NATPE Wraps with Overall Positive Sentiment

MIAMI: Today marked the final day of NATPE’s 50th anniversary event, and while no official figures were released, the organization is reporting that attendance for the three-day event was definitely on the up.

At a conference held this afternoon for members of the press, Jordan Levin, chair of NATPE’s executive committee, and Rod Perth, the organization’s recently installed president and CEO, both reported that feedback from the market has been nothing but positive. "Our attendance is up double-digits," said Perth, adding that nothing official has been calculated and that they’re still in the process of tracking. He did mention that more than 1,000 buyers were registered, "and that’s big! You can’t sell if there aren’t buyers. That broke all sorts of records."

In the past, Levin said, “the questions always hung over NATPE: Will NATPE survive? What makes NATPE relevant? The question of what makes NATPE relevant is a larger question about where our industry is going, but I think there is relevancy. There certainly is not a question anymore of does NATPE survive; from this year there’s a strong feeling that this is a dynamic event and dynamic organization. It’s clear that it plays a role and that role is going to continue to evolve, and that’s what we always try to be, a facilitator."

Look out for a full recap about all the events, deals and sessions that took place this week at NATPE in tomorrow’s World Screen Weekly.