44th CIFF Hosts 'Life Cycle of Film, Post Theatrical Release' Panel

The 44th Cairo International Film Festival hosted a panel under the theme of "Life Cycle of a Film, Post Theatrical Release."

The panel was moderated by Professor Mervest Abou Oaf, and the speakers were Amanda Turnbull, Jessica El Khoury, Gianluca Chakra, Aya Medhat, and Amr Salama.

Abou Oaf started the discussion by reviewing the journey of the film after its first release, and how the following weeks and months for the film impact it, alongside moderating the revenues of the film and the timing of the release.

She also discussed the impact of releasing the film on streaming digital platforms and channels.

On his side, Salama reflected that there is no exact way for dealing with the film as everyone has his own method.

He pointed out that the figures of views and revenues are the main indicator of the films, however, the process of setting exact figures and data barely exist in the middle east.

So, the dates of releasing the films are left to the producers and their intimations.

Therefore, the presence of digital platforms paved the way for the more studied situations for releasing the film as they are corporations concerned with setting the best traffic and time for releasing the work, alongside studying the most-viewed works.

El Khoury added that festival selections in festivals is based on quality. On the other hand, Turnbull reflected that the process of distribution is important for production corporations to not feel the frustration in case the film failed.

Medhat explained that there is data related to the views of the works, and producers need to satisfy the taste of the audience to be successful. She added that digital platforms united the audience in the middle east more.

Finally, Chakra revealed that setting prior planning for the film by successful producer, director, scriptwriter, and actors, alongside the presence of a good distributor is important for the film's success.

Contributed by: Rana Atef