The Film London Production Finance Market (PFM) will be back in the capital this Autumn, it was today announced from Cannes. Coinciding once again with the BFI London Film Festival, the Market will be back with renewed funding and a new partnership to strengthen its outreach to European professionals. The PFM will give film financiers and producers an opportunity to build relationships and take projects into production.

Taking place over a two-day event on 20 and 21 October 2010, the PFM will offer a dedicated forum for producers to put their projects in front of key film financiers and for financiers to scout for hot new projects in around 800 face-to-face meetings. To secure the event remains focused and productive, this year’s Market will favour solid single projects, presented with a director and strong package already in place, over slates of films. The process to apply to be part of this year’s PFM is now open and the deadline is 9 July.

Thanks to a selective approach to projects and a proven ability to match them with suitable financing sources, the Production Finance Market has become a key platform for independent film-making and a popular event for both, producers and financiers. PFM 2009 was attended by over 150 delegates from 14 different territories, including names such as Warner Bros., Focus Features and Lionsgate UK, French production company Wild Bunch, Italy’s RAI Cinema and Spain’s Tornasol. Films which have directly benefitted from previous PFMs include Camilla Bray's Oranges & Sunshine starring Hugo Weaving and Emily Watson, Oscar Rodriguez's Second Origin, scheduled to start in spring 2011, and Robert Jones's Marques de Coelho, which plans to shoot this summer. Indirect benefits have also included producers attaching sales companies to their projects as a result of the PFM, and projects being re-packaged following market feedback.

This year, funding from MEDIA, the EU support programme for the European audiovisual industry, will allow the event to continue reaching out to European producers and financiers. Also, further strengthening the links with the old continent, up to four French producers will be attending the PFM in October following a new partnership with the Ile de France Film Commission announced last Friday. 

The new alliance with the Ile de France Film Commission, whose remit includes Paris, joins the PFM’s existing international links with the market at the Rome International Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival 37º South Market (MIFF/37º), which will extend this year, with more producers coming from Australia and New Zealand following the success of the event last year.

In response to the challenges facing the industry, the PFM 2010 will also have a dedicated forum for financiers only, where they will share their thoughts around pricing and risk-taking strategies, discuss market developments and explore possible collaborations to get films into production.

To find out more about PFM and how to apply to this year’s event, please visit the Market's dedicated site.
 
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