Interview with Gabriel Giandinoto, MERCOSUR FILM MARKET (MFM) Director

The MERCOSUR FILM MARKET (MFM) was created as a logic consequence of the success of the film production industry in Argentina and in the other countries forming the MERCOSUR, both in terms of the quality and number of films produced.

By shifting its focus to its Latin-American roots, during the last three years the festival has been gradually converted into the most important meeting point for all film productions in the region and for the film representative bodies in Ibero-America. In line with this new identity and with the international recognition of the Latin-American film industry, the festival understood the need to create a suitable framework where all audiovisual productions may be traded and faced the goal of creating the long-awaited Market.


Fernando Madedo: Tell us about the origin of Mercosur Film Market (MFM)?

Gabriel Giandinoto: Three years ago, when Miguel Pereira assumed the direction of the film festival, he felt the need to create a market. The market is organized by Mar del Plata Film Festival. In the last years the film festivals was decreasing in importance but the film markets not. It is significant that Latin America had not a market and Mar del Plata is the only Latin American film festival recognized by FIAPF. It was necessary that argentine and Latin American industry had a meeting point for sales agents, producers and distributors.

FM: During the Maharbiz presidency Mar del Plata Film Festival has an incipient film market. Is it an antecedent?

GG: Yes, but really we omit to mention it because we do not know what happened and how it was organized. It was a little antecedent.

FM: Are there any other film markets in Latin America?

GG: Yes. Latin America has a few other film markets but smaller than Mercosur Film Market. We have an industry profile, others do not.

FM: Which model have you based MFM upon?

GG: Miguel [Pereira] always had the idea of doing something that would NOT be based on a model, we wanted to give it a Latin-American and personal design. Even so we got ideas from the Sales Office of San Sebastian International Film Festival. MFM is, in fact, a Film Library and a business center.

FM: It is another step taken by the Institute of Cinema politics...

GG: Yes, it is. And for Mar del Plata International Film Festival too. It is a good moment for film markets, for argentine and Latin-American cinema.

FM: You told me that there are antecedents of film markets in Latin America, which is the actual situation in the region?

GG: I do not know if we can call them film markets… They are film libraries where the registered persons have access to the available titles. But they are not markets with stands and business sessions. The film market with an institutional and industrial profile does not exist in Latin America.

FM: Its creation marks an important historical moment...

GG: It is a small step, but a serious and professional one. It is related with an industry concept to make films in Latin America.

FM: How many countries and films will be presented at its first edition? Who will attend?

GG: The center of MFM is Iberoamerica. We will have Spanish, Brazilian, Chilean and Mexican presence. Also, we have signed different agreements with strategic partners. For example, with EXPORT AR FOUNDATION, an organization formed by the argentine public and private sector under the authority of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs; six companies very important from ASIA; we have signed an agreement with AL-INVEST and there will come forty Europeans from Belgium, Spain, Italy and someone from Hungary; and with MERCOSUR by means of RECAM, it is the audiovisual organization of Mercosur. Also there will be present Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and the associated countries such as Chile, Mexico, etc.

FM: Is there a possibility that others countries will be incorporated?

GG: This is the first step. We are astonished by the result of the calling for entries. We are very happy.

FM: What are your the objectives?

GG: For the first time, the Ibero-American Federation of Film and Audiovisual Producers (FIPCA) will be with the Center of Ibero-American Film Authorities (CACI). CACI created IBERMEDIA. Then IBERMEDIA PROGRAM will be arranged with iberoamericans producers to talk about the program and to interchange opinions. Another important thing is the encounter between FIPCA and ANALIP, that is the latin organization in USA, then for first time the ANALIP come to Latin America and they choose the Mercosur Film Market. The third important point is that Argentine Federation of Film Producers will be with Argentine Film Industry Union, this means that the Argentine Film Industry Union will consider the audiovisual as sector of economic industry for the first time. These are the most important things.


By Fernando Madedo
Ana Laura Fanelli (Photographs / Video)
FOR FILMFESTIVALS.COM