HoF PLUS

Film also involves discussions of and about films. With HoF PLUS, the 51st Hof International Film Festival is giving a special focus to hot topics within the industry and presenting, in addition to its already well-established Club Talks, quite a few interesting events in this new program.

The kick off of this new series will take place on Wednesday afternoon, 25 October 2017 with a discussion entitled NO PAY, BUT DELICIOUS CATERING – Acting Engagements in University and Debut Films, hosted by the Federal Drama Association.

On Thursday, 26 October 2017 it will be all about digitalization in the film world, including distribution. Against this backdrop, terminology of transactional business like TVOD, EST, and SVOD will be defined and discussed, and the portal INDIEswitch will be introduced. Digitalization also offers new possibilities in production as well. ARRI Media will take us to VIRTUAL WORLDS. Two testing stations will allow the viewer to experience Virtual and Augmented Reality up close and personally.

On Friday afternoon, 27 October 2017, a top-level panel entitled RAIDERS OF THE LOST AUDIENCE will discuss topics in film distribution and exploitation. The discussion will not only revolve around the question as to why some festival films don’t make it to cinemas, but will also consider alternative marketing means. A highly topical issue.

“Cinema lives more than ever. This is proven first and foremost of course with the films we have selected for this year’s Hof International Film Festival. HoF PLUS addresses issues which are, to a certain extent, still quite controversial. But that is HoF. We are keeping our eyes peeled, looking into the future and searching for solutions. It’s going to be exciting!” Thorsten Schaumann

An overview of the events:

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

NO PAY, BUT DELICIOUS CATERING – Acting Engagements in University and Debut Films
14:30 – 16:30 h, Panel discussion, Fabrikhalle HofTex

Members of the podium will include: Simone Wagner (Federal Drama Association), Bernhard F. Störkmann (Federal Drama Association), Christian Knie (director), Ulrich Aselmann (die film), Stephen Sikder (Dream Team) and Julia Bezzenberger (Agents’ Association). The panel will be moderated by Tania Carlin.

The participants will discuss the consequences of the introduction of the Miminum Wage Act in 2015, whereby acting contracts for university films were significantly ammended, replacing the word salary with unsalaried.

Thursday, 26 October 2017

INDIEswitch – the VOD portal alongside cinemas
11:00 – 12:30, Round table, Café Rossini - for accredited professionals only

Concepts of transactional business, such as TVOD, EST, and SVOD, which are often used, but not always consistently, will be defined and discussed. Jürgen Fabritius and his colleagues Jochen Kröhne and Michael Bischoff will introduce the VOD portal INDIEswitch, which will go online in December 2017.

ARRI – ABDUCTION TO VIRTUAL WORLDS
Fabrikhalle HofTex
11:00 – 14:30 Live Experience: two VR and AR testing stations
14:30 – 15:30 Virtual Worlds – A presentation with practical examples
15:30 – 17:00 Live Experience: two VR and AR testing stations

Ozan Saltuk, Junior Unity Programmer at ARRI Media, will give a talk about the topic and demonstrate practical examples of Virtual and Augmented Reality.

Friday, 27 October 2017

RAIDERS OF THE LOST AUDIENCE
14:30 – 16:00, Panel discussion, Fabrikhalle HofTex

Panel guests include: Andreas Arnstedt (director and producer, Questionmark Entertainment), Andreas Rothbauer (Picture Tree International), Fabian Wolfart (Pantaflix), Christian Pfeil (Arena Filmtheater), Christoph Ott (NFP marketing & distribution), Dr. Klaus Schaefer (FFF Bayern). Alfred Holighaus (SPIO President) will moderate the event.

Issues to be discussed include: Why successful festival films sometimes do not make it into cinemas, how can alternative strategies entice viewers into cinemas to see films beyond the mainstream, and how digital platforms can in fact be an interesting way to attract viewers.