Milan, 30 January 2006

Dear friends,

I have great pleasure in announcing two important initiatives about to be run by MEDIA Salles, both of which are devoted to the new prospects and problematics opened up by digital cinema in the field of exhibition:

the third edition of “DigiTraining Plus: New Technologies for European Cinemas”,
to be held in Kuurne, Belgium, from 5 to 9 April 2006 and,
as a useful accompaniment to the course,
“DGT Online Informer”, a short, electronic Newsletter

that will periodically bring you up to date with the new developments in digital screening, offering information and brief advance interviews with the lecturers at “DigiTraining Plus”, in order to understand what the “burning issues” are, what steps forward have been made in the recent past and what problems remain to be solved.
It seems only right for a project like MEDIA Salles, which sees training and information for exhibitors as its main objectives, to be present and make positive suggestions in a field expanding significantly like that of digital screens, which have grown in Europe by 181% (far more than the world average, which was 59%) in one year. Between June 2004 and June 2005, digital screens did in fact increase in number from 37 to 104, thus equalling North America and reducing the gap with Asia, where in June 2005 there were 166 of these installations.
Digital screening is a field in which some doubts still accompany the search for the best business solutions, yet with a growing number of practical experiences, too.
I shall briefly outline the content of both initiatives, referring you to the coming issues of the new “DGT Online Informer” for a more detailed account of the topics that will be dealt with in the course.

“DigiTraining Plus: New Technologies for European Cinemas” (5-9 April 2006)
Novelties and continuity

The third edition of the course opens in a spirit of continuity with its predecessors, starting with the venue for the event, highly appreciated by the participants in past years: the headquarters of Barco, a company world-famous for the production of equipment for digital projection on the big screen. Another element of continuity, which had found great favour in the past, is the alternation of theoretical session, group work and visits to digital theatres, where it is possible to have a close look at state-of-the-art equipment explained by experts.
The main novelties will, instead, be in the area of contents, starting from a detailed examination of a much-discussed theme: 3-D cinema and its potential. There will be no lack of updates on the present situation of digital screening in Europe and the rest of the world, the most recent experiences of European exhibitors in facing technological and commercial problems deriving from the adoption of digital technology and an exchange of views with representatives of some banks in order to examine possibilities for financing the transition to digital. Amongst the lecturers are managers, exhibitors and professional figures, all directly involved in this delicate transition phase.

“DGT Online Informer”: eyes wide open on digital, in anticipation of the course
Novelties and previews, interviews and brief reflections to discover, little by little, the main themes of the course, to ask the lecturers questions, to see where we stand at present in this sector: all in a short Newsletter, published by the MEDIA Salles’ editorial team.
In the first issue, coming out at the beginning of February, Glenn Wastyn, Business Development Manager of Barco Digital Cinema and among the speakers at the next “DigiTraining Plus” course, will anticipate some of his own reflections on the present state of digital cinema in its two aspects: D- and E-Cinema.
The Newsletter will be published in English.

I trust that both initiatives will win your interest and help the growth of European cinema through a better understanding of development patterns in the digital sector.

Very best wishes to everyone for the year that has just begun from myself and all the MEDIA Salles’ staff, in the hope of being able to meet – or be reunited with – many of you in Kuurne this coming April.

Domenico Dinoia
President


MEDIA Salles
, a project operating within the framework of the European Union's MEDIA Programme, with the support of the Italian Government, fosters theatrical distribution of European audiovisual products, both by high profile campaigns involving Europe's cinema exhibitors and by initiatives to raise the visibility of European productions with industry players and potential audiences, creating specialized information channels on a global scale. Thus the current initiatives from MEDIA Salles dovetail in a program with a triple focus – training, promotion and information – and maximum combined effect.

MEDIA Salles
Via Soperga, 2 – I-20127 Milan
Tel.: +39.02.66984405 – Fax: +39.02.6691574
E-mail: infocinema@mediasalles.it
Website: www.mediasalles.it

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