Cannes 2023 Recap!

Hi, Stage 32ers!

This year marked a monumental milestone for Stage 32, our 10th year on La Croisette! In many ways, it was our most successful year yet. During our first-ever Stage 32 Cannes meetup, we had a close-knit group of 17 people in attendance. This year, we grew to 1500 attendees at our Stage 32 party in partnership with Variety!

It was amazing to see so many people from our global community show up to celebrate, network, and support each other. We had Stage 32 members screening their films and closing big deals, showcasing the immense talent that we’re lucky to foster here every day. We also had members attending and hosting panels, furthering their education and understanding of our ever-evolving creative industry. I was inspired by all of you who approached Amanda and me to share your stories and what Stage 32 means to you.

Being at Cannes is always a privilege, but this year really was something special. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to provide you all with highlights of the panels that we hosted and the valuable insights that were shared with us. So stay tuned!

Today, we’re kicking things off with a recap of our events!

Stage 32 Education Partnership With Canon

Stage 32 is now an official education partner of Canon! Canon is a long-time favorite among filmmakers, empowering them with the necessary tools to tell inspiring and unique stories. This year at Cannes, we kicked off this exciting partnership with an exclusive panel hosted by our own Amanda Toney and featuring Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Marcel Mettelsiefen.

The turnout was more than we could have hoped for, with hundreds of people in attendance! Amanda and Marcel had a fantastic conversation, in which he provided insight into his approach to storytelling and the art of utilizing Canon's equipment.

Stage 32 Party in Partnership with Variety

We had a party for the ages!

In partnership with Variety, we had an incredible party to announce and celebrate the fact that Stage 32 has officially hit one million members! DJs Klingande and The Avener kept the party raging until 2:00 am. As mentioned above, there were 1500 attendees present, made up of Stage 32 educators, executives, mentors, and colleagues from Variety, Netflix, Neom, Red Sea Festival, CAA, Cold Iron Pictures, and many others.

It was such an impressive event that French Vogue did a beautiful press piece on the party and Stage 32. If you’re interested in giving it a read, you can find the article HERE. You can use Google Translate to translate the article into English.

Below is a video with highlights from the party!

Stage 32 and Film USA Panels

Every Stage 32 panel in the Film USA tent was a hit, with wall-to-wall standing-room only! We couldn’t be more thrilled with the turnout.

A recap of our panels includes:

The Evolution of Storytelling: AI, Virtual Reality, the Metaverse & Chat GPT

Moderator: Kayvan Mashayekh, Producers without Borders

Panelists:

1. Sami Apra, CEO of Largo Film (Switzerland)
2. Christopher Morrison - Founder, Reality +
3. Richard Botto - CEO, Stage 32

Authentic Stories: The Importance of Diversity & Inclusion in Film and TV

Moderator: Martin I. Petrov, Festival Director, World of Film International Glasgow

Panelists:

1. Ramfis Myrthil - Producer
2. Thien A. Pham - Producer, 3388 Films
3. Andrew Vallentine - Director
4. Piera Van de Wiel - Producer, Stronger With Music
5. Jennifer Lauren - Cherokee Nation Film Office Director

Today's Film Packaging and Sales/Acquisitions Landscape

Moderator: Dave DeBorde

Panelists:

1. Tiffany Boyle - President, Ramo Law
2. Viviana Zarragoitia - Financier, VP, Three Point Capital
3. Jack Sheehan - President, Archstone Films

How You or Your Project Can Stand Out in the International Market

Moderator: Sara Elizabeth Timmins

Panelists:

1. Sidney Chiu - Producer
2. Segolene Zimmern, Manager of International Acquisitions
3. Alexia Melocchi - Partner, Little Studio Films, Host of The Heart of Show Business

Producing Film in Today's Market: Opportunities & Challenges in 2023

Moderator: Dave DeBorde

Panelists:

1. Matthew Helderman, CEO, Bondit Media Capital
2. Kristin Harris - SVP Development and Production, Vertical Entertainment
3. Shaked Berenson - Producer
4. Miranda Bailey - CEO, Cold Iron Pictures

We’ll be showcasing vlog videos of these panels soon, so keep your eyes peeled! We want to keep you all informed of the valuable information that was shared.

A Final Night To Remember!

Lastly, we were honored to partner with the World of Film International Festival (Scotland), Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, and iHollywood Film Fest for the second year in a row to host a great party. 1,000 attendees turned out for a live performance by The Gypsy Kings and a special appearance by none other than Bebe Rexha!

You can see a special highlight reel of this unforgettable night in the video below!

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Got an idea for a post? Or have you collaborated with Stage 32 members to create a project? We'd love to hear about it. Email Emily at blog@stage32.com and let's get your post published!

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