Movie makers picture brighter times ahead

MAJOR players of the independent film industry gathered for the giant Cannes film festival say they are starting to see a bottom to their recession-weary market that foretells better times ahead.

The Cannes film market is a massive event for buying and selling rights to show movies in theatres, on TV and in other media worldwide.

Each year, executives gather here to haggle over film prices, which – owing to the recession and other factors – have fallen 15% to 20% from last year.