46th International Film Festival Rotterdam

25 January - 5 February 2017

Rotterdam, 8 December 2016

Copenhagen International Documentary Festival (CPH:DOX), Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM), Cinemathon and International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) are proud to announce the launch of the Propellor Film Tech Hub, a one-of-a-kind innovation platform for the development of new business models for production, distribution and experience of films. Their aim is to propel the film industry into the future.

Propellor transfers established innovation strategies from the start-up world and focuses on the cross section between film and technology as a breeding ground for new business models. In 2017, Propellor will host a nomadic series of collaborative events:Propellor | Kickstart in Rotterdam on Jan 31 – Feb 1; Propellor | Speednic in Berlin on February 14; Propellor | Springboard in Copenhagen on March 17  – 19 and another edition of Propellor | Springboard in Berlin on April 28 – 30. A bootcamp will follow later in summer.

The four founders believe that the film industry is at a critical point right now, lacking efficient strategies and methods to adapt to current challenges, of which changing viewing habits, overproduction of films and outdated business models are just a few. “The industry needs a whole new dynamic, but for this to happen you need to get some initial movement. And this movement is called Propellor”, says Bero Beyer, Festival Director at IFFR. 

The goal is to build a business-oriented ecosystem where professionals from both inside and outside the film industry can collaborate and innovate. Tine Fischer, Director of CPH:DOX, elaborates: “Propellor is the first film incubator that deals with business models and distribution. The aim is to challenge the way the film industry works today, to better accommodate new audiences and new experiences.” 

“There are many opportunities in the film industry to develop content but there is not a single programme dedicated to the development of new business models for production, distribution and experience of films”, says Erwin M. Schmidt, Managing Director of Berlin based Cinemathon. 

“We want to move towards a place where the film industry will engage with innovation and acknowledge that innovation is a crucial part of the future of film”, says Dieter Kosslick, Director of the Berlin International Film Festival. Matthijs Wouter Knol, Director of the festival’s EFM adds “The Propellor Film Tech Hub will be that missing link between the film industry and the latest technological trends and new forms of social interactions.” 

Based on the experiences made in 2017 and the input from its multidisciplinary community, the Propellor Film Tech Hub will extend its activities in 2018 and aims to run an incubation programme. The Propellor | Incubator will assist companies and start-ups in the development of new, innovative business models for the film industry. The founding partners of Propellor will offer their structures as test bed for their implementation.