“Theatres and streamers need to coexist,” Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts, concluded during a keynote this morning in London when quizzed on his opinions about the future of cinema.
“For our Academy,” he continued, “the theatrical experience is extremely important. We just built two new theaters in Los Angeles. We enhanced our theatrical eligibility requirements, but we also acknowledge that streaming provides access across countries and regions, and that’s a positive.”
He added: “We are going to be constantly assessing how theatrical and streaming connect as we move forward. But I don’t think one will dominate the other for us.”
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Kramer was across the pond to take part in an on-stage conversation with BAFTA head Jane Millichip as part of the first day of the London Film Festival’s revamped Industry Forum.
The morning’s discussion was chaired by BFI CEO Ben Roberts, who opened the keynote with a disclaimer where he told the audience of largely industry professionals that he would steer the conversation away from what he described as immediate topics such as the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike or the recently concluded WGA strike. Roberts said he would instead focus on “long-term” questions around the future of cinema.
One such topic tabled by Roberts was around international cinema’s position within the awards cycle. Roberts asked the pair whether awards categories dedicated to international films have become “redundant” as non-English language films continue to enjoy what he described as wider success and contemporary audiences warm up to subtitles.
“Not yet, but we’re constantly looking at it,” Kramer replied. “One of the silver linings of the pandemic is that a lot of audiences, especially younger audiences, started watching international cinema. We were at home with a lot of streaming options. A whole new generation of audience members now treat international cinema how we would treat domestic cinema.”
Millichip added: “These categories are really good at bringing up to the surface films that would otherwise be buried in awards season. And that’s really important for the business.”
Elsewhere during the lengthy keynote, Millichip and Kramer were quizzed on everything from their favorite films to how awards season influences the marketing of films and how they deal with the pressure on awards night.
“You sit there with a smile on your face, knowing you may be on camera. Meanwhile, your heart’s beating, and you’re checking your phone just to make sure everything’s okay,” Kramer joked about his awards show routine.
Later during the keynote, Millichip and Kramer were asked one of the toughest questions of the morning by an audience member. With a reported decline in viewership figures, the audience member asked, are awards shows still relevant?
“People are still engaging with the show. It may not be on linear television, but our social media numbers, with clips from the show, are through the roof, so I think we will both have to figure things out as linear TV changes,” Kramer said. “But I’m extremely hopeful that there’s still great interest, and it’s our job to put on a respectable and entertaining show for our industry and organizations.”
Kramer added that the Academy must now figure out how to “monetize” their non-traditional content.
The London Film Festival runs until October 15.
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