Schedule: 2026 American Pavilion Membership

3:00 PM

IndieWire: What No One Tells You: The Secrets of PR Pros

Most filmmakers know they need publicity. Few understand how it actually works - or how to make it work for them. Some of the industry's leading film publicists pull back the curtain on the strategies, relationships, and timing that can make or break a film's release, and what independent filmmakers should know before they ever hire a PR firm.

RJ Millard, President, Obscured Pictures
Hilda Somarriba, SVP, 42West
Moderated by Sylvia Desrochers, EVP, 42West

10:30 AM

IndieWire: In Conversation - Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun joins stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson for a conversation with IndieWire Executive Editor Ryan Lattanzio ahead of the film’s U.S. theatrical release via MUBI on August 7. The opening film of Un Certain Regard, Camp Miasma follows a queer filmmaker hired to direct a new installment of a long-running slasher franchise who becomes obsessed with casting the reclusive actress who played the original final girl - with psychosexual and delirious results.

11:00 AM

Featured Conversation: Powering Production — Why California Leads

California Film Commission Director Colleen Bell joins Christopher Slager, President of Film at Fifth Season, for an intimate fireside conversation about why California remains the global center of film and television production. With a slate spanning A24 comedies, Netflix originals, and Academy Award nominees, Slager brings a producer's perspective on what draws filmmakers to the state — and what keeps them here. Together, they'll examine California's evolving production landscape, from its world-class crews and infrastructure to its incentive programs and creative ecosystem, and what the state's vision for the future means for independent filmmakers and studios alike.

11:45 AM

The California Advantage: Locations, Hospitality & Production Resources
California offers filmmakers more than world-famous scenery. This conversation highlights how tourism boards, film offices, and regional partners collaborate to provide seamless production support - from locations and lodging to catering, permitting, and community engagement helping productions thrive statewide.

Janet Zaldua, Marina del Rey Tourism Board
Murielle Nouchy, Santa Monica Film Office
Jacqueline Ryan, CVEC (Chula Vista Entertainment Company)
Moderated by Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, SVP and Editor in Chief

12:30 PM

Made in California: Incentives, Financing & Independent Film

This panel explores California’s expanded Film & Television Tax Credit Program 4.0 and the broader financing ecosystem available to filmmakers across the state. Industry leaders will discuss stackable incentives, rebates, grants, and financing strategies, alongside resources supporting independent producers and emerging storytellers working in California.

Learn how California’s enhanced incentive program is helping attract productions back to the state while creating new opportunities for independent filmmakers. Panelists will discuss tax credits, regional rebates, financing tools, grants, and the statewide support systems available to productions at every scale.

Colleen Bell, Director, California Film Commission
Larry Laboe, Executive Director, NFMLA (NewFilmakers LA)
Manijeh Fata, Executive Director, Film SF and member of FLICS (Film Liaisons in California Statewide)
Moderated by Chris O'Falt, VP, Features Strategy, IndieWire

2:00 PM

IndieWire: In Conversation - Ashes

Director and co-writer Diego Luna along with producers Valerie Delpierre and Luis Salinas in conversation with Anne Thompson, IndieWire Editor at Large

Diego Luna returns to Cannes as a director with Ashes (Ceniza en la boca), a drama selected for Special Screenings that follows a young woman's struggle in Madrid. The film marks a homecoming of sorts - Luna first brought his debut feature Abel to the festival in 2010 and served on the Un Certain Regard jury in 2016 - and a deepening of his commitment to Latin American storytelling on a global stage. Luna joins his producers Valerie Delpierre and Luis Salinas for a conversation that will explore their creative collaboration, the mechanics and creative possibilities of Mexican-Spanish co-productions, and what it means to tell this particular story from this particular vantage point.

11:30 AM

INDIEWIRE: FUTURE OF FILMMAKING

Presented by United for Business

The New Models of Financing

The old rules for financing independent films are being rewritten. From IP-backed funding and audience-driven models to new structures for independent producers, a new generation of financiers and filmmakers is finding creative ways to get projects made outside the traditional studio system. Join this conversation for a practical, forward-looking look at where the money is coming from - and what it means for the films being made.

