The respected sales agent has been working for TrustNordisk on and off over the last decade, with a few years in between spent in L.A. as head of Katapult Film Sales. Over the last two years, his job at TrustNordisk as Head of New Business, has helped him realise the quintessential role of new media in film rights exploitation.
"I believe traditional distribution is not viable anymore," he says. "Unfortunately, distributors pay less and less. If ten years ago, you could sell a Danish film to France for €150,000, now you only sell it for €25,000. This speaks volumes! The costs of theatrical distribution have become prohibitive, as DVD, TV revenues have fallen dramatically while P&A costs are increasing. There are also more products than buyers around. So it's time for producers to stop thinking in terms of territories and exclusive deals and to see that this is the way to the future."
With Festival Darlings, Mai handles all media, from theatrical to DVD, VOD and COD, helping producers get quicker access to the consumer and quicker revenues in return. "I want to exploit every possible existing platform, including Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, to get a film sold," he said. The first pick up made in Cannes was the Dutch film Scum (Schoft) by writer/director Heinrich Dahms, produced by Buzzmedia Network.