The first edition of the Frontières Finance & Packaging Forum successfully concluded after 3 days of meetings, strategy sessions and networking from February 16-18 in Amsterdam. This collaborative initiative between the Fantasia International Film Festival and the Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes, and hosted in Amsterdam with the support of the Netherlands Film Fund, served as an invitational incubator for genre film projects in the late stages of financing. It officially marked the launch of the major partnership between the Marché du Film and Fantasia, as the first joint event in a 3-stop slate of networking and market opportunities for genre film projects at various stages in development & financing.

Doreen Boonekamp, CEO of the Netherlands Film Fund: We are pleased that the Frontieres Financing and Packaging Forum has been successful to all participants and experts and very happy that Amsterdam turned out to be a perfect location!

12 genre projects from across Europe and North America in the final stages of financing participated in the Amsterdam-based Forum. Project helmers included producers Julie Baines (DETOUR), Katie Holly (LOVE & FRIENDSHIP), Sophia Lin (COMPLIANCE, TAKE SHELTER), Magnus Paulsson (SHELLEY), and Casey Walker (THE VOID). 25 industry leaders from across Europe and North America specializing in finance, packaging & distribution were invited to meet with the projects via group strategy sessions, one to one meetings, and a proof of concept development lab. Represented organizations included experts from CBS Films, Creativity Capital, Epic Pictures, IFC Films, Magnolia Pictures, Motion Picture Capital, MPI Media Group, Soda Pictures, Vertigo Releasing, Universal Pictures International, and XYZ Films. The Forum also featured a case study of past Frontières project RAW (dir. Julia Ducournau), with producers Jean Des Forêts (Petit Film) and Jean Yves Roubin (Frakas Productions), who met at the 2014 edition of the Frontières market in Brussels, followed by a Dutch Avant-Premiere screening of the film RAW at the EYE Institute.

Jérôme Paillard, Executive Director, Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes: The Amsterdam Forum brought together a very high level of expertise within the group of 60 professionals present for 3 days. The projects all in advanced stage of development took advantage of the participation of these seasoned experts invited to focus on this qualitative selection of projects. We look forward to welcoming them all at the Marché du Film next May.

Next step for Frontières will be in May in Cannes at the Marché du Film where the 12 Forum projects will unveil their completed proofs of concept to the international market during a screening on Saturday May 20. The proof of concept presentation will be a featured activity in the Frontières Platform in Cannes, a dedicated section of networking activities and presentations geared towards the genre film industry.

Other Frontières Platform events in Cannes include Frontières Goes to Cannes, a screening of footage from 4 work-in-progress films on Sunday May 21, and participation in the Fantastic Fanatics Mixer.

Julie Bergeron, Head of Industry Programs at the Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes: The Amsterdam Frontières Forum, our first joint initiative with Fantasia, proved to be a good moment for the projects in-between Frontières in Montreal in July and the Marché du Film next May in Cannes. The event gathered a selective group of seasoned experts to meet and discuss in-depth with the projects to prepare them better for their pitching in Cannes. We are very excited to present, for the first time in Cannes, a “proof of concept” screening of high quality genre films. Mark your agenda for the morning of Saturday May 20!

Lindsay Peters, director of Frontières & industry director at the Fantasia International Film Festival: After 8 editions of our co-production market, this collaboration with the Marché du Film will bring Frontières to a new level and provide expanded networking opportunities for the genre community. The Forum in Amsterdam is our first step in creating a new format for collaborative development and financing strategies for genre films, which will continue in Cannes at the Platform events, as well as at the Fantasia market in July.

The Frontières Finance & Packaging Forum is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union, and was made possible thanks to the support of the Netherlands Film Fund, Wallimage, the Imagine Film Festival and the Eye Film Institute.

The Frontières Platform in Cannes will take place May 20-21 at the Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes; submissions are open until March 1 for the work-in-progress presentation Frontières Goes to Cannes. The 9th edition of the Frontières International Co-Production Market will take place July 20-23 at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.

Submissions for projects in development and early financing are open until March 24.