Tanu-Matti Tuominen, IPR.VC, Co-Founder and Partner
Mark Sourian, President of Production, 5&2 Studios
Crystine Zhang, Oval 5, Owner, Producer, Financier
Moderated by Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, SVP and Editor in Chief

1:30 PM

The New Playbook for Independent Film: From Financing to Distribution in the Age of AI

Presented by Clever Caboose

“The New Playbook for Independent Film” brings together industry leaders to explore how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping financing, production, sales, marketing, and distribution. The panel will examine the opportunities, risks, and strategic shifts transforming the indie film landscape, while offering practical insights into how filmmakers, producers, financiers, and distributors can remain competitive in an increasingly data-driven and rapidly evolving global marketplace.

Viviana Zarragoitia, Executive Vice President, TPC
Torsten Ruether, Writer/Director/Producer, CEO, Hello Moment Productions
Josh Spector, Vice President of Acquisitions & Production, Grindstone Entertainment
Ryan Black, Entertainment Account Executive, Luma AI
Moderated by Andrei Bulawka, Founder & CEO, Clever Caboose

12:30 PM

IndieWire: Filmmaker Toolkit Live: Clarissa

Twin filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri join Toolkit host Chris O'Falt ahead of the Directors' Fortnight premiere of Clarissa (NEON) — a bold reimagining of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway set in contemporary Nigeria, starring Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, Ayo Edebiri, and Nikki Amuka-Bird. The film follows their celebrated debut Eyimofe, which premiered at Berlin in 2020. The conversation will explore the brothers' cinematic vision, their craft, and the vibrant Nigerian independent film scene.

2:00 PM

INDIEWIRE: FUTURE OF FILMMAKING

Presented by United for Business

Case Study: Undertone

How do you make a $500K horror film and land at A24? This focused case study unpacks the mechanics behind Undertone - from its sound-driven creative constraints and festival launch to its breakout acquisition. Daril Fannin of KINO and Chad Archibald of Black Fawn Films break down the decisions that made it work: the budget strategy, how the film was positioned for buyers, and what's replicable for independent filmmakers navigating today's market.

Moderated by Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, SVP & Editor in Chief

4:00 PM

IndieWire Show Me: An AI Filmmaking Series - Asteria’s Paul Trillo

IndieWire's Chris O'Falt launches a new series exploring artificial intelligence and the future of filmmaking with an in-depth conversation with Paul Trillo, filmmaker and strategic partner at AI studio Asteria. Trillo leads an artist-first approach to AI integration that pushes back against the notion that the technology is simply a production shortcut, arguing instead for AI as a tool that returns time, ambition, and humanity to the creative process. This inaugural conversation will explore what ethical, artist-driven AI filmmaking actually looks like in practice, and what it means for the future of independent film.

10:00 AM

“Music, Film & the New Storytelling Stack — Co-Authoring What Comes Next,”
Presented by Andreessen Horowitz, Cultural Leadership Fund and Masters vs Machine, hosted by IndieWire at the American Pavilion.

A conversation tracing the full arc of how stories now get made, from one artist's ideation to studio-scale commercialization.

Composer Roahn Hylton (Masters vs Machine, Eleven Labs) scores live as Diego Rodriguez, Co-Founder & CTO of Krea, builds the visuals beside him in real time. Judene Small, Partner at the Cultural Leadership Fund, then sits in fireside with Dave Clark, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer of Promise Studios, on the studio model and what it looks like to build at scale. A closing panel with SACEM and IndieWire's Chris O’Falt takes up authorship, ownership, and the audience's questions.

Andreessen Horowitz Cultural Leadership Fund convenes the channels — music, film, tools, audience, policy — that are co-authoring what comes next.

Judene Small Jean-Louis, Andreessen Horowitz, Cultural Leadership Fund, Partner
Roahn Hylton, Masters vs Machine / Eleven Labs, Producer/Composer/Futurist, CEO Masters vs Machine, Strategic Advisor & Creative Artist in Residence, Eleven Labs
Diego Rodriguez, Krea, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Krea
Dave Clark, Promise Studios, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Promise Studios
Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, VP, Features Strategy
SACEM

1:00 PM

IndieWire: Filmmaker Toolkit Live: Once Upon a Time in Harlem

Co-Director David Greaves in conversation with IndieWire's Chris O'Falt

In 1972, pioneering filmmaker William Greaves convened the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance for an extraordinary gathering at Duke Ellington's home - and captured it all on 16mm. Decades later, his son David completed the film, bringing it to Sundance (where it received universal critical acclaim) and now to Directors' Fortnight at Cannes.David Greaves joins Chris O'Falt to discuss finishing his father's final work, the intimate footage at the film's heart, and what it means to shepherd a piece of history across generations.

