Avant Première Music + Media Market Vienna 2021

The first day of Avant Première 2021 greeted us with Openings by IMZ President Arild Erikstad, IMZ Secretary General Katharina Jeschke and Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber Amelie Groß. Host of the Day Daniel Serafin, Artistic Director of Oper im Steinbruch, led us through two exciting rounds of Showreels, with Accentus Music winning the Golden Elk Award for the most stunning and entertaining one!

After two Online Market Screenings, we took a look at the future with the presentation of the IMZ Online Services, the search engine + digital B2B marketplace for film licence trading. After an introduction by Michael Gubbins, journalist and chair of the Film Agency for Wales, the panel was split into a prototype presentation and a deep dive session, followed by a round of One-on-One Expert Sessions on IMZ Online Services.

At the end of our first day we rose our glasses for a Virtual Wine tasting with Artists + Friends! Hosted by Ulrike Köstinger , Chief Content Officer from Operabase and Daniel Serafin, Artistic Director of Oper im Steinbruch, Opera Stars Piotr Beczała, Camilla Nylund, August Schram and Christina Sidak, Music Journalist + Publicist Axel Brüggemann, CEO of VBW International Franz Patay and the Head of the Arts + Culture branch of the Austrian Ministy for Culture Jürgen Meindl discussed the future of our industry and the prospects for the next generation over a taste of local wine from the Esterházy Estate in the province Burgenland.

The second day’s programme was filled to the rim with Screenings presented by Host of the Day Ulrike Köstinger, Chief Content Officer from Operabase, followed by two Online Market Screenings and the sought-after Talk ‘What Buyers Want’, where leading buyers at broadcasting + streaming companies shared their coproduction + acquisition strategies for cultural content in the light of Covid-19. On Tuesday, ARTE took home the Golden Elk Award for the most enjoyable Showreel!

Last, but not least, our venue partner Advantage Austria, the trade promotion organisation of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, presented a showcase with a selection of its most ingenious + promising technologies, innovations and initiatives from the culture and arts scene.

Following the Talk ‘What Buyers Want’, we dove into the first round of our highly demanded One-on-One Expert Sessions with buyers.

The third day started off with Host of the Day Armin Luttenberger, Head of Content Sales International at ORF Enterprise, presenting two rounds of Screenings – the attendees voted on 3B Produktion for the best one! In addition to the Online Market Screenings, two One-on-One Expert Sessions, one with buyers and one with producers + distributors kept us busy!

Avant Première 2021 placed a special emphasis on new technologies for the arts, inviting experts in technology to share their exclusive insights into the latest developments in the cultural film sector. Kay Meseberg, Head of Mission Innovation at ARTE, hosted the Innovation Focus.

Despite taking place online, there were plenty of opportunities for all participants to network! The Virtual Coffee House was open all day for everyone to connect with the IMZ team, and the Netwoking breaks @ wonder.me were highly frequented.

Host of the Day Hyung-ki Joo from Music Traveler Productions lead us through the fourth round of Screenings, with RAI COM’s submission being voted as the most inspiring one.

During the IMZ Member Session, Experts from the Creative Europe and the Creative Europe Media Programme of the European Union gave valuable insights into funding strategies and strands for our industry during the EU Funding Talk. At the end of the General Assembly, the IMZ’s newly created Shine a Light Award was given to the Salzburg Festival, honouring their mindful and paradigmatic decision to realise the festival at the right time and in the right place + connecting people through the arts in times of Covid-19.