Second First Media Syndicate Pitching Event

The second FIRST MEDIA SYNDICATE “Pitching” Event in London for a variety of Media Projects raising finance from Investors was a great success, as I had many opportunities to speak to all sorts of people and had to tear myself away, before I missed the last train home!

Investors, or people who have the ear of Investors, were present in greater numbers than the Inaugural Event, so the formula of the evening is gaining effectiveness. That is for a seven-minute presentation per Project, with the ability to ask public questions, followed by informal discussions with Producers and Directors.

I have previously written about the Foreign Language Film In The Sands of Babylon, and nothing surrounding the current UK political climate has weakened my view, that the issue of Iraq will be topical and remain so, until the next General Election and beyond.

In the Creative Package, the Director chastises the West for allowing Saddam Hussein’s genocide of the Kurds. This film is strongly in favour of the Allied intervention in the first Gulf War, as hope of release is given to Political Prisoners in the jail of the film, when they hear of the Uprising of the Marsh Arabs, in support of the re-taking of Kuwait. However, as the United Nations’ Charter forbids invasion in order to implement “Regime Change”, the Allied Mandate was only to liberate Kuwait, therefore the Uprising was not supported by the Western Powers, leading to its being crushed.

Stalin observed that the death of one man is a tragedy, but the death of millions is a statistic, so the main character of this film stands as an Everyman for the million or more who died under the Ba’athist Regime. It is no exaggeration to say that this film has the ability to inform the choice of the Elector as to our next Government.

Following on from the theme of the individual opposing an oppressive Regime, Stopping Hitler from 1A Productions deals with a Theologian abandoning an attempt to defeat the Nazi Regime through reason, instead bringing it to an end by appearing to co-operate, while actually planning the assassination of Hitler. The Script is extremely well-constructed with good use of humour and a love story within it. Clever twists in the writing lead the audience to expect one event, when an entirely different one happens.

The Director, Norman Stone, intends to film in Hungary, as a fair representation of Germany, while keeping the costs down.
The second project which 1A presented was The End Time, which deals with Columba’s attempt to bring Christianity to a pagan Ireland. Following on from the previous Project’s subject of a historical character operating in a religious context, this film differs in the use of the Supernatural of miracles to bring about the Conversions. Modern Theologians question whether Christianity “needs” the magical aspect of miracles in order to talk about the Gospel of Redemption.

However, set in the illiterate times of Dark Ages Ireland, the use of Columba’s “sword wounds not bleeding” was effective propaganda and reflects the historical way of influencing the masses.

The Supernatural is very firmly on the agenda of Black Seal’s Vampyres II, which will be the sequel to Vampyres of 1974. A brief clip of the former was shown at the Event. The follow-up will harness the entertainment proposition of 3D, where the main issue for the Investor will be how quickly the Consumer embraces this new(ish) technology in order to view it.
News that Panasonic will launch a 3D hand-held camera may lead demand for the new format in the Household, which in turn leads to demand for the additional content of Feature Films, like Vampyres II, where the genre suits the medium well.

Whether the Epic Love Story demands to be seen in 3D is debatable, but Aleksander Rouge should provide the emotional high and lows in either format. Winning the 2006 Best Screenplay Award at the European Film Festival in Paris, this Project promises to appeal to audiences across three main geographical areas. At home and Ireland, Bob Hoskins is the attached Actor, which should comfort the Cinemagoer enough to part with money and buy tickets. For Russia, Oleg Menshikov should do likewise and for Asia, Sara Malakul Lane is the Big Name.

I suspect that those who saw Shine with Geoffrey Rush starring in it, will also find this Project appealing.

Finally, Transfer At Aachen, is a Heist Thriller set in the modern day, which features the Eurostar and the brand-new St Pancras International Station as the backdrop. Again, the locations in a variety of different European countries should bolster its international appeal, increasing its attractiveness to the Investor. The Script has many twists and turns, although the McGuffin in this case is diamonds, whereas it could equally be another item, that the competing Baddies will stop at nothing to get their hands on.

Let’s hope that this film will achieve the spectacular 1833% of Budget Grossed for Reservoir Dogs, which the Sales Package cites as a Comparable, as opposed to The Score, which only managed 104%. These figures are only “to date”, so that should be taken into consideration by the Media Investor.

In conclusion, I would recommend that Investors attend the next FIRST MEDIA SYDICATE Event on 28th September at the Hospital Club in London and talk to the people behind the next batch of Presentations. Follow this link for more details: http://bit.ly/xgUpY

An appealing aspect is the ability for the Investor to have their say in the Projects, as most are still flexible enough at that stage to incorporate any brilliant ideas. It’s a dialogue, not a soliloquy.

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Tags: Directors, finance, investors, media, Producers, Project