On 15 May, UNIC attended the panel organised by the LUX Award and the European Parliament “Invest in What Matters: Support to European Film & Audiovisual Sectors in the Next Long-term Budget of the European Union” with contributions from industry professionals and MEPs Laurence Farreng (Renew, FR) and Emma Rafowicz (Greens, FR). UNIC then met with the MPA.
On 16 May UNIC met with MEPs Laurence Farreng (Renew, FR) and Emma Rafowicz (Greens, FR), joined the Unifrance lunch and attended the European Audiovisual Observatory conference “FOCUS 2025: Key Trends in the Film Sector session”, where 2024 European results were presented, together with data and industry insights on Brazil, country of honour of the Festival for 2025.
On Saturday 17 May, UNIC attended the European Audiovisual Observatory conference “Success made in Europe! What's a successful European film? How many are there? Could there be more?ˮ, with the contribution of UNIC member Peter Fornstam, CEO of Svenska Bio and Chairman of the Swedish Cinema Association. UNIC also attended a session in the Innovation Village presented by Letterboxd, a panel on “The power of film in shaping democracy” with film director Ali Abbasi and a discussion on audience profiling promoted by EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs). UNIC also met with CICAE and Europa Cinemas.
On 18 May UNIC attended a presentation by Harkness at the CST stand and the panel organised by Film i Vast on audience shifts, with insights from producers and film funds representatives. UNIC also participated in a closed-door round table on the Audiovisual and Media Services Directive organised by the European Commission and in the afternoon joined the sessions organised by the CNC and EFAD (European Film Agencies) on European public funding and success stories of European films. This was followed by the Europa Cinemas Network Meeting. After an overview of the 2024 results across Europe by the European Audiovisual Observatory, the Europa Cinemas team presented the 2024 performance of the Network. The meeting also included insights from Cineville, the introduction to Training Bootcamps for exhibitors, as well as a call for support from Slovenian exhibitors, who are currently facing unprecedented demands for remuneration from authors and actors. In the evening UNIC organised a get-together with current and past mentees and mentors of the Women Cinema Leadership Programme. To conclude the day, UNIC members met for dinner.
On Monday 19, UNIC attended the presentation of the Nostradamus report by analyst and author Johanna Koljonen, followed by a panel discussion with industry professionals. Other industry conferences followed at the Film Market, namely the presentation of the Crescine report about competitiveness and innovation within the European film and audiovisual sector and the panel of the Norwegian Film Institute on inclusion and diversity in the industry.
Throughout the Festival, UNIC met with industry stakeholders and partners.
We look forward to discovering which film will win the Palme d’Or this year and to enjoying it on the Big Screen!