The Film Industry in Cannes - What were they doing there?

After an absence of twelve years, producer and movie marketing specialist Zack Coffman returned to Cannes this year with his company One World Studios Ltd.  In between a busy schedule of meetings regarding his just completed Ouija movie "I Am ZoZo" and viral transmedia hit "LiveSciFi.tv" Zack had a chance to sit down with various film professionals and ask their unique perspectives on Cannes and the film industry.

Zack: First big thanks to Sydney Levine and her partner Peter Belsito, who basically chided me into coming to Cannes this year.  I was a bit trepidatious having been out of the international scene for a bit while running my production/distribution company in LA.  It was more than worth it and I can't recommend it enough to anyone engaging in any aspect of international film business or media.

A couple of days into the festival it occurred to me that we had such an amazing mix of film industry leaders and innovators all in one place it might be interesting both for newer filmmakers and veterans alike to hear some thoughts from the people who really make the modern film business function.  This is the list I came up with, not meant to be exhaustive but seemed like many of the major cogs in the wheel are represented:

The Producer

The International Sales Agent

The Distributor

Public Relations

The Actor

The Film Commission

The Exhibitor

The Festival

The Brand - TBD - (I've decided to devote a future article to this because as an independent I believe it's imperative to understand brand perspective when creating a film marketing strategy)

Some of the people I spoke with you may have heard of and some not, but they have all done their time in the trenches and I hope their thoughts and opinions might help to open up more dialogue and debate on how to operate in the independent film industry.

Next up. . .The Producer

Written by Zack Coffman.  Follow Zack's film marketing tips and adventures @choppertown on Twitter.