Market Ready is a professional training programme designed to deepen participants’ understanding of international markets and to support the effective positioning of projects within the global film and television industry. Originally co-initiated and co-designed by Julia Short and Satesh Mathura, the programme brings together expertise in distribution, marketing and finance and addresses feature films, documentaries and projects developed for television and series formats.

Led by Satesh Mathura, Market Ready focuses on the practical and strategic skills required to navigate markets and festivals with confidence. Participants actively work on pitching, packaging and negotiation, using their own projects as case studies throughout the programme. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding market dynamics, developing viable sales and distribution strategies, and building a clear grasp of how intellectual property can be exploited across multiple platforms and territories.

All participants attend with a project and engage in intensive, hands-on work supported by mentors from the international industry. Individual mentoring sessions provide in-depth feedback on project positioning, pitch materials and market strategy, while strengthening fluency in revenue forecasting, rights management and deal negotiation. The programme also introduces the use of digital tools and AI-based systems for market and audience analysis, supporting informed, forward-looking decision-making across the film value chain.

By the end of the programme, participants leave with a stronger strategic outlook and a practical toolkit to support decisions around sales representation, recoupment structures, festival strategies and alternative routes to market. Market Ready encourages participants to step beyond familiar frameworks, embrace collaboration and engage with the international industry with confidence and clarity.

Venue Location:

To Be Announced Soon


Application Deadline:

8 June 2026

Programme Outline

Market Ready is delivered as a hybrid programme, combining five intensive in-person days in Vienna with two online sessions that support preparation and follow-up.

The programme brings together structured input, hands-on project work and close exchange with industry professionals. All participants attend with a project and work on it throughout the programme.

Key elements include:

  • In-person workshops and expert sessions focusing on pitching, packaging, sales and distribution
  • Individual mentoring sessions with international industry professionals, offering tailored feedback on projects and market strategies
  • Project-based work and peer exchange, allowing participants to test ideas, refine positioning and learn from each other
  • An Industry Talk and networking moments, providing insight into current market dynamics and opportunities for professional exchange
  • Online sessions, designed to support market preparation and reflection beyond the in-person programme

 

Takeaways / Output

By the conclusion of the programme, participants will have developed a strong set of practical, strategic and market-oriented skills that can be applied directly to their projects and professional practice. These include:

  • The ability to craft compelling pitch materials aligned with current market trends and expectations
  • Confidence and competence in negotiating deals with co-producers, distributors and sales agents, while safeguarding creative integrity and financial security
  • Skills in structuring international co-productions and navigating global funding mechanisms
  • A clear understanding of IP exploitation across multiple platforms and territories
  • Fluency in revenue forecasting, rights management and deal negotiation
  • Proficiency in using digital tools and AI systems for market and audience analysis
  • Strategic thinking for long-term content sustainability and international presence
  • An inclusive and culturally aware approach to engaging global audiences

Participants leave the programme better prepared to act as creative entrepreneurs, able to enter international negotiations with confidence and to expand the reach and longevity of their projects.

Fees

Early Bird Fee:

1.557,- Euros excl. VAT

Early Bird Deadline: 23rd February 2026.

Regular Programme Fee:

1.730,- Euros excl. VAT

 

For more information regarding fees visit: Fees and Funding Support Page

Who is it for?

Market Ready is an intensive, practice-oriented programme designed for a carefully selected group of approximately 20 early-career professionals working across fiction and documentary. The programme brings together producers, filmmakers, writers and directors entering international markets, as well as sales, distribution and marketing professionals at an early stage of their careers.

Participants typically attend with a project in late-stage development or post-production, or have completed their first feature film or documentary. Sales, distribution and marketing professionals usually have at least one year of professional experience in their role.

Applications are welcome from individuals of all nationalities.

Please note that, as part of the selection process, diversity across participating companies is taken into account. This may affect placement decisions when multiple applicants apply from the same organisation

Programme Director

Satesh Mathura

Satesh Mathura

Treasurer of the International Screen Institute / Programme Director - Market Ready | 2025, 2024 Financing Expert

Satesh is a distribution and financing expert, former Production Financial Officer at Terra Mater Studios, and Chief Operating Officer of Mel Gibson’s Icon Entertainment International.

Satesh’s career has spanned a few decades, and during this phenomenal journey, he handled the finance and distribution of the likes of Wild at Heart, The Piano, Little Buddha, Muriel’s Wedding, Secrets & Lies, Virgin Suicides, What Women Want, The Ivory Game and Sea of Shadows.