4:00 PM

INDIEWIRE: FUTURE OF FILMMAKING

Presented by United for Business

The Future of Distribution: Finding Your Audience

Theatrical windows, streaming gatekeepers, algorithmic feeds — the traditional path to audiences is getting harder to navigate, and more filmmakers are charting their own course. This conversation brings together innovators reshaping how independent films find their audiences, from community screening platforms and arthouse networks to direct acquisition models. A practical, forward-looking conversation for any filmmaker thinking seriously about distribution strategy.

Konstantinos Gozos, GATHR, Head of Product
Darcy Heusel, Outside, Founder
Leo Matchett, Decentralized Pictures, Co-Founder & CEO
Lela Meadow-Conner, Art House Convergence, Interim Executive Director
Yira Vilaro, Pijama, Director of Acquisitions
Moderated by: Dana Harris-Bridson, IndieWire, SVP & Editor in Chief

10:30 AM

IndieWire: In Conversation - The Man I Love

Director Ira Sachs and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias join Chris O'Falt ahead of the Main Competition premiere of The Man I Love - a musical fantasy set in late-'80s New York, following an actor facing death who takes on what may be his greatest role. Starring Rami Malek, Tom Sturridge, Rebecca Hall, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the film marks a bold new direction for Sachs, whose intimate character studies (Passages, Little Men, Keep the Lights On) have made him one of American independent cinema's most distinctive voices. The conversation will explore the film's making, its rich creative partnership, and what it means to tell a story about art as survival.

2:00 PM

INDIEWIRE: FUTURE OF FILMMAKING

Presented by United for Business

The Future of Film Festivals

Sundance. Telluride. New York. Berlin. Four of the world's most influential film festivals, one conversation. As distribution pipelines narrow and the theatrical landscape shifts, festivals have become more critical than ever — not just as launching pads, but as lifelines for independent cinema. The leaders shaping these institutions come together to discuss what festivals owe filmmakers, how they're evolving to meet the moment, and what the future holds.

Daniel Battsek, Film at Lincoln Center, President (New York Film Festival)
Eugene Hernandez, Sundance Film Festival, Director
Julie Huntsinger, Telluride Film Festival, Executive Director
Tricia Tuttle, Berlin International Film Festival, Director
Moderated by Anne Thompson, IndieWire, Editor at Large

4:00 PM

IndieWire: In Conversation - Diego Calva

Mexican actor Diego Calva joins IndieWire Executive Editor Ryan Lattanzio for a conversation about one of the most anticipated Cannes debuts in recent memory. Since his Golden Globe-nominated breakout in Babylon, Calva has quietly built one of the most compelling careers working across both Hollywood and Mexican cinema — and this year he arrives at the Croisette with two films: Nicolas Winding Refn's futuristic thriller Her Private Hell and Jordan Firstman's Club Kid. The conversation will explore his work in both films, his commitment to his heritage on screen, and what it means to navigate an international film presence.

11:00 AM

IndieWire: What No One Tells You: Short Films and the Path to Success

The short film space is having a moment, but the business infrastructure still lags far behind features, and so do most panel conversations. This one aims to change that. From funding and festival strategy to sales and distribution, this conversation gets into the practical realities that short filmmakers actually face, with people who are actively shaping the ecosystem and have specific, informed things to say about where it stands and where it's headed.

Natalie Musteata & Alexandre Singh, Two People Exchanging Saliva, Directors and Writers,
Grégoire Feron, Salaud Morisset, Festivals
Emilie Boulay, Salaud Morisset, Sales
Taylor K. Shaw-Omachonu, Film Lead, Kickstarter
Moderated by Chris O'Falt, VP, Features Strategy, IndieWire

2026 PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE