Happy Wednesday Stage 32 Creative Army!

As you may recall back in February, long-time Stage 32 member, blog contributor, webinar teacher, and international film & distribution aficionado, David Zannoni began a series of blogs and vlogs to keep you up-to-date on the business of film across the globe.

Originally, David was going to be reporting live from Film Festivals and Markets all over the world throughout the year - but alas, COVID-19 has put us all in the same stay at home boat. So today, David is proudly reporting from the comfort and safety of his home in Mexico. In this month's vlog, David talks about the state of the entertainment industry in the face of COVID-19.

David highlights that while there are challenges with the lack of physical production in the industry, there are more opportunities than ever to be innovative and creative on the development side of things.

Some of the Opportunities David Highlights:

• There is a greater need than ever from the world for entertainment
• The pipeline for productions are getting smaller - which will open doors for more filmmakers
• Films that are already finished will have an easier time getting distribution
• Animation has continued to grow and thrive during the lockdown
• The opportunity for content creators to grow on platforms like YouTube and TikTok is bigger than ever
• There is time now to stay inspired and creative with online education
• Perhaps now you have time to finish that business plan or that script you have been working
• More opportunities to think out of the box and innovate like never before

The State of the Entertainment Industry During COVID: 19

David has also been an instrumental part of Stage 32 joining forces with Fintage House to bring their top tier roster of clients including thousands of sales agents, distributors, producers, financiers, talent agencies, entertainment attorneys and other industry professionals to join the Stage 32 Screenings platform.

We now have nearly 4,000 professionals who have been invited to join Stage 32 Screenings, watch the films and, if they desire, to connect with these talented filmmakers.

At the moment, Stage 32 Screenings is accepting films that were official selections of the following festivals: SXSW, Tribeca, Telluride MountainFilm, Vail and the BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival. If you know of anyone who had a film selected to these festivals and were impacted by the cancellation or postponement of their live screening, please have them submit their film at www.stage32.com/screenings

Filmmakers had the choice of choosing a public screening available to all who would like to view, or a private screening to only our roster of executives and professionals. If you would like to watch the public screenings and show your support, click here