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(From left) Moderator Zac Ntim of Deadline, Oscar-winning producer Mollye Asher ("Nomadland," "The Rider," "On Swift Horses") and film marketing strategist Mathias Noschis of Alphapanda participate in the "Audience First: Rethinking Film Marketing Before Distribution" panel at the Karlovy Vary IFF on July 6, 2026.

Indie Film Marketing Can’t Wait Until the Film Is Finished

A panel at Karlovy Vary examined the need to begin the marketing conversation at the earliest possible stage… even before production begins. At Karlovy Vary’s Industry program (July 5-9), a sharp conversation held on July 6 on audience strategy argued that independent films can no longer afford to t…

Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech has ambition plans for the island nation's future as a filming location, and he's using the Mediterrane Film Festival to bring Malta to the industry's attention (Photo: Courtesy Mediterrane Film Festival)

How the Mediterrane Film Festival in Malta Is Putting the Island on the Map for Filmmakers

Speaking to Celluloid Junkie during the festival, Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech lays out his ambitious strategy for the film festival, and how he hopes it will act as a springboard for further investment in the island country as a filming location. This year, the Mediterrane Film Festival ret…

(From left) Ruun Nour, Vancouver International Film Festival programmer and No Evil Eye Cinema co-founder; Can Sungu, artistic director of SİNEMA TRANSTOPIA; Kira Simon-Kennedy, film producer and volunteer member with La Clef collective; and moderate Jeremy Chua, producer at Potocol and executive director of the Singapore International Film Festival, who participated in the Cannes Docs panel “Micro Cinemas and Macro Impact: Independent Exhibition as a Social and Communal Practice,” held on May 16, 2026 (Photo: © Cyril Chateau / Marché du Film)

Micro Cinemas, Major Impact: How Grassroots Exhibitors are Rebuilding Film Culture

At a time when traditional distribution remains under pressure, micro cinemas and independent exhibition spaces may be offering one of the most concrete answers to the question of how films can still find committed, physically present audiences. That was the central argument emerging from the Cannes…

(From left) Nicolas Edmery and Elisa Joliveau-Breney, film analysts at the European Audiovisual Observatory; Naohiro Kaji, director of the Culture and Creative Industries Division at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; and Martin Kanzler, deputy head of department for market information at the Observatory, who participated in the "FOCUS on World Film Market Trends" at the Marché du Film in Cannes on May 15, 2026. (Photo: courtesy of European Audiovisual Observatory)

Global Cinema Attendance Inches Up, But the Recovery Belongs to Asia, Says the Latest FOCUS Report

The global theatrical market continued its uneven recovery in 2025, with Asia emerging as the main engine of growth and Japan standing out as one of the few major territories to surpass its pre-pandemic attendance levels. That was the central message from the launch of the 2026 edition of FOCUS – Wo…

(From left) Daniel Berger, President at Oscilloscope Pictures; Sarah Mosses, Founder & CEO of Together Films; John Nein, Senior Programmer & Director of Strategy, Sundance Film Festival; Sharon 'Rocky' Roggio, Founder & Creative Director, 1946 Studios; and moderator Iddo Patt, CEO & Co-Founder of Eventive (Photo: Eventive)

Can Direct-to-Audience Distribution Give Indie Films a New Path to Theatres?

For decades, the independent film industry has operated according to a familiar hierarchy. A filmmaker completes a project, premieres at a major festival, secures a distributor, launches a theatrical run, and hopes that audiences discover the film through cinemas, home entertainment releases or – mo…

(From Left) Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, Co-Founder and Co-Presidents of Sony Pictures Classics, Dylan Leiner, EVP of Acquisitions, Production and Business Affairs at Sony Pictures Classics and Matt Brennan of the Los Angeles Times during the "How Sony Pictures Classics Navigates the World of Indie and International Cinema" panel on March 18, 2026 at the 2026 Marché du Film alongside the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.

The Long Game: How Sony Pictures Classics Still Wins at Cannes

There are easier ways to make a living than selling independent and international cinema in 2026. There are safer businesses than theatrical distribution, quieter ones than acquisitions, and certainly more predictable ones than building a release strategy around festival discovery, Oscar momentum, r…

2026 Cannes Film Festival - Palais des Festivals

Cannes 2026: Strong Films, Thin Buzz and a Market Finding New Footing

A strong competition without a consensus breakout, a Marché reshaped by private capital, and a Hollywood no-show that raised uncomfortable questions about the festival’s global reach. The 79th Cannes Film Festival closed on May 23 the way it opened — with defiance. No major Hollywood studio tentpole…

Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord” Wins Palme d’Or at 2026 Cannes Film Festival

Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord” Wins Palme d’Or at 2026 Cannes Film Festival

Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord” was awarded the Palme d’Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 23, giving the Romanian filmmaker his second win of the festival’s top prize, nearly two decades after “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” took the Palme in 2007. The Norway-set drama, starring Sebastia…

The Red Sea Film Foundation's 2026 Women In Cinema honorees, (from left) Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo, Kamila Andini, Aixa Kay, Genevieve Nnaji, and Tara Sutaria during its annual luncheon held alongside the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival

At Cannes, Red Sea’s Women in Cinema Spotlight Makes the Case for a Wider Film Map

The Red Sea Film Foundation’s annual Women in Cinema spotlight brought together filmmakers and performers from Nigeria, Rwanda, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Morocco — and made clear that some of the industry’s most urgent voices are still waiting for the infrastructure to match their ambition.…

2026 Cannes Film Festival

As Hollywood Pulls Back, Cannes Doubles Down

There is a quality to the light along the Croisette in May that no other film festival can replicate or claim. It falls at a particular angle across the Palais des Festivals — that concrete monolith critics have spent decades mocking and cinephiles have spent decades loving — and transforms even the…