What happened at the Stockholm screenings
The private industry screenings in Stockholm have now finished. They were not open to the public, so this is the closest thing to a report from the room that we can reasonably give.
What was shown
The programme covered documentaries, feature films, television and web series pilots, and animation. That mix was chosen for the room rather than for balance. The people watching work in distribution and production, and those are the forms they are most often looking for.
We are not listing individual films here. These were private screenings, and the filmmakers involved were told directly.
Why the screener files were enough
Every film screened from the screener supplied on FilmFreeway. The cinema was small and did not require higher quality projection files, so there was nothing for filmmakers to send and nothing for us to chase. That was deliberate. If a room does not need a broadcast master, we are not going to ask anyone to produce one.
The UK screening in September is a different proposition, and that is where projection quality files start to matter.
Who was in the room
Our Stockholm network is made up of distributors and production companies, several of which have optioned and distributed projects that came through this festival before. That is why the room is kept small and closed. Everyone in it is there in a working capacity.
We are not going to overstate what that produces. A screening puts work in front of people who are in a position to act on it. It does not manufacture a deal, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
What happens next
Further private screenings are intended over the coming months, and that is the reason we ask all finalists for materials rather than only the films in the September programme. We are filmmakers ourselves. Getting selected work in front of people who can move it further is a large part of why we run this at all.
An email to all finalists follows shortly. The team has been occupied with these screenings and with preparing the UK event, which is why it has been quiet here.