Feelbelt is represented at the EFM Horizon 2020 Start-up programme as one out of ten lucky participants from the start-up sphere.

To be in the spotlight at Berlinale for once – a dream for many businesses. Since the beginning of this year, it is however no longer for Feelbelt! We were able to make this dream come true at Berlinale 2020. After a strict selection process against around 100 competitors, we have indeed succeeded in being one of the top ten most innovative start-ups to participate in the EFM Start-up Horizon. As we are super proud of this enormous achievement, we would love to share our experience with you.

In an extraordinary atmosphere, this event gave us the opportunity to get in touch with well-known people and companies from the global film and media industry. According to Festival Director Karen Arikian, we were the only company at the Berlinale to present hardware (a sound gadget) that can be touched and tried out, and therefore with a high potential for enthusiasm. We were praised not only by the organisers, but also by the audience and important decision-makers. Karen Arikian emphasised: “We are delighted that Feelbelt participated at the EFM Start-Up Horizon 2020 at the Berlinale this year. The team brought a prototype of their wearable with them, so everyone got a chance to try it out. Feelbelt offers a new and thoughtful way to improve the quality of the listening experience, for example in cinemas.” Nevertheless, the extra-ordinary bluetooth device is compatible with any gaming consoles as well, such as Sony Play Station, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo or PC.

This positive mood towards Feelbelt as a young and innovative start-up was spread throughout the whole programme. With that in mind, we continue to look into the future even more optimistically and motivated than before. Our pitch and the presentation of the Feelbelt as the highlight of the event were also very well received by the participants, according to Susanne Zöchling from the MediaTech Hub Accelerator Babelsberg: “Feelbelt’s pitch at the EFM Start-Up Horizon was perfectly in line with the pitches of the nine other European and American Start-Ups. The applicability in the cinema and game industry became absolutely clear. And even more importantly: one immediately had the desire to try out the Feelbelt by oneself.”

The format of the event offered us the chance to make promising business contacts in one-to-one meetings and to track down the latest trends in the industry. Important decision-makers and big players from the media industry tested the gadget in combination with film scenes and music. And the only feedback we got here was as well: pure enthusiasm! On top of that, we were able to develop ideas for joint projects with potential B2B-customers and cooperation partners – including entertainment providers and festival organisers – that would integrate our sound device. In that sense, Carsten, our Business Development Manager, could not have come to a better conclusion of the event: “Once again, we were confirmed in our decision to additionally present the Feelbelt outside the music market. The reactions were overwhelming, and we were able to meet many interesting film-makers.”

For all those interested, we have summarised some background information on the EFM below.

The European Film Market (EFM) is one of three top meeting places for the international film and media industry. Since 2015, the EFM Start-Up Horizon Programme has been taking place annually at the same time as the Berlinale, but in separate venues at the Horizon headquarters (Berliner Freiheit).

In an exclusive three-day event consisting of pitch presentations, one-on-one meetings and product presentations, the close connection with the Berlinale enables media-oriented start-ups to network quickly and easily with the film industry.

Together with Feelbelt, the following start-ups were represented among others: a streaming platform for pan-African TV content (AfroLandTV), a technology developer for secure special effects (Copenhagen Industries) and the developer of a mood-based song analysis software using AI (Cyanite).

For further information, press enquiries and imagery please contact Daniela Kabisch, Head of PR: daniela.kabisch@news.feelbelt.de.

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