The sixth edition of Expocine, Latin America’s largest regional trade show, will open on October 1st in São Paulo with four days of panels, lectures, training classes, and presentations aiming at fostering investments in the region, presenting business and technological trends, and strengthening the cooperation between producers, distributors, exhibitors, and institutions. Steadily growing since its debut in 2014, the convention will feature industry players from more than 20 countries, more than 38 speakers, 70 exhibitors and eight studio presentations hailing from both majors and local players.
Boxoffice Pro chatted with Marcelo Lima, CEO of Exibidor magazine and Expocine’s sponsor TONKS, about what to expect at this year’s Expocine.
What can we look forward to at this year’s Expocine?
We don’t have the scale that the U.S. has, but this edition of Expocine will be the biggest one yet. We’re expecting around 2,500 attendees. It’s up from 2,000 last year and 600 from the first one. It’s an evolution. We’re getting bigger.
We used to only have exhibitors and distributors. This year, local producers will be joining as well for the first time ever. We will have two programs: one mostly for exhibitors, with a focus on the technology, data, customer experience, and one for producers. Producing is very hard in Brazil, but we do have a lot of content. The focus on the program will be how to have more local production and navigate through the regulations and incentives. There will be lectures designed for exhibitors, distributors, and producers alike. For example, on the first day there will be a lecture on general market trends in Brazil, one on how to integrate marketing to create better products and one on fortifying cooperation between all the players of the audiovisual ecosystem.
Looking at the schedule, there seems to be a strong emphasis on digital strategies, particularly on management, marketing, and data.
There will be a focus on strategy and the use of data. What can exhibitors learn to become more professional? There is a lack of professionalism in the region. This year’s lectures aim at showing how important it is to create long term strategies, particularly digitally.
What are some of the highlights that attendees can expect to see at the trade show floor?
The trade show floor will have about 80 booths with participants across the region, presenting technologies on everything from concessions to projection. About 65 percent of the companies present at the trade floor will be small, local companies, some that cater to Latin America as a whole and some to specific regions within it. We have some big highlights on the trade show this year. VR and AR and showing why it is a good option for exhibitors, especially in their lobbies, and how it adds value. There will be a dedicated XR space for exhibitors to understand the power of an immersive experience. Then, laser projection solutions that exhibitors can check on-site.
One of the differences with North American trade shows is the presence of public institutions. What are some areas in public policy that will be discussed at Expocine?
The problem is that the new right-wing government is changing the rules of the game. It came as a bit of a shock, but we have to adapt to these new rules. Some companies are afraid to invest in local production because of it. We want to show that there are good reasons to invest in domestic production, especially in São Paulo. Some of the public policies issues that we expect to be discussed at this year’s Expocine are the issues regarding ANCINE (Editorial Note: ANCINE is the Brazilian Film Agency, an independent government agency regulating, promoting, and monitoring the audiovisual industry in Brazil). They just changed their president, so we expect news about what is going to happen with it and how it will affect everything from production to distribution and exhibition. Another topic of discussion will be accessibility. There is a new law that will take effect by the end of the year and most cinemas will need specific solutions to adapt to it. Finally, there will be talks about incentives and how to expand local production.
How do you see Expocine evolving in the future?
I’d like to see Expocine becoming bigger, better, and a more successful show involving local content and local solutions, which are always improving.
Expocine will take place from October 1st – October 4th 2019 at the Frei Caneca Convention Center in São Paulo. Expocine’s schedule can be found here.
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