LOEWS MIAMI BEACH HOTEL, MIAMI BEACH CONVENTION & EXPO 7-10 DEC <strong>2020</strong> SHOWEAST.COM LET’S MEET IN MIAMI BEACH It’s time for the industry to connect once again and celebrate the reopening of movie theatres in North and South America. ShowEast is making that possible and affordable: REGISTRATION PRICES CUT! It’s been a tough year for everyone, so we’ve reduced our rates in all categories for <strong>2020</strong> in the hopes that you can join us. HOTEL FEES SLASHED! We’ve negotiated a new hotel policy for <strong>2020</strong> where you can cancel for a full-refund up until November 2. <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2020</strong> 21 SE_AD.indd 21_AD-ShowEast.indd 1 21 29/09/<strong>2020</strong> 9/14/20 1:11 12:33 PM
Industry GUEST COLUMNS WELCOME BACK! FILM EXPO GROUP Andrew Sunshine, President To all of our friends and industry associates, welcome back. While these past six months have been nothing short of a nightmare, the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to come into view. Sometimes we sit around and think that the movie exhibition business has been knocked down and given a standing eight count. We were not knocked out, just hurt, and now it is time to come back bigger and better than ever to win the fight. As of this writing, theaters around the world have already opened, and those here in North America are starting to open their doors to the public as well and get back on their feet. Getting together with the community to sit in that dark space and experience the magic of a movie is something we are craving. We have all watched enough online product to last a lifetime these past few months, but it just doesn’t compare. We need our theaters back up and running and for our studio partners to start releasing product for all to enjoy on the big screen. As much as the public is longing to get back to the cinema, the same goes for our professionals who make up our great business. It has been almost a year (ShowEast 2019) since we were all together networking, socializing, and doing business. We need conventions back just as badly as we need theaters back. Industry events are an important part of what we do, and the Film Expo Group is doing its part to make that happen. This past June, when we were forced to cancel CineEurope in Barcelona, we launched our first online event with great success. Now with the cancellation of CineAsia, we will be doing another online program on November 4 and 5 for the APAC (Asia Pacific) community. And, of course, we will keep our fingers crossed that the postponement of ShowEast to December 7–10 will allow enough time for travel restrictions to lift and for our colleagues to gather in Miami to celebrate together. This will then lead us into 2021 and what will be a return to our regular schedule with CineEurope, June 21–24, in Barcelona; Showeast, October 18–21, in Miami; and CineAsia, December 6–9, in Bangkok. It is our time to shine as an industry, and we will all come out of this nightmare better than ever. We may have been knocked to the canvas, but it doesn’t matter how hard you get hit, it is how you respond after getting back up. We wish you all health and great box office success in the meantime. GLOBAL CINEMA FEDERATION Welcome back! To our exhibitor and trade-organization members and colleagues around the world, to those who never closed, those who reopened months ago, and those who are just getting their popcorn machines started again, we at the Global Cinema Federation are delighted that you are once again able to offer audiences around the world a chance to escape into a new adventure within your darkened cinemas. This escape may look and feel a bit different, with social distancing, masks, and copious amounts of hand sanitizer, but it is an escape all the same. Our living room couches are relieved to see us go. Over the past few roller-coaster months of reopenings, reclosings, and reopenings again, two things have been made clear: The global exhibition community is strong and it is supportive. We are strong in our resilience against “existential” threats, strong in our determination to reopen safely for our guests, and strong in our conviction that the theatrical experience is irreplaceable. During this time, we have seen the global exhibition community come together to support one another through this unbelievably difficult time. Competitors became friends, sharing ideas and solutions that would help the industry safely emerge from this crisis. Everyone has been rooting for each other. We all felt the deep pang of anguish when it was announced that cinemas in China were ordered to close again after a brief reopening in March. We collectively held our breath as films were rescheduled, and cheered together when it was clear that Unhinged and Tenet were actually going to be released, thanks to the commitment and leadership of people such as Mark Gill, Christopher Nolan, and Emma Thomas. We all jumped for joy when South Korean exhibitors experienced huge box office success with the releases of films such as Peninsula and #Alive. And again, when Padre no hay más que uno 2 was a smash in Spain. And again, when The Eight Hundred triumphed in China. We have a feeling all of this joyful jumping will get us back into prequarantine shape soon. During this time, the GCF has shifted our attention completely to this crisis. We have worked hard to lobby studios to hold release dates. Our members from around the world have sent in valuable survey responses about the effects of Covid-19 on the cinema industry in their region(s). We will continue to focus on issues surrounding Covid-19 until it is deemed unnecessary, but we also hope we can soon return to our priority issues including accessibility, international trade and investment, movie theft, music rights, and theatrical exclusivity. The Global Cinema Federation has missed meeting in person. It has been over a year since we last gathered faceto-face at CineEurope 2019. Organizing a webinar for members located in every corner of the world is no easy feat. When we held a virtual advisory board meeting in July, it meant 7:00 a.m. for some and 11:00 p.m. for others. Still, being able to gather was a collective bright spot for us. As always, if you would like to become 22 <strong>Fall</strong> <strong>2020</strong> 22-27_Guest-Columns.indd 22 29/09/<strong>2020</strong> 12:33
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