We caught up with Marc Allenby from Trafalgar Releasing this month for a chat about event cinema.

Why do you think event cinema has grown in popularity?
Ultimately it serves an audience demand. Fans of theatre or a specific actor / musician enjoy a collective experience with fellow fans. Cinema is easily accessible and with great presentation. Similarly, other industries are recognising the promotional and commercial opportunities of working with the cinema industry.

What’s been your cinema highlight of 2018 so far?
It’s a been a great year for the company working across some excellent theatre productions including An American In Paris, Funny Girl, Red and The King and I. We’ve also really cemented ourselves in the music space working with  Nick Cave, Muse, Coldplay and K-pop sensation BTS. The King And I is the personal highlight as it’s such a great show and helps articulate the vision of Trafalgar Entertainment Group. It’s a very complex project and only made possible by everyone pulling in the same direction.

What’s the next ‘must see’ Trafalgar Releasing event?
Definitely The King and I.

Where do you see the industry in the next 5-10 years?
We’re seeing great growth potential within this industry.  I expect to see more large, A-list productions from the theatre and music industries  having cinematic releases.  Emerging markets should mature and start to offer more consistent returns. I’d also hope the industry in particular and Trafalgar specifically, can continue to develop greater synergies with our partner industries to offer real value.

What are the future plans for Trafalgar Releasing?
The plans are to grow! We see growth through greater influence of the content pipeline, increased local market expertise, correcting industrywide infrastructure inefficiencies and finessing our own operation.

Are there any new international markets you’d like to enter next?
We are seeing increasing opportunity across the Middle East and Asia… this is in part distorted by BTS but also a reflection on investment in the regions.