Cannes Marché Unveils Selection Committee For 2024 Investors Circle Connecting High Finance With Feature Film Projects

Melanie Goodfellow
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Cannes Marché du Film has unveiled the four film industry professionals who will select the projects for the second edition of its Investors Circle initiative.

The one-day event – taking place within the framework of this year’s market, running from May 14 to 22 – is aimed at connecting elevated, international feature film projects with film financiers and high-net worth individuals with a desire to invest in cinema.

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This year’s selection committee comprises ARTE France Cinéma CEO Remi Burah; French film and TV biz entrepreneur Serge Hayat; Georgian cinema professional Tamara Tatishvili, who is currently head of the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund, and Korean co-production expert Wonsun Shin.

The projects are gathered through a combination of networking and scouting as well as direct submissions to the Cannes Marché du Film up until February 29.  The Selection Committee will meet throughout March to decide the final line-up.

Aleksandra Zakharchenko, Head Of Programs & Training at the Marché du Film, is managing the initiative under the guidance of the market’s Executive Director Guillaume Esmiol.

The inaugural 2023 selection featured projects with budgets up to $12.8M (€12.0M) from a raft of established independent producers and directors, which included past Palme d’Or and Golden Bear winners.

This year’s pitching session will unfold at the market’s new waterfront Plage des Palmes venue and will include private networking meetings and a cocktail.

Burah worked in the audiovisual departments of BNP in London and Banque de la Cité, before joining the management team of film company Haut et court as a shareholder.

After eight years at the company, he joined Franco-German broadcaster ARTE, managing the investments of its Arte France Cinéma subsidiary.

In this role, he has been involved in nearly 600 features by directors such as Leos Carax, Olivier Assayas, Céline Sciamma, Claire Denis, Bruno Dumont, Mia Hansen-Løve, Alice Rohrwacher, Lars Von Trier, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Michael Haneke, Naomi Kawase, Nuri Bilge Ceylan , Lucrecia Martel, Nadav Lapid, Asghar Farhadi and Ruben Östlund.

He is also CEO of the ARTE Cofinova tax shelter investment fund and President of the ArteKino Endowment Fund launched in 2016 to organize the first fully online European film festival.

Hayat is a serial entrepreneur in the cinema and audiovisual industry.

He is the co-founder of Cinemage Sofica tax shelter investment fund, which has invested in more than 600 movies, Federation Studios and impact-oriented content producer Echo Studio.

Tatishvili recently took up the role of Hubert Bals Fund head, having previously served as the Director of the Georgian National Film Center and Executive Director at the Independent Filmmakers’ Association – South Caucasus.

Based in Brussels since 2014, she works as an international industry strategist, participating in various projects such as the European Women’s Audio-visual Network, and also provides regular consultancy for film curation programs at the city’s BOZAR cultural centre.

Since February, she has also been serving as the Head of Training for the Medici training program, aimed at decision makers of European public film funds

Shin, a consultant in co-production, festivals strategies and remake rights acquisitions, began her career at CJ Entertainment, gaining marketing insights and global festival strategies working with major film festivals. Post-CJ, she served as a selection jury for NAFF at BIFAN and NFDC Film Bazaar Goa’s co-pro market.

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