The industry wing of the Berlin Film Festival, the European Film Market (EFM), has confirmed that 600 exhibitors from 62 countries took part in this year’s virtual edition, up from 504 last year.

A total of 1,300 market screenings of 827 films took place, including 600 previews. That was down from last year’s number of 1,452 screenings. However, this year attendees will be able to view films over the next few weeks as catch-up screenings.

For the first time, companies from Costa Rica, Malaysia, Mongolia and Uruguay were among the exhibitors.

It was another tough year for the EFM, with the Omicron wave forcing the cancellation of its planned in-person event. In January, EFM chief Dennis Ruh told TBEN his team was “very confident” to hold a physical edition in 2022 before the rapid spread of new cases, which continued to peak during the event.

Even so, some eye-catching deals were struck during the market, particularly Sony’s record-breaking $60 million pact for the Tom Hanks comedy. A man called Otto.

“The EFM has again created clear and vital momentum for the film and content trade on its traditional date at the start of the film year,” said EFM Director Ruh. “After the already noticeable easing and lifting of restrictive measures in Europe and other parts of the world, the incentive to acquire new films and content is once again felt more strongly, even if the rights exchange were to still take place largely in virtual space this year. We look forward to meeting our market players in person in Berlin next year.”