The World Producers Summit took place last Wednesday in a virtual format due to the global pandemic situation, but this was not a reason not to hold the most anticipated professional meeting of the summer.
Matt Miller, president of the AICP, was in charge of leading this meeting, sponsored by the AICP, APA and CFP-e (of which the APCP is a member), where we travelled around the world thanks to the participation of professionals from countries such as: Germany, Brazil, Canada, Slovenia, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, UK, Uruguay and USA.
Of course the APCP couldn’t miss it. Chad Muserlian, executive producer of The Brownie Film Company, was in charge of representing the Spain brand at this event. He brought us a nice glass of Rioja D.O. to cheer for all we can continue doing together.
Chad gave an overview of what is currently happening in the sector, introducing our colleagues to the reality in which we work.
Spain is a country with a strong local market, which receives hundreds of international productions, but which, like other countries, was paralysed by the pandemic. This event served to bring the industry much closer together and work side by side for our passion. We fought our own battle against Covid-19 developing a set of protocols to guarantee the safe and responsible exercise of our profession.
The demand of the audiovisual sector to attract international filming was heard by the Spanish public administrations (ICAA/ICEX). From this point on, the audiovisual worker was considered an “essential worker” and an audiovisual passport system was quickly implemented, allowing both US professionals and those of other nationalities to travel freely to Spain.
The audiovisual passport system consisted of an accreditation report drawn up by the ICAA and delivered to consulates, in conjunction with ICEX.
The creation of the Audiovisual Hub, a European audiovisual hub, allows for quick and easy communication with the central government to streamline and simplify administrative processes, through working groups with the industry.
In his speech, Chad also had time to address the issue of Brexit: “Spain is a place that receives quite a lot of filming from the UK and all this effort helps British companies to continue filming in our country”.
Not forgetting the importance of sustainability: “Spain has been developing its own best practice guide for sustainable productions and we are seeing production companies and suppliers making commitments in that direction.”
World Producers Summit is an annual meeting that aims to share information on issues affecting the industry around the globe to better address the challenges ahead. This year was no exception, with a common denominator being the work and the effort of the entire industry to deal with the pandemic earthquake. A meeting with a clear objective to continue united beyond adversity.
Thank you very much to all for another year. This edition has been virtual but we hope to see you all next year in Cannes toasting again with Rosé!
