The APIFA annual calendar is punctuated by a variety of complementary actions throughout the year, beneficial not only to its members but also to a wide range of industry professionals.
Our Actions
01
Consulting and Training
APIFA supports producers throughout the entire film-making process, from conception to distribution, according to their specific needs. This advisory role, which has become essential with the rapid changes taking place in the sector, is largely carried out by the Managing Director and members of the network, encouraging the exchange of practical experience.
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Internal webinars are organized to meet common needs (e.g. international co-productions, tax credits), sometimes with external experts. Future collaborations with training organizations and AD’OCC agency are under discussion.
Festivals and markets also play a crucial role in professionalizing the industry. Since its creation, APIFA has developed partnerships with several regional festivals (Cinélatino, CINEMED, Cinespaña) to offer professionals training opportunities through round tables, workshops and masterclasses, often in close collaboration with L’Agence Unique, Occitanie Culture.
Thanks to its network of national and international partners and contacts, APIFA is also able to provide relevant industry intelligence, and regularly keeps its members informed of new business and training opportunities on emerging topics such as Artificial Intelligence.
02
Global Market Access & International Outreach
APIFA works actively to promote the voice of Occitan productions not only nationally, but also internationally, facilitating their access to the global market, from the project development stage in search of co-productions and foreign financing to the distribution of films (festivals, cinemas, broadcasters including digital platforms). Throughout the year, APIFA connects its members with potential partners from all over the world, both face-to-face at festivals and professional events, and online.
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Occitanie is also a region open to Europe and other continents, with the two major festivals Cinélatino and CINEMED being key gas pedals of this strong cultural diversity, in addition to the multitude of events, twinnings and cooperation agreements existing between the metropolises and various cities in the region. These encounters with foreign talent create new opportunities for film professionals, including a growing number of APIFA producers. These films (co-)produced and/or made in Occitanie are often selected for prestigious festivals such as Berlin, Cannes, Visions du Réel, Annecy, Venice and Locarno, thus contributing to the international influence of the Occitanie region.
03
Network
Networking is part of the very DNA of the association, to develop a collaborative community not only of production entrepreneurs, but also with other players in the industry.
APIFA organizes regular meetings between members, regional professionals (breakfasts, APIFA happy hours), national and/or international professionals. The association’s partner festivals, such as Cinélatino, CINEMED and Cinespaña, offer ideal opportunities for these informal contacts and exchanges.
04
Promotion & Distribution
APIFA members work hard to bring their talents to festivals in the region, in France and abroad, giving greater visibility to works (co-)produced and/or made in Occitanie by its members, and thus actively participating in the wealth of film distribution in the region and beyond its borders.
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Festivals, like the special operations initiated by regional organizations such as Cinéphilae (on animation and short films with Pointe Courte), with which APIFA members are regularly associated, are all opportunities to exchange with the public in all its diversity.
Our participation includes the following festivals:
- in the Occitanie region: Auch (short film), Cartoon Forum* (Toulouse), CinéLatino (Toulouse), Cinespaña (Toulouse), CINEMED (Montpellier), Confrontation (Perpignan), Coup de Projecteurs (Tuchan), Doc Cévennes (Lasalle), Gindou, ICONIC* (Montpellier), Indépendance et Création (Auch), Itinérances (Alès), RAN (Narbonne), L’Illuminé – Festival du Cinéma d’Animation (Montpellier), Séquence (Toulouse).
- in France: Cartoon Movie* (Bordeaux), Cinéma du Réel (Paris), Festivals de Cannes, du court métrage de Clermont-Ferrand, du film d’animation d’Annecy et MIFA*, du documentaire de Lussas, de la Fiction de la Rochelle, FID Marseille, FIPADOC (Biarritz), Paris Images*, Radi Raf* (Angoulême), Sunny Side of the Doc* (La Rochelle), Territoires D’Images* (Poitiers).
- abroad: Berlin/EFM* International Film Festival, IDFA (Amsterdam), Locarno, Rotterdam/CineMart*, Visions du Réel (Nyon), Venise/Gap Financing Market*.
*Professional events/markets to find financing, broadcasters and distributors.
The presence of APIFA members at festivals may vary from one year to the next, depending on the selection of their films and/or projects, especially for events outside Occitanie. This list includes only the most renowned competitive festivals on the international scene; APIFA members’ productions circulate in an average of a hundred festivals a year, 65% of which are international.
The APIFA does not, however, neglect the broadcasting of works in all genres and formats on television channels and digital platforms. In addition to a strong presence on France 3 Occitanie and POM TV, the association is working to achieve wider distribution of Occitan works not only in cinemas, but also on these media, as well as on non-commercial and/or alternative circuits, both nationally and internationally.
05
Talent discovery and coaching
APIFA Occitanie is a major breeding ground for talent, particularly from the Occitan region, thanks to the extensive development work carried out by its members on around a hundred new projects a year (all formats and genres), nearly half of which are first works.
Discovering and nurturing new talent is the raison d’être of every executive producer……
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…a collaboration that extends over several years, from the genesis of a project, its development and financing, to the production and distribution of the film, in France and internationally. The producers’ ultimate ambition is to develop long-term relationships with filmmakers, film after film.
To detect these new creative voices, the association can rely on and cooperate with a proactive regional network of actors specialized in writing: writers’ and scriptwriters’ associations (ASSOC, La Cité Européenne des Scénaristes, Regard’Occ), training programs and writing residencies such as Cinéstoria, DEFI Production, Gindou Cinéma, Jets d’ancre, Ateliers Varan and various festivals (as part of professional activities such as those organized by Cinélatino, CINEMED, Cinespaña, Confrontation/Massa Mare), spotlighting promising scriptwriters and/or filmmakers, through the presentation of works in gestation.
Moreover, a growing number of APIFA members are taking part in European and international initiatives, enabling them to discover talents from all over the world, (co-)produce them and/or make part of their films in Occitanie.
06
Intergenerational inheritance
APIFA is concerned about the future of the industry and, since its creation, has been committed to the younger generation by developing close relationships with local film schools: involvement in courses, participation in project pitch sessions, screenings of school films and exchanges with students, in collaboration with short film festivals (e.g. Séquence in Toulouse).
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Throughout the year, several members are actively involved in film school programs, particularly those of the Masters in Production at the Université Paul Valéry Montpellier and the ENSAV in Toulouse. We believe that passing on knowledge through members’ practical experience helps to prepare budding producers for the realities of the field, the diversity of the challenges and the responsibilities they face. Many of our members also host student internships within their companies.
This inter-generational exchange is rich and valuable, as it also provides an insight into the aspirations, visions and production approaches of young professionals, as well as their use of new technologies.
Our partners
APIFA is supported by Toulouse Métropole, the Région Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée, the City of Toulouse, and Montpellier Métropole.