Satesh has been heavily involved in the creation of the International Screen Institute and currently holds the position of treasurer, where he also acts as course director for the Market Ready programme.

Speakers

The speakers of this year will be announced soon. 2025 Speakers included:

Ariane Buhl

Ariane Buhl

Speaker - Market Ready | 2025 Independent Festivals Manager | The Right Ones

Ariane Buhl is a Paris-based passionate film industry executive, with a 15 years experience in international film promotion, sales and festivals strategy. For Gaumont, she has been desigining and leading the execution of the festival strategy for the films produced & distributed by the Studio. She also created and developed the digital sales line of business for the French Studio, with library management & curation.

Working as an independent festival manager since 2023, she is now building and implementing festival strategies for independent films.

With The Right Ones, she accompanied about 20 films so far, with more than 130 selections overall, including new works by Jaime Rosales, Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, or David Baute among others. Led by her desire to showcase the debut films of talented filmmakers, she also brought “Paul & Paulette Take a Bath” by Jethro Massey to La Settimana Della Critica (Venice – Audience Prize Winner 2024), “King Baby” by Kit Redstone & Arran Shearing to the IFFR (Rotterdam) and more.

David Pope

David Pope

Speaker - Market Ready | 2025, 2024 Script Consultant and Development Producer | Advance Films

David is a creative producer and script consultant working internationally. Consultations include TIGER STRIPES, winner of the Jury Prize Critics Week Cannes 2023 and candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2024, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, a candidate for Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award 2019, and TRUTH OR JUSTICE, a candidate for Best International Film Academy Award 2020.

He was Creative Producer on the feature film THE GOAT (2023). Among many other contributions, he is the annual advisor for the Rotterdam Lab at IFFRPro, an external advisor for Eurimages, and co-founder of Stowe Story Labs in the US.

Eun-Zi Kim

Eun-Zi Kim

Speaker - Market Ready: Documentary, Speaker - Market Ready: Fiction | 2025, 2024 Head of Acquisitions & International Co-Productions | X Verleih AG

Eun-Zi Kim, an Austrian media executive with Korean roots, has a diverse background in legal training and film production across Europe and Korea. She’s produced documentaries like FEMMEfille and managed business affairs for DCM, contributing to hits like “BIBI & TINA.” As General Manager of THE AOS, she’s developed numerous audio projects.

There are two hearts beating inside of Kim. One, which flourishes in the business side, i.e., the development, packaging, financing, production, and licensing of films. And another one, which is Kim discovering, furthering, and producing creative talent and content with unwavering passion and alert curiosity. Hence, she continues to work as a creative producer. Kim is an alumna of ACE Animation, Inside Pictures, Torino Film Lab, EAVE Ties That Bind, and HFF Munich’s Script Lab (Drehbuchwerkstatt München).

Kate Gerova

Kate Gerova

Speaker - Market Ready | 2025 Creative Director | Mustard Studio

Kate Gerova has worked in cultural cinema and brand identity, developing audience strategies. She was Head of Distribution at award-winning Soda Pictures, working on international and British films before taking over Birds Eye View Film Festival as Creative Director, where she established Filmonomics, a training programme for underrepresented filmmakers. She then joined the boutique cinema circuit Curzon Cinemas, as director of brand and marketing, overseeing brand architecture and digital experience across the group before leaving in 2020 to co-found Mustard Studio.

Lena Vurma

Lena Vurma

Speaker - Market Ready: Fiction | 2025, 2024 Head of Acquisitions & Producer | Filmwelt Verleihagentur, Dragonfly Films, Skye Films

Lena Vurma is Head of Acquisitions for Filmweltverleih (GUNDA, THE SALT OF THE EARTH, LUNCHBOX, BEAUTIFUL BOY).
She is also a producer with companies in Germany and Scotland. On release is ADVENTURES OF A MATHEMATICIAN (D-PL-UK) about the Manhattan Project, and her 4th feature, LEONORA IN THE MORNING LIGHT, is currently in post (D-MEX-UK-ROM).

Lena is a Film Independent and Tribeca Film Institute fellow, Alfred P. Sloan grant winner and eave & Inside Pictures alumni, programme delegate for the Zurich FilmFestival, ScreenSkills mentor, lecturer at film schools and runs the Skye Community Cinema.

Patrick Fischer

Patrick Fischer

Speaker - Market Ready | 2025 Managing Director | Creativity Capital

Patrick Fischer is a media entrepreneur and film financier, a partner in post house Creativity Media, financier Creativity Capital, VFX house Koala FX, producer Big Safari, and sales agent Architect. He began as a producer and in 2010, he co-founded post house Creativity Media, delivering post on over 100 films, including “47 Meters Down” and “God’s Own Country.”

