Flash and film reviews

Every Monday, the weather is again a main topic for film distributors. If it was good - it was bad for the cinema. If the weather was really bad, it was good "cinema weather". Film journalist Philipp Portmann not only listened to these discussions for years. They also gave him an idea. The founder of the Portmann Group, which already provides competent information on cinema for a wide range of media from SRF to Tele Züri to 20 Minuten, bought the domain kinowetter.ch in 2004. A new contact point for film lovers is now being launched around this website.

The cross-media project links cinema and weather by presenting the subject of film together with the latest weather forecasts. The package includes a weekly movie show on the new S1 channel and the website www.kinowetter. ch with all current applications also for mobile. "In the TV show, our presenter presents the most important films of the week and draws attention to the fact that all other upcoming films are presented on the web ", Portmann explains the concept. Conversely, the TV show is promoted on the website.

The Portmann Group has already presented its idea to the film industry in advance and they were enthusiastic. Philipp Portmann, however, does not want the contributions on kinowetter.ch to be understood as PR. "We work with a bottom line. There will be films that do well and those that don't come off so well. But in the process, we also want to strongly involve the users." They will soon be able to rate films themselves online using their cell phones or PCs. The professional critics of "Kinowetter" will give the first rating, which will then be mixed with the ratings of the users, and in the end the overall impression will be the result. "After all, we have to remain credible with the audience if we want to reach and inspire them. "

The project is financed with advertising. Marketing is handled by Publicitas Cinecom, which is now looking for a sponsor for the TV show on S1. "We offer the sponsor a mention at the front, in the middle and at the end of the broadcast, seven seconds. For this, he is mentioned in the new media at the same time." Once a year, there is an event for this, at which the sponsor can invite partners, customers or employees to a preview at the cinema. It should be interesting that one can place advertising on the web in a clearly defined environment. "If you offer a product that is aimed more at a female and young target group, you can have your advertising embedded precisely in such films." With "Kinowetter," S1 and the Portmann Group are filling a gap after SRF discontinued its "Box Office" program in June. "Now that Swiss television has freed up that space, it may definitely bear another longer magazine, " Portmann believes. But he is keen to stress that he has himself campaigned for the preservation of "Box Office" through his role on the board of the Association of Swiss Film Journalists and is in favor of a diverse market. "We wrote a public letter addressed to Roger de Weck as well as to those responsible for culture on television. We are watching very closely in the Film Journalists Association to see what is now to be redone."

SRF has said it wants to move film information to the web. "But I know now, also with my own project, that of course new ideas are needed on the Web so that you don't do 'more of the same' and thus not get noticed at all."

Andreas Panzeri