During 2022-2025, T-Port is delighted to be supported by Creative Europe MEDIA under the Innovation Tools and Business Models scheme to support the circulation and distribution of short films by emerging talents within the professional film industry.
Project name
Promotion of emerging talent and the facilitation of the distribution of short films within the professional film industry.
Project summary (as of August 2021)
T-Port is an innovative non-profit online platform aimed at promoting emerging talent and facilitating the distribution of short films within the professional international film industry, particularly within Europe. We focus on creating a link between emerging talents and industry professionals scouting for short films and talent by using advanced tech tools to fit the needs of 3500+ industry professionals and filmmakers in our online community. The platform currently hosts 950+ titles (1700 are planned to be included by 2024) by independent filmmakers and students, including award-winning films and top-festival selections.
In the past year, T-Port’s extensive Pan-European and international network has more than doubled to over 45 partnerships with leading organisations including festivals and markets, film schools, talent initiatives, online VOD platforms and distributors (32 European). We aim to further expand our network by 40% to increase the discoverability, accessibility and circulation of European works. Within this project, we plan to develop and implement innovative matchmaking and recommendation tools, digital services for filmmakers and partners, improve data analysis methods and expand curating efforts to maximise the impact of interactions between right holders and professionals. To further promote the films, we work in a hybrid model and accompany our online activity by attending major in-person film industry events across Europe and globally.
We hold a variety of digital and physical events (ca. 12) per year to contribute to the transparency and accessibility of the industry. In this project, we plan to further increase our activity and reach across the market with 35+ planned industry events. Over the past three years, we have seen substantial growth in our audience. In 2020, web visits more than tripled (307,000) and film views doubled (61,000). We expect this trend to continue and aim to expand our impact and reach within the European market.
Keywords: New technologies for promotion of Audio-Visual works
Call: CREA-MEDIA-2021-INNOVBUSMOD
Project starting date: fixed date: 1 February 2022
Project end date: 31 January 2025
T-Port’s innovative business model and work strongly align with the aims of the MEDIA Programme, with our main objectives outlined below detailing our commitment to the circulation, availability, promotion and distribution of European A/V works.
Main objectives:
- To expose audio-visual works made by emerging talent to the professional film industry: festivals, sales agents, distributors, buyers, VOD platforms, producers, TV broadcasters etc and to improve the visibility and discoverability of these works.
- To promote and facilitate the distribution and circulation of short audio-visual works (up to 40 min.) by emerging talent through innovative distribution strategies, combining online and offline efforts.
- To create and improve current synergies between leading European institutions, festivals, and markets, in order to establish new models for promoting A/V works by European talents.
- To close the gap between educational institutions and the professional film industry by improving the link between independent filmmakers, emerging talents and young film school graduates and industry professionals, facilitating co-productions and collaboration across borders.
- To increase the accessibility and transparency of the professional industry for young talent from diverse backgrounds by increasing the number of opportunities available to promote their projects, in particular among filmmakers from European countries with low-production capacities.
- To ensure inclusive and equal promotional opportunities for A/V works of filmmakers from diverse backgrounds, including minorities, and different genders, by showcasing cultural diversity and contributing to representativeness.
- To use cutting-edge technology (e.g. data analysis, AI) and utilize the benefits of online tools and infrastructures to create an accessible, cost-effective, and continually updated online platform for presenting A/V works by emerging talent.
- To strengthen professional interactions and networking opportunities between filmmakers and professionals by facilitating a channel of direct communication between them and innovative tools for interaction.
- To improve the accessibility and transparency of the professional industry by providing tools to broaden emerging filmmakers’ knowledge of distribution, marketing and promotion of A/V works.
- To increase the dissemination of data-based knowledge of the film industry among different players in the film industry using innovative data analysis tools and research.
- To foster professional relationships between filmmakers from the international and European film landscape, and provide a digital space for filmmakers to connect with each other to form an online community.
- To curate and present a selection of high-quality A/V works to fit the specific needs of festivals and professionals (e.g., programming requirements, length, genre, etc.).
- To promote the use of short films as a medium for emerging filmmakers to showcase their talent.