Concluding the REBOOT journey: Takeaways from the REBOOT report Lessons from the past.
Concluding the REBOOT journey:
Takeaways from the REBOOT report Lessons from the past.
The REBOOT-report, deliverable 2.4, Lessons from the past. European film industry looks back at thirty years of changes, challenges, and paradoxes, is part of the broader WP2 of the REBOOT-project, and it is a collaboration between Ghent University, UCM and the University of Warsaw. This report is inspired by the annually returning, widely spread and quoted Nostradamus report, which entails a bottom-up, future oriented perspective of the (European) filmed entertainment industry through means of expert-interviews with senior European industry professionals. However, this report, although it incorporated a similar methodological approach, gathered the data based upon a more extensive body of interviews and altered the future oriented perspective by implementing a historical approach. This allowed the report to provide a comprehensive and extensive overview of the most profound changes, challenges and developments in the European film industry (EFI) over the span of the last thirty years. In total, 68 pan-European industry professionals and important senior stakeholders were contacted and successfully interviewed: twenty-five Flemish-, twenty-three pan-European- and twenty Spanish interviews.
This unique approach resulted in the emergence of rich data sets elaborating on the challenges and developments perceived by important European industry professionals, which was subsequently subdivided into four thematic clusters structuring the report in general. Those clusters are related to production, distribution, exhibition and policy. The most preponderant questions delved into overproduction, the long standing American dominance in the global film industry, the impact of streaming services’ recently acquired hegemonic position, the impact of digitization processes and corresponding technological shifts, the divide between economic and cultural interests, the place of cinema in the current ecosystem, the perceived idea of competitiveness in general, and, finally, some questions related to policies implemented in the fragmented European film industry.
Takeaways from the REBOOT report Lessons from the past.
The REBOOT-report, deliverable 2.4, Lessons from the past. European film industry looks back at thirty years of changes, challenges, and paradoxes, is part of the broader WP2 of the REBOOT-project, and it is a collaboration between Ghent University, UCM and the University of Warsaw. This report is inspired by the annually returning, widely spread and quoted Nostradamus report, which entails a bottom-up, future oriented perspective of the (European) filmed entertainment industry through means of expert-interviews with senior European industry professionals. However, this report, although it incorporated a similar methodological approach, gathered the data based upon a more extensive body of interviews and altered the future oriented perspective by implementing a historical approach. This allowed the report to provide a comprehensive and extensive overview of the most profound changes, challenges and developments in the European film industry (EFI) over the span of the last thirty years. In total, 68 pan-European industry professionals and important senior stakeholders were contacted and successfully interviewed: twenty-five Flemish-, twenty-three pan-European- and twenty Spanish interviews.
This unique approach resulted in the emergence of rich data sets elaborating on the challenges and developments perceived by important European industry professionals, which was subsequently subdivided into four thematic clusters structuring the report in general. Those clusters are related to production, distribution, exhibition and policy. The most preponderant questions delved into overproduction, the long standing American dominance in the global film industry, the impact of streaming services’ recently acquired hegemonic position, the impact of digitization processes and corresponding technological shifts, the divide between economic and cultural interests, the place of cinema in the current ecosystem, the perceived idea of competitiveness in general, and, finally, some questions related to policies implemented in the fragmented European film industry.
Furthermore, this report and its distinguished thematic clusters also resulted into an international conference, Frames of Change, co-organized in Madrid (22-23 May 2025) by the Spanish UCM and Ghent University. During this conference, several questions regarding the state of the European film industry were posed and answered by international researchers, while sparking rich, productive and highly relevant discussions as well. This international gathering also was an important moment of feedback for the authors of the report.