Durban FilmMart 2018: A bird's eye-view of global industry trends with Stephen Follows
-- --
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Pinterest
On day one of the 9th Durban FilmMart - taking place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, from 20 to 23 July 2018, alongside the 39th Durban International Film Festival - Stephen Follows presented an informative and highly entertaining two hour session titled A bird's eye-view of global industry trends'.
An experienced film industry consultant and active researcher based in London, UK, Follows is no stranger to the industry. In his two-hour session he gave attendees an incisive overview of the current market shifts and trends shaping the film industry across key markets. Using current stats, he discussed and demonstrated what's being made, what's changing and how we (filmmakers) can apply this knowledge to our benefit.
-- --
Key take outs from the session:
In the past 10 years the global supply of movies has increased greatly: Thanks to camera phones, changes in the sharing of information, and the fact that - in Follows' words - people are getting richer on average, the amount of films being made has more than doubled.
Even though there is a vast increase in the number of films being made, the bulk of these are coming from independent filmmakers.
With regards to which genres are winning and which are waning, in general there are a lot more films made of every genre. However, Sci-Fi, horror, and history films are on the rise while romance films are becoming less popular. Why is that? According to Follows, if you take a look at what's currently happening globally - be it politically, economically, socially or culturally - that should give you your answer. Viewers are favouring subject matter that challenges, opens their minds and educates.
Over the past 20 years, the number of Hollywood studios releases have stayed the same and continued to dominate the list of top 50 grossing films - this despite more independent films being made than ever before. This means that regardless of changes in the global film industry Hollywood - for the most part - remains the same.
Notably, China has shown the greatest percentage increase in cinema admissions between 2012 and 2016. This thanks to changes in their legislation.
In the past 10 years men and women have occupied a more or less equal share of cinema audiences, with women moviegoers leading with 51 per cent. Women are dominating the audience share for romance, family and animation films, with men dominating the audience share for crime, action and Sci-Fi. This has resulted in a rise in targeted films being made, meaning that there are more films bring made just for women, as well as more films made solely for men.
Interestingly, fewer young people are going to the movies than ever before.
In 2017, 25 per cent of films released in US cinemas did not feature the English language. Of that 25 per cent there was a decline in French, Italian and German films and an increase in Hindi, Mandarin and Korean films. Why? Because China is influencing the film industry more than ever before. Not only is China producing more films than ever before, they are also purchasing more than ever before and with this, making their own rules regarding content.
In conclusion Follows urged filmmakers to not focus on the data itself but to use these statistics to understand how the world is changing and how we are changing as humans, and let that influence the kind of films we make.
Don't focus so much on the money make beautiful films with universal appeal because we are more similar than we are different in this world, Follows concluded.
Follow Durban FilmMart and Durban International Film Festival on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to keep up with all the action.
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Pinterest
-- --
Africa Stories
17/04/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Lewatle and Pax are punished for their misdeedsDon't miss Wednesday, 17 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem Sa...
17/04/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Isaac tells Funani he has no leads on Nkosi's hij...
17/04/2024
Ster-Kinekor to cut 236 jobs, close THESE nine cinemas in South AfricaSter-Kinekor has announced plans to lay off almost a third of its 728 employees and close ...
17/04/2024
Disney and National Geographic celebrate Earth MonthDisney's storytelling prowess merged with National Geographic's legacy of exploration to celebrate E...
17/04/2024
Prison Journalism: How have you changed as a person while in prison?Jeffrey Shockley is a writer serving a life sentence in the State Correctional Institution-F...
17/04/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Thandiswa is determined to solve Dikeledi's su...
17/04/2024
Smoke and Mirrors: Tuesday's episode, 16 April 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South Afri...
17/04/2024
Skeem Saam: Tuesday's episode, 16 April 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African so...
17/04/2024
Scandal!: Tuesday's episode, 16 April 2024 [video]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African websi...
17/04/2024
Sibongile and The Dlaminis' gains first position on DStvRhythm World's popular telenovela Sibongile and The Dlaminis' is the most-watched TV show o...
17/04/2024
House of Zwide: Tuesday's episode, 16 April 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episode of South African soapie House of Zwide on The South African ...
