN
Multi-hyphenate Creative Producer, Studio Executive, Consultant and Writer / USA
ALEXANDRA LEBRET
Managing Director, European Producers Club / FR
MODERATED BY
DIANNA LODDERHOSE
International Features Editor, Deadline / UK
TIME
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
15:30 – 16:30 (CET)
LOCATION
Swissotel Sarajevo / CineLink Talks Conference Room
Arabella Flores
Toronto-born Flores relocated to Los Angeles the day after she graduated, initially setting up a lifestyle app with a producer before moving into talent management. At Black Bear, she looks after clients including Money Heist director Jesus Colmenar and writer Javier Gomez Santander, Nigerian writer Olive Nwosu and Perro Azul, producer of Netflix’s Mexican series Who Killed Sara?.
Flores divides her time between the US, Mexico and Europe and sees a growing appetite for local-language content. “The success of Squid Game, Parasite and Money Heist has made people realise there’s a world beyond Hollywood,” she says.
Flores placed Colmenar in Sabine at Screen Gems as well as on projects at Marvel, AGBO and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, facilitated a deal for Nwosu to adapt and direct a Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel at Searchlight Pictures, and set up the English-language feature debut of Mexican creator Marcos Bucay (Bankrolled) with AGC Studios.
Mindful of advice to look for opportunities and always protect the client, Flores says: “I want my clients to get paid as close to traditional US rates as possible. It takes educating the international players on pushing back against the buyers and setting a precedent.”
Neerja Narayanan
Multi-hyphenate creative producer / writer & studio management executive with track record over 25 years for major studios in development, production, acquisition, based in London, New York, LA, Mumbai, working across Asia, North America, Lat-Am, Europe, Australia, parts of Africa/MENA, having built & managed content pipelines for multinational vertically integrated studio divisions for commercially and critically successful local multi-language content, this includes being SVP at Fox International Prods, VP for what's now Disney South Asia, studio exec with Sony Pics Intl Prods producing cross border successes across formats, nominated for and won major internationally recognised awards including Asia Pacific Awards, BAFTA awards, Film Independent Spirit Awards, Indian National Awards, International Indian Film Academy awards, with festival premieres at Toronto, Pusan, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Berlin etc. Worked for Channel Four UK, the UK Film Council, Capitol Films UK, Edinburgh Film Fest, headed branded content in Asia for broadcast TV. Works with orgs like Gotham Film & Media Institute, Film Independent, Sundance, MIA, Doha Film Institute, Portland Art Museum, Creative Hawaii, Singapore International Film Festival, developing programs, mentoring talent for films/TV, has been a speaker at Toronto Film Fest, MIA, Channel Four, TiE NYC, Columbia University, Athena Film Fest, Gotham Film Week + written editorials for Filmmaker Magazine among others. Based in LA, producing series / film with Sony TV, Sony Intl Prods + developing content/territories with studios like Range Media Partners, Paramount among others and building cross-continental creative funds + distribution networks.
Alexandra Lebret
After graduating with a master's degree in Macroeconomics at Dauphine University, and an MSc in International Economics at ESSEC and at the Università di Bocconi, Alexandra has dedicated her career to the cinema industry.
In 2002, she was named Managing Director of the EPC and has driven since then the association into a new era, working at transforming the association into the renowned actor it has become.
She was decorated in 2013 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her work and dedication in favor of the European cinema.
In 2014, she became a producer herself, founding the production companies Mare Nostrum Productions and Halley Production, and produced 8 films in 2 years which received 16 awards. Her most recent film is Iciar Bollain’s latest work called "La Boda de Rosa" which was presented at the 2020 San Sebastian International Film Festival. In 2020, Alexandra also participated in the APPLE FILM production of Oleg Sentsov’s film "Numbers" as a coproducer which premiered at the Berlinale.