France and South Korea bring animation industry together for summit with 180 sector leaders

France and South Korea are bringing 180 major figures from animation, film and gaming to Saint-Paul-de-Vence for a summit on the industry's future in an age dominated by screens and artificial intelligence.

The Lumière Summit, named after French cinema pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière, will be co-chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. Netflix chief executive Ted Sarandos, Walt Disney Company President Dana Walden, NBCUniversal chief Donna Langley and Sony Pictures chief Thomas Rothman are among those expected to attend.

The meeting will examine the structural changes reshaping cinema, audiovisual creation and video games. Its agenda includes the post-pandemic impact on the sector, Hollywood strikes, changing consumption patterns, the rise of streaming platforms, artificial intelligence, financing and the weakening of movie theaters.

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We have built a civilization based on images. We must not resign ourselves to watching it deteriorate. The same screens that have become part of the problem can also provide the solution: greater access, greater variety, new forms of creation, and new encounters between cultures.

In an editorial published in Variety, Macron argued that screens should not simply be treated as a threat. "We have built a civilization based on images. We must not resign ourselves to watching it deteriorate. The same screens that have become part of the problem can also provide the solution: greater access, greater variety, new forms of creation, and new encounters between cultures," he wrote.

Representatives from 55 countries will take part, including around 15 culture ministers. The program includes 22 working sessions and conferences on new creative technologies, media education, financing models, market partnerships, rebuilding ties with audiences and sustainability. France's government says the summit will also showcase the country's renewed appeal in film, series, animation and gaming, as well as its industrial and cultural assets. France is described as the world's third-largest film market, behind the United States and China.

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The screen itself is not our enemy. It has brought extraordinary things into our lives. Never before have so many people had access to so many films, ideas and cultures different from their own. For all of us, it is clear that a screen can educate, connect and inspire.