The Changing Landscape in the Nordics featuring Merete Christensen and Thor Sigurjónsson
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
Release Date: 10/24/2024
Distributors on the Move: Insights from Europa Distribution's Groundbreaking Programme featuring Elin Boijens and Giulia Amadio
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
In this special episode, Alex Stolz is joined by Elin Boijens (Searchers, Netherlands) and Giulia Amadio (BIM Distribuzione, Italy), two participants in Distributors on the Move, Europa Distribution’s pioneering professional exchange programme. Together, they reflect on the transformative impact of spending time embedded within each other’s companies and exploring the day-to-day realities of film distribution in a different market. Giulia and Elin dive deep into the structural and strategic contrasts between the Italian and Benelux cinema landscapes—from differences in audience...
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Building a New Theatrical Marketplace featuring Jackie Brenneman
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
In this episode of The Marketing and Distribution Podcast, host Alex Stolz welcomes Jackie Brenneman — a trailblazer in the cinema industry and President & CEO of Attend Theatrical Marketplace, Jackie shares the journey behind ATTEND, the groundbreaking platform she helped launch to empower filmmakers and exhibitors through smarter, more transparent theatrical distribution. A founding partner of The Fithian Group, Jackie brings years of leadership in policy, legal advocacy, and industry innovation. Previously Executive Vice President and General Counsel at the National Association...
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Decentralising Distribution and Building the 'Shopify for Film' featuring Ana Maria Jipa and Malcolm Wood
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
In this episode of the Marketing and Distribution Podcast, host Alex Stolz is joined by Ana Maria Jipa and Malcolm Wood, co-founders of Olyn, a new digital platform aiming to redefine how independent films are released and monetized. Drawing on their backgrounds in technology, entrepreneurship, and film production, Ana and Malcolm discuss how Olyn seeks to provide filmmakers with direct-to-consumer tools — enabling them to maintain ownership, access audience data, and control the viewing experience. The conversation covers core platform functionalities, including custom landing pages,...
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Community is the Audience: A New Approach to Independent Film Success featuring Shawn Dawes
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
"Community isn’t just the audience—it is the audience. And that shift in thinking is where real change begins." – Shawn Dawes In this episode of the Marketing and Distribution Podcast, Alex Stolz is joined by filmmaker, producer, and platform founder Shawn Dawes, the visionary behind IndieScene—a new SaaS-based platform aiming to transform the independent film ecosystem through transparency, data, and community collaboration. With over 20 years in the creative industries—ranging from directing and development to producing and distribution—Shawn has firsthand experience of...
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Navigating the Future of Screen Entertainment featuring Guy Bisson
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
In this episode, Alex Stolz is joined by Guy Bisson, Executive Director at Ampere Analysis, a leading firm in media and entertainment analytics. Guy brings over two decades of expertise in the global TV, film, and entertainment industries, offering unparalleled insights into the transformations reshaping content creation, distribution, and consumption. Together, they dive deep into the challenges and opportunities facing today’s entertainment landscape. Guy explores the ongoing impact of streaming, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic boom and the Hollywood strikes. Guy...
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Creating Big Screen Experiences for Passionate Fanbases featuring Shannah Miller and Lynne Schmidt
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
"Our goal is to make every theatrical release feel like an event." Lynne Schmidt, SVP Operations and Strategic Partnerships Fathom Entertainment In this episode of the Marketing and Distribution Podcast, host Alex Stolz sits down with Shannah Miller, Vice President of Marketing, and Lynne Schmidt, Senior Vice President of Operations and Strategic Partnerships at Fathom Entertainment. Fathom has long been known as a leader in event cinema, bringing live performances, special screenings, and classic films to theaters worldwide. But as the theatrical landscape evolves, so has Fathom....
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The Future of VOD for Independents featuring Pierre-Alexandre Labelle
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
In this episode Alex Stolz sits down with Pierre-Alexandre (Alex) Labelle, co-founder of Under the Milky Way, the global digital distribution company helping studios, filmmakers and rights holders bring their films to VOD platforms worldwide. Alex shares his journey in the film industry, from the early days of digital distribution to working with major platforms like Apple, Google, and Amazon. He dives into the industry's evolving landscape, discussing the rise of SVOD, the ongoing relevance of transactional VOD, and the growing impact of AVOD and FAST channels (although cautioning that this...
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Conic: the story of a new distribution company featuring Jen Davies and Graham Fulton
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
"We want to be a positive force in the ecosystem." Jen Davies In this episode, Alex Stolz speaks with Jen Davies and Graham Fulton, co-founders of Conic, the Glasgow-based film distribution company formed in 2022. They discuss the origins of Conic, their mission to support independent cinema, and the evolving landscape of film distribution. The conversation covers their values, team dynamics, acquisition processes, and the challenges of theatrical releases, all while emphasizing the importance of community and collaboration in the film industry. Jen and Graham discuss the journey of a young...
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The Data Behind Horror featuring Stephen Follows
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
In this episode we welcome world leading film researcher Stephen Follows to the show for a deep dive into the data behind the horror genre. With insights fresh from Stephen’s new exhaustive exploration of the space, The Horror Movie Report 2.0, we explore the significant increase in horror film production and the numbers behind its profitability. In a conversation that covers the importance of theatrical releases for horror films (and why they are so important for cinemas!) and the demographics of horror audiences, we also look at global trends in horror film production, including in...
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Harnessing AI in Hollywood with Tobias Queisser
The Marketing & Distribution Podcast
"Data and AI can increase risk taking" Tobias Queisser In this episode we are joined by Tobias Queisser, co-founder and CEO of Cinelytic, the AI-powered platform designed to optimise decision-making across film production and distribution. As perhaps the most controversial - and misunderstood - topic in film and entertainment at this time, AI is often portrayed as a creative destructor but Tobias shares why he believes the technology will actually unlock greater risk taking in the filmmaking process. In the conversation, Tobias discusses the genesis of CineLytic, the pain points...
info_outline"It's a changing landscape, but people still want to see movies." Thor Sigurjónsson, Scanbox
In this episode we meet the leading - and legendary - Nordic distributor, Scanbox Entertainment with their top executives Merete Christensen (COO and Head of Theatrical) and CEO Thor Sigurjónsson. In the conversation we discuss how the Nordic markets are transforming through shifting audience behaviour and technology - and how Scanbox is adroitly adjusting to this landscape. Topics include changing acquisition and releasing models, what is working well in cinemas right now and the company's move into production. In a wide ranging conversation that covers Thor's journey from Icelandic producer to running a pan-nordic distributor, we also hear about why Scanbox recently joined the Vuelta Group and more about the group's vision for a pan-European distribution network.
More about Merete and Thor
Merete Christensen is COO and Head of Theatrical Distribution at Scanbox, where she has been overseeing the theatrical distribution of approximately 25 films annually since 2011. Amongst these, acclaimed films like Past Lives, the French hit The Intouchables (De urørlige), the Taken franchise, and lately Alex Garland’s Civil War and Danish box office hit Rome by Niclas Bendixen. In addition to her work at Scanbox, Merete serves on the board of The Danish Cinema Club and is a member of the Danish Media Council.
Thor Sigurjonsson is the CEO of Scanbox Entertainment, a prominent Nordic film distribution company. With a background deeply rooted in both film production and distribution, Sigurjonsson has been involved with Scanbox for over 15 years, having served on its board before leading a management buyout (MBO) in 2020. His leadership has guided Scanbox into new ventures, including expanding into content creation, with a focus on both international and Nordic film and TV projects. Sigurjonsson also co-founded Zik Zak Filmworks, an Icelandic production company.