SPA Excited for Supercharged Opportunities During SCREEN FOREVER 39 – Today, Screen Producers Australia (SPA) announced more details of a revised Ready, Steady, Pitch! structure and information on other SPA Connect Market (Tuesday, 6 May – Thursday, 8 May 2025) and Online Global Market (Tuesday, 29 April – Wednesday, 30 April 2025) offerings taking place as part of SCREEN FOREVER 39, Australia’s premier screen industry event.
As announced in Dec 2024, delegates should be aware of beneficial structural changes to the virtual and in-person Ready, Steady, Pitch! offerings, which will come into effect in both upcoming markets.
The exciting changes will give delegates and hosts a more productive experience, facilitating better matches between projects and buyers.
SPA’s restructuring of the fan favourite SPA Connect offering will allow Gold Coast Badge holders to submit projects that will be shared with a pool of domestic and global buyers who can pick the projects that most align with what they are interested in seeing at market.
Ready, Steady, Pitch! project submissions will open to Gold Coast Badge holders from 9am AEDT on Monday, 10 February, where registered delegates are encouraged to submit brief details of up to three projects they want to pitch at the market.
Producer delegates should understand that the submission process is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to get their project in front of the right person to realise its potential.
Project submissions only require topline details about the project, including title, format, genre, duration and a logline and will close at 11:59pm AEDT on Monday, 3 March 2025.
Submissions will be available to Online Global Market (29 – 30 April, 2025) and in-person SPA Connect Market buyers, Production Partnerships Forum companies, and publishers.
Any remaining SPA Connect Market bookings will be available on a first-come, first-served basis when bookings open for the Online Global Market at 12:00pm AEDT on Tuesday, 1 April 2025, and the in-person SPA Connect Market at 12:00pm AEST on Tuesday, 8 April 2025.
The changes will foster more lucrative opportunities in the SPA Connect Market, aligning it with global market operations. They will ensure buyers receive pitches from pre-vetted, relevant sellers with projects that align with their market needs.
SPA encourages delegates to register early and submit up to three high-quality projects to secure meaningful market meetings with local and global buyers, distributors, and production partners.
The Online Global Market will include the hugely popular and high-energy Global Ready, Steady, Pitch! and the more relaxed Global Marketplace Roundtables. Spots for the Roundtables are pre-booked on a first-come, first-served basis and will provide valuable opportunities for delegates to meet with key international screen executives who have the potential to get projects off the ground.
International buyers have been enthusiastic about confirming their participation in the Online Global Market and hope to build their slates. Canada, Europe, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA will all be represented by key international screen businesses, including About Premium Content, AMC Networks, Cineflix Rights, Keshet International, and Sphere Abacus.
The SPA Connect Market (6 – 8 May, 2025) will see the return of Launchpad, which debuted at SCREEN FOREVER 38 in 2024, the highly-anticipated Publishers Pitch & Market, the ever-popular Ready, Steady, Pitch! and Marketplace Roundtables, the partner focussed Production Partnerships Forum, and the Screenrights Speed Networking Hour.
Local Australian buyers participating in the SPA Connect Market include Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF), Madman Entertainment, One Tree Entertainment, Pinnacle Films, STUDIOCANAL and Transmission Films.
In the lead-up to the SPA Connect Market, SPA will host four Market Briefings Webinars open to everyone to register for.
Executives from Dynamic Television, Lionsgate, Newen Connect, and XYZ Films will share details on how they work with Australian producers and what projects they are looking for at SCREEN FOREVER giving delegates priceless information on how to make the right impression during meetings with them
More on the Online Global Market and the SPA Connect Market HERE. Delegates are advised to read the descriptions for each of the offerings to ensure they are entirely across all changes and aware of important dates and times for each offering.
Link to SCREEN FOREVER 39 website HERE.
Media Release – SPA
Link to SPA HERE
TV Central Screen Australia content HERE
SPA Excited for Supercharged Opportunities During SCREEN FOREVER 39