In 2014, he launched Creativity Capital, backing 40 titles like “McQueen” and “Under The Shadow.” Patrick holds an MBA from Bayes Business School and a BA in Film Production.

Stephanie Fuchs

Stephanie Fuchs

Speaker - Market Ready | 2025, 2024 Managing Director | Autlook Filmsales

Stephanie Fuchs has been a part of the Autlook Filmsales team since 2014 and has been assigned Managing Director 2024. Stephanie licenses films to theatrical distributors, broadcasters, and VOD platforms worldwide.
She offers her expertise as a consultant, industry advisor, and panellist and has been part of several international festival juries.

Autlook Filmsales is a leading world sales agent for documentaries, hybrids and series. Autlook offers a full spectrum of distribution, in-house, customised sales and festival strategies that help maximise revenues and audience engagement that fosters filmmakers’ careers.

We are currently representing NO OTHER LAND (Berlinale awarded 2024) by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor; FAVORITEN (Berlinale 2024) by Ruth Beckermann; IBELIN (Sundance 2024) by Benjamin Ree; SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD (Sundance awarded) by Anna Hints; THE MOTHER OF ALL LIES (Cannes awarded) by Asmae El Moudir; and THE CORRIDORS OF POWER by Dror Moreh. THREE MINUTES – A LENGTHENING (Giornate degli Autori, Telluride, TIFF, Sundance) by Bianca Stigter; A COMPASSIONATE SPY by Steve James; BELUSHI by R.J. Cutler; WRITING WITH FIRE by Rintu Thomas & Sushmit Ghosh (94th OSCARS® nominee); FOR SAMA by Waad Al Kateab & Edward Watts (Emmy® Awarded, 92nd OSCARS® nominee); and OF FATHERS AND SONS by Talal Derki (91st OSCARS® nominee).

Vladislav Ketkovich

Vladislav Ketkovich

Speaker - Market Ready | 2025, 2024 Producer, CEO | Verba Films (S.A.S.)

Vlad Ketkovich. Born in Moscow in 1971. In the 1990s, worked in visual anthropology and organised expeditions to Asia, Africa and the Amazon. Published materials in Geo, Nat. Geographic, and other media. Producing films since 2005. Graduated from several European producers’ workshops, including EuroDoc, Ex-Oriente, Documentary Campus Masterschool, and EAVE (2017). Has produced and co-produced over 30 films with various European countries. The films have screened and won prizes at many notable festivals, including IDFA, CPH:DOX, HotDocs, Zurich, EI Gouna, Krakow, DokLeipzig, DocAviv, Shanghai, and have been broadcast on ARTE, ZDF, WDR, BBC, MDR, ORF, YLE, SVT, VPRO, Czech TV, and The Guardian.

Xavier Henry-Rashid

Xavier Henry-Rashid

Speaker - Market Ready, Alum - Business and Legal Affairs | 2025, 2024, 2022 CEO | Film Republic

Xavier Henry-Rashid started his career as a photographer, which introduced him to the festival circuit some 18 years ago. Thereon he contributed to publications including Variety, Screen, Esquire, and GQ, as well as being a writer for the original Yahoo Movies, Film247, and BBCFilms news websites.

He has worked in various festival positions, from previewing for Sheffield Doc/Fest, in sponsorship for Sundance London/AEG and the East End Film Festival, and in management as a programmer and executive director of Raindance Film Festival, where he also ran the year-round training programme.

Since 2012, he has run Film Republic, a London-based world sales company that specialises in director-driven features and young auteurs. He is a Berlin Talent Campus alumnus, a Screen Institute alumnus, and a member of EAVE.

Xavier attended the Business and Legal Course in 2022 and is one of the Sceen Institute’s esteemed alumni.

Yana Georgieva

Yana Georgieva

Speaker - Market Ready | 2025 Head of Sales | Bankside Films

Yana is Head of Sales at Bankside Films, with extensive experience in international film sales, production, and distribution. Over the past decade, she has played a key role in bringing a wide range of acclaimed independent films to global audiences, leading sales on titles such as ORDINARY LOVE, TALK TO ME , BRIAN& CHARLES, THE QUIET GIRL, KOLN 75,BALLAD OF THE WALLIS ISLAND, THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, I SWEAR, &SONS, CALIFORNIA SCHEMIN, and many more.

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