THE JUNGLE BOYS OF BARCELONA

by Peter Sotirakis

Down by the seaside in Barcelona, in a lighthouse that is not a lighthouse, a wild patch of jungle has taken root. Its eventual aim is to reforest Europe’s audio-visual steppes with a truly representative display of European AV production to a public that is chopping its way through a veritable forest of American product.

Fundación La Jungla is the brainchild of Manuel Polls and Gilles Duffaut, two tireless champions of the idea that European cinema deserves to be as widely screened and distributed as American cinema, and so in July last year, La Jungla organized Barcelona’s first European Film Market (EFM). Over 100 producers and distributors representing 24 countries with over 300 works registered was the result. And thanks mainly to the favourable conditions created by the product hungry satellite and cable revolution, 70 to 80% of work was sold, giving so-called Euro-product an alternative presence in the AV field when viewed against its relative scarcity in cinema distribution.'

The Market’s roots go back to the early '90s and Poll’s involvement with La Fábrica, organiser of Barcelona’s Festival of Alternative Cinema. At the time, Polls described La Fábrica as “a revolution of enfants terribles who want to create an alternative cinema to those mediocre, unoriginal, repetitive Catalan films screened in Barcelona.” But after three years of that struggle, there was an ideological break with other La Fábrica members and La Jungla was born. The original idea was for a combined film festival-market but initial EU doorknocking for finance was greeted with doubt concerning Spanish projects. It was only patient, diplomatic manoeuvring that convinced the EU’s Media II programme1 to warm to the project and provide some initial backing.

The Market’s success has now garnered support and funding for a combined market-festival. Under the slogan “The Southern Connection of New European Talents”, Barcelona’s second European Film & TV Market will take place between June 26-29 and will run concurrently with Barcelona’s first European Film Festival, between June 25-30. “One of the biggest problems in Mediterranean countries,” according to Polls, “is the belief in oneself. Before the EFM there was that fear of the unknown, but now I think it’s been lost.”

American AV product has its market and distribution channels well and truly in place. Taken as a whole, Europe produces just as much, if not more, cinema and television, but its exposure is not necessarily guaranteed as a natural step. La Jungla hopes the Festival will “represent European diversity through a series of what have been termed ‘open windows’. Each country’s film industry - from Austria to Slovenia - will have a guaranteed forum to be able to present an overview of their annual AV production. We won’t be dictating rules or conditions, simply providing an open forum in which these people and their work can be seen and appreciated in all its diversity. Of course this is not a new idea but this is the first time it’s being tried. By creating this open space we rid ourselves of such labels as ‘alternative’ or ‘commercial’. Diversity is fundamental - a country’s films are its history, its conscience, its culture . . . To be able to have the chance to view them is an incredibly enriching experience for all concerned.” This atmosphere of diversity will then hopefully translate into sales or future finance for new work via the Festival’s Market section.

Above and beyond the idea of winning an award or clinching that multi-million Euro deal, the Festival is also about communication, the bringing together of European professionals. “Each film industry is naturally concerned about its own product. But if we can get professionals from these countries to meet for a few days to exchange ideas - whether in bad English or French - to get to know each other personally and cinematographically, I think it’s incredibly worthwhile and good for Europe. There’s so much happening in European film that we don’t know about or have no time to keep up with if we do - just imagine bringing all this together for a few days . . !”

Imagine indeed! The old town awash with Bulgarian money men boozing it up with a young Icelandic producer, while a few tables across two directors, one Greek the other French, lock horns over the relative merits of a fixed as opposed to moving camera. Will we, as public, fall under the Euro-spell? Polls: “In a way, I think film lovers are a little hypnotised by American cinema, including what is known as independent American cinema. The independent American films seen here - perhaps 3 or 4 a year, or the equivalent of 0.5% of what’s actually produced in the independent field - are usually well received, giving a good impression of independent American cinema. But the relationship of quality to quantity is so much greater in European cinema. What’s lacking, though, is an awareness of this product. The same goes for Chinese cinema - it has gained great respect here in Barcelona because it’s being seen and there exists that curiosity for all things distant. But you don’t have to go that far to find good product - it’s actually right here on our doorstep.”

Hats off, then, to these jungle creators, these Tarzans of AV, for trying to make us look down when we open the door.

Anyone requiring more information about Barcelona’s Festival-Market can contact La Jungla at the following address: La Jungla Film & Art Foundation
Paseo Juan de Borbon, 76
08003 Barcelona, Spain
Tel. 34-3-221 74 57
Fax. 34-3-221 54 56
E-mail: jungla@teclata.es)

1 The EU’s Media II programme was launched in January 1996 to promote and strengthen the development of European audio-visual production through financial support in production and distribution and the training of professionals.