Written by Kianna Best on Apr 26, 2024. Posted in Awards and Festivals

AFCI to host summit in Cannes

The Association of Film Commissioners International is set to present a panel series at this year’s Cannes Film Festival on pioneering strategies in film production and location selection. Scheduled to take place on 19 May from 10am to 1pm on the Main Stage, the summit will be part of the conference line up of the Marché du Film.

AFCI Executive Director Jaclyn Philpott said, “We are proud AFCI will play a significant role at the Marché du Film - Festival De Cannes this year to put a spotlight on the vital role film commissioners play within the production industry. Our expanded presence at Cannes underscores AFCI’s important role in the global screen sector.”

Image courtesy of Mathilde Gardel/FDC

The  summit aims to highlight the role of the location in the film industry, and the production strategies to bring a project to fruition. To start of the programme, a comprehensive update on global screen sector development will be presented in partnership with Olsberg SPI. This comes as a follow on to their Best Practice in Screen Development study released in 2019.

In line with the focus on locations, producers for the 2023 Palm d’Or and 2024 Oscar-winning movie The Zone of Interest will discuss key factors such as the purpose, value and opportunities that arose from shooting the film in Poland. This will be followed by a discussion on the importance of authenticity through Indigenous storytelling. Prior to closing remarks, the programme will finish with the dispelling of location stereotypes with the case study Switzerland.

“The rise of film location importance is a growing topic and becoming a key focus within our industry,” states Guillaume Esmiol, Executive Director of the Marché du Film Director. “Our collaboration with AFCI, starting with this year’s summit, is the start of a growing partnership. As film commissions become increasingly crucial to getting productions off the ground, we look forward to supporting AFCI’s future ventures and encouraging this dialogue and growth at future market editions.”

The AFCI summit will be sponsored  by Higginbotham Insurance and Financial Services, a Los Angeles based entertainment insurance and financial solutions company.