Execs Excited to Build Slates at SPA Connect Market – SCREEN FOREVER 38 is just around the corner, and today Screen Producers Australia (SPA) announced full details of the upcoming SPA Connect Market, packed with opportunities and taking place 19-21 March 2024 on Queensland’s Gold Coast, followed by the Online Global Market from 26-27 March 2024.
The SPA Connect and Online Global Markets play a crucial role in fostering the health of Australia’s unique and vibrant screen sector, providing an annual opportunity for local and international industry professionals to meet in-person and online with executives to pitch productions, nurture new business connections, and ultimately bring projects to life.
Domestic TV executives from ABC and SBS will have a strong market presence on the Gold Coast this year, covering comedy, drama, entertainment and factual. There will also be local representation from the Foxtel Group and Stan, who will be on the hunt for exciting local scripted and unscripted projects. Not ignoring younger Australian audiences, executives from ABC and ACTF will be on the lookout for the ‘next big thing’ in children’s content.
For Feature Film, the market will see representation from multiple local distributors including Arcadia, Kismet, Madman Entertainment, Monster Pictures, Roadshow Films, Sharmill Films, STUDIOCANAL, and Umbrella Entertainment, all keen to hear about Australian stories that could wow audiences globally.
Also joining domestic buyers at SPA Connect are international buyers Ava Mustos, FIFTH SEASON, Rodrigo Herrera Ibarguengoytia, Red Arrow Studios International, and Simon Crowe, SC Films International, plus Phil Hunt from global financier Head Gear Films.
New Zealand will have impressive representation at the market, with commissioners from all three of the country’s broadcasters confirmed to be on the ground, including Sky NZ’s Head of Sky Originals/Senior Scripted Commissioner Thomas Robins, TVNZ’s Scripted Commissioner, Emma John, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Senior Director Commissioning ANZ Vicki Keogh.
In December 2023, SPA made a teaser announcement, heralding the return of highly anticipated elements unique to SCREEN FOREVER’s SPA Connect Market.
Always evolving to respond to the dynamic screen marketplace trends, the SPA Connect Market this year will include the ever-popular Ready, Steady, Pitch!, and Marketplace Roundtables. Proving to be the ideal way to break the ice and meet other delegates, the Screenrights Speed Networking Hour returns on the Wednesday morning, accompanied by a number of new or highly evolved offerings in the program this year.
The Production Partnerships Forum (an evolution of the Coproduction Forum) connects independents and smaller companies with over 30 established production company executives to spark important relationships and alliances. This year, Irish executives including Sam Atwell, Samson Films, Mary Callery, ShinAwiL, Paul Fitzsimmons, Prelude Content, and Jac Kerrin, Rippleworld, will join local powerhouses including Flying Bark Productions, Hoodlum Entertainment, Fremantle Australia, Werner Film Productions, and Easy Tiger Productions, all looking for exciting new partnership opportunities.
After a year’s hiatus, the popular Publishers Pitch & Market is back – bigger and better than ever. It is the perfect opportunity for producers eager to hear from publishers, agents, and authors as they showcase their bestselling stories, published books and advanced copies of manuscripts.
The stage is set for a literary feast at the Publishers Pitch & Market, which will see tables turned as producers are the ones being pitched to and will be a must for delegates who have a passion for adapting stories from page to screen or those on the hunt for the next big piece of Australian intellectual property.
The offering will be split into two one-hour events, the Publishers Pitch will showcase of impressive works being pitched to a panel of producers in front of a live audience, followed by the Publishers Market, an hour of one-on-one, pre-booked meetings to discuss rights available across a host of incredible literary gems.
A new offering for the 2024 SPA Connect Market is Launchpad, which will take place before the Official Opening and aims to provide delegates new to SCREEN FOREVER with a comprehensive overview of the conference and how to make the most of the three days and nights. Launchpad will commence at 11am on Tuesday, 19 March, so delegates intending to participate are encouraged to check in to the conference at 10am and be ready to begin.
After a few days of recovering from all the on-ground activity, the Online Global Market returns as a fully digital market, seeing delegates given opportunities to promote their screen businesses and slates to top executives from countries including Canada, Europe, Ireland, Singapore, the UK, and the US.
Delegates can look forward to participating in Global Marketplace Roundtables and Global Ready, Steady, Pitch!. Hosts will include international commissioning executives, distributors, and sales agents – all looking for the next best thing from Australian producers.
The Online Global Market will include key international players A+E Networks, All3Media International, AMC, Bankside Films, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBS Studios, Cornerstone Films, Fox Entertainment, Fremantle International, ITV Studios, Keshet International, LevelK, Miramax, OutTV, Protagonist Pictures, RTE, WildBrain, XYZ Films and ZDF Studios.
Spots for the SPA Connect Market and the Online Global Market are pre-booked on a first-come-first-serve basis.
To increase delegate’s chances of securing the bookings they want this year, the SPA Connect Market bookings will be opened in three stages over three weeks.
Bookings for the Publishers Pitch & Market will open at 3:00pm AEST on Thursday, 15 February.
All other SPA Connect Market bookings open 12:00pm AEST on Tuesday, 20 February 2024, and bookings for the Online Global Market open 12:00pm AEST on Tuesday, 27 February 2024.
Both markets are open to delegates with a Gold Coast registration, and meetings can be booked via the SPA Connect Market page.
Bookings are essential as places are strictly limited.
Register for SCREEN FOREVER 38 HERE.
Execs Excited to Build Slates at SPA Connect Market
Media Release – SPA
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Execs Excited to Build Slates at SPA Connect Market
