Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will co-chair an international summit in September devoted to cinema, series and video games. This comes at a time when the cultural industry is confronted with technological change, the fragility of cinemas and the emergence of artificial intelligence.
Films, series and video games on the program
The Cinema & Moving Image Summit will be held on September 7 at the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul de Vence. Lee Jae-myung will travel to France on this occasion as part of a state visit.
Around 100 decision-makers and creators from all over the world are expected. The meeting should bring together leaders of large groups, filmmakers, talents, public officials, representatives of auteur cinema as well as actors in image education.
The program shows that the ambition goes far beyond cinema alone. Discussions will focus on the future of theatrical exhibition, the convergence between television, streaming and video games, the preservation of heritage, sustainable production and artificial intelligence.
Gaëtan Bruel, president of the CNC, describes this moment as a historic turning point. “We are living through a moment as decisive as the invention of cinema by the Lumiere brothers 130 years ago.”he tells Variety, before adding: “The challenges are immense, but nothing is written in advance: this moment of crisis can be a moment of reinvention, provided we are proactive and united.”
His analysis gives the political meaning of the summit. “In the beginning, cinema was invented by creators and entrepreneurs. Today, a new dimension is being added: we need global governance of our sector that is up to the challenges that lie ahead.”he pleads.
France and South Korea are banking on a cultural alliance
The choice of a Franco-South Korean co-presidency is not anecdotal. The two countries share a strong cinematic history, dynamic local industries and a close vision of the importance of the auteur.
South Korea has also established itself in the series field, with several global successes on the platforms, including Squid Game on Netflix. Last month, the country was the guest of honor at the Séries Mania festival in Lille, at the time of the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and South Korea.
This proximity does not erase the economic tensions which hit the sector. Both France and South Korea saw their cinema markets weakened after the Covid-19 pandemic and South Korea, formerly the fifth largest cinema territory in the world, saw its box office drop by more than half between 2019 and 2024.
The summit comes as South Korea continues to carry symbolic weight in world cinema. Bong Joon-ho made history with ParasitePalme d’Or then Oscar for best film, best director, best international film and best original screenplay in 2020.
This year, another big South Korean name, Park Chan-wook, will chair the Cannes Film Festival jury. In this context, the summit desired by Emmanuel Macron and Lee Jae-myung must also serve as a showcase for two countries which intend to influence global debates on the future of image.
