SampoMedia founder Michael Gubbins will be leading a series of industry debates at this year’s Vilnius International Film Festival in Lithuania.
Industry professionals from around Europe will take part in the fourth Meeting Point-Vilnius programme on March 25-28 and will discuss a wide range of perspectives on the changing industry.
Among the more important subjects on the agenda will be the position of smaller European nations in the changed digital business environment of the coming years.
Around half of European countries have populations below six million and the culture, talent and ideas of many of those countries are sometimes overlooked in discussions about industrial change. Meeting Point-Vilnius will look at the opportunities that might arise from the introduction of digital technologies and from building greater cooperation with other countries and regions through co-production.
Among the speakers will be Eurimages executive director Roberto Olla, Simon Perry, chair of the Atelier Di Cinema Europeen, and producers and festival executives from the Baltic countries and from around Europe.
Gubbins, who also chairs the Film Agency for Wales, said this was a good time to be talking about the place of smaller nations.
“It is essential that the voices of nations, which may individually be small but represent a significant percentage of Europe’s population, are not lost in the big debates about European culture and digital change.”
The festival has been building a reputation for industry discussion over recent years.
Algirdas Ramaska, Vilnius IFF executive director said: “Meeting Point-Vilnius is especially important to cinema professionals. Already after four years, the festival has become a platform for meetings of colleagues not only from Europe, but the whole world.”
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