Global film production icon Gale Anne Hurd, AI pioneers Caleb and Shelby Ward from Curious Refuge, the world's first AI Academy for filmmakers, Anna Bulakh from Emmy-winning synthetic voice pioneer Respeecher, which recreated the voice of Edith Piaf for the just announced film, and Jan Rosner from Europe's game industry powerhouse CD Projekt Red (The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077) take the stage at the annual Industry Innovation ForumTallinn.
The summit is held on 17 November as a part of the Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. The half-a-day executive-level forum focuses on Europe and Ukraine's solidarity in film and industry 631 days since the start of the invasion and explores the explosive impact of artificial intelligence and IP on European film, content, and audiovisual sectors. The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival organizes IIFT in association with Creative Europe Media.
The opening session explores how, amid the war, the European audiovisual, creative, and innovative sectors will maintain their spirit of cooperation and solidarity with Ukraine. What lessons have we jointly unearthed, what unforeseen challenges have arisen, and where have we found unexpected successes in the face of our generation's most pressing tragedy? Europe's leading Ukraine-focused film financiers, including Manon Duverger (European Solidarity Fund for Ukrainian Films: ESFUF) and Eric Holland (Dilm Filmhouse), discuss the present and future of film financing and collaboration with Ukraine.
The needs and realities on the ground in Ukraine are presented by creative industries and NGO leader Mykhailo Glubokyi from Izolatsiya Foundation, who is set to provide financing to EU-Ukraine collaborations through their Zmina platform. A case study will unveil MURALS, an award-winning immersive installation and Ukrainian-Polish coproduction, using cutting-edge technologies to create e digital twins of BANKSY's artworks to tell a story of a country under siege.
The summit's second session takes a deep dive into the explosive impact of Generative AI on European and global industries. In addition to the headliners mentioned above, the all-star speaker lineup includes Christina Caspers-Röhmer from Europe's leading VFX house TRIXTER (Netflix "1899"), visionary producer Mads Dambso behind Europe's first AI feature in collaboration with Werner Herzog, as well as Futurist and acclaimed media Sander Saar. Specifically, the session looks at the potential of generative AI, pioneering case studies, the world's first AI academy for filmmakers, and opportunities for growing global gaming and audiovisual IPs from Europe.
The summit's special guest for its closing Executive Industry Outlook is global film production icon Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, Abyss, Aliens, The Walking Dead) who has spearheaded some of cinema history's most revered films as well as celebrated TV series, documentaries, and coproductions with Europe. The conversation with IIFTs curator, Sten-Kristian Saluveer (Head of Cannes Next - Marche Du Film, Festival de Cannes) explores the global state of industry in Europe and beyond, as well as her championing work for gender equality and female leadership in the film industry.
Industry Innovation Forum Tallinn takes place on 17 November 13.00 - 17.00 CET (14.00 - 18.00 Estonia time) at Nordic Hotel Forum Tallinn along the Tallinn Black Nights FF and streams online at industry.poff.ee.