16/04/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
16/04/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Zanele feels Sandile's not a true friend anyway i...
16/04/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Evelyn learns about the full scale of her son's troub...
16/04/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Caesar and Jaxon finally receive the moment they h...
16/04/2024
Smoke and Mirrors: Monday's episode, 15 April 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South Afric...
16/04/2024
Skeem Saam: Monday's episode, 15 April 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soa...
16/04/2024
Historic: House of Zwide' is the most-watched TV show on e.tvE.tv's fashion telenovela House of Zwide' beat Scandal!' for the first time sinc...
16/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Jojo's doing his best to make amends, but Phakamile worr...
15/04/2024
Scandal!: Monday's episode, 15 April 2024 [video]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African websit...
15/04/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Isaac asks Bra Zakes for help with any information he...
15/04/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Phomolo threatens Pretty in an attempt to save LehasaDon't miss Monday, 15 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem...
15/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Dintle turns to an old friend to assist with her missionDon't miss Monday, 15 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Scand...
15/04/2024
Christianity: Four people who claimed to be JesusChristianity is one of the world's dominant religions, with more than 80% of South Africans following this ...
15/04/2024
House of Zwide: Monday's episode, 15 April 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episode of South African soapie House of Zwide on The South African w...
15/04/2024
Die Antwoord's collaborators: What they're doing nowDie Antwoord is a controversial hip-hop group founded in 2008. As a duo, they've also collaborat...
15/04/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Thandiswa hides her turmoil and goes through with ...
14/04/2024
Afrikaans television shows make a comebackClassic Afrikaans television shows are making a comeback, according to the streaming service AfriForumTV. Here's w...
12/04/2024
Scandal!: Friday's episode, 12 April 2024 [video]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African websit...
12/04/2024
Skeem Saam: Friday's episode, 12 April 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soa...
12/04/2024
House of Zwide: Friday's episode, 12 April 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episode of South African soapie House of Zwide on The South African w...
12/04/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Sandile changes his mind about telling Faith that Zan...
12/04/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors Season 1 finale!: Thandiswa learns that Mthetho and...
12/04/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Babeile is shocked to find out who harmed SthokoDon't miss Thursday, 11 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem Sa...
12/04/2024
Hollywoodbets introduces power couple as Brand Ambassadors, blending Sports and ...
12/04/2024
Smoke and Mirrors: Thursday's episode, 11 April 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South Afr...
12/04/2024
Prison Journalism: Gang operations in South African prisonsDavid van Nek was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Prison from 2013 until 2015 and participated in the resto...
12/04/2024
Prison Journalism: Challenges faced when released from prisonFawaaz Adendorff was incarcerated in Pollsmoor Correctional Centre and participated in a Restorativ...
12/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Dintle finds herself on the wrong side of the lawDon't miss Friday, 12 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! on ...
12/04/2024
Skeem Saam: Friday's episode, 12 April 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soa...
12/04/2024
House of Zwide: Thursday's episode, 11 April 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episode of South African soapie House of Zwide on The South African...
12/04/2024
Scandal!: Friday's episode, 12 April 2024 [video]Stay up to date with the latest episodes of your favourite South African soapie on The South African websit...
11/04/2024
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
11/04/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Babeile has an idea who may have harmed SthokoDon't miss Thursday, 11 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem Saam...
11/04/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Keletso's continued anguish over Rea's phoneDon't miss Thursday, 11 April's riveting episode of South African soapie ...
11/04/2024
BrightRock, kykNET celebrate Free State with VrystaatbewonersDiscover the untold stories of resilience, ingenuity, and community spirit in the heart of the Free...
11/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Dintle throws herself at Phakamile and Nqobile's mercy b...
11/04/2024
Joker: Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in first-look trailer [Watch]Studios have just released the first trailer for Joker: Folie Deux. The film is the official...
11/04/2024
House of Zwide: Wednesday's episode, 10 April 2024 [VIDEO]Stay up to date with the latest episode of South African soapie House of Zwide on The South Africa...
Durban FilmMart 2018: A bird's eye-view of global industry trends with Stephen Follows
