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French President Emmanuel Macron will bring together some of the world’s most powerful entertainment executives in the medieval hilltop village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence on Sept. 7 for the Lumière Summit,a landmark international
event where AI, theatrical exhibition, film financing and the future of independent cinema will be debated.
Co-chaired by Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, the one-day summit is expected to bring together CEOs of major global companies, filmmakers, talent, policymakers, exhibitors, figures from the arthouse world, as well as film education advocates.
Among those confirmed to attend are Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos; NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios Chairman Donna Langley; Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden; Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman; CAA co-chairman Bryan Lourd; WME partner Richard Weitz; Letterboxd CEO Matthew Buchanan; investment executive Daniel Katz; Canal+ Group CEO Maxime Saada; TF1 CEO Rodolphe Belmer; Mediawan co-founder Pierre-Antoine Capton; Pathé president Ardavan Safaee; Cannes Film Festival chief Thierry Frémaux; Regal Cinemas CEO Eduardo Acuña; Cinépolis CEO Alejandro Ramírez Magaña; Vue International founder and CEO Tim Richards; and Toho Cinemas president Hiro Matsuoka. Other confirmed participants include the deans of leading U.S. film schools, including UCLA and USC.
It will be the first time in a century that France hosts a global conference bringing together governments and senior leaders from across the film industry. The last comparable event took place in Paris in 1926, when 435 delegates from 31 countries, including official representatives from 16 governments, gathered to discuss the future of cinema at a pivotal moment marked by the arrival of talking pictures and the rapid rise of Hollywood’s studio system. A century later, the industry finds itself at a moment of profound technological upheaval, this time driven by AI, streaming and the creator economy. As in 1926, some concrete plans will be unveiled during the summit, including the creation of an international NGO dedicated to protecting and promoting independent cinema worldwide, Variety has learned.
Rather than framing the conversation around the traditional rivalry between Hollywood studios, broadcasters and streaming platforms, the summit – which is organized by France’s National Center for Cinema (CNC) under the authority of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs — will look to redefine how governments and industry leaders can work together to preserve the economic, cultural and democratic value of film, television and gaming in an era increasingly shaped by social media and fragmented audiences. Themes that will be discussed include AI, the creator economy, theatrical exclusivity, new financing models, discoverability, public support, piracy, independent cinema, workforce standards, gender equality, sustainability, film preservation and image education.
The event marks the latest step in Macron’s efforts to position France as a global power for the creative industries. The idea is said to have emerged after last year’s Choose France investment summit, where Macron met with Sarandos and other senior film executives. Those conversations reinforced his conviction that political leaders need a direct dialogue with the entertainment industry. It also helped spur a crucial reform of France’s tax rebate for international productions that now includes below-the-line costs.
The Lumière summit also builds on Macron’s broader push to develop France’s creative economy during his presidency, whose second mandate ends next year. Through the France 2030 investment plan, his government has invested €350 million to strengthen film and television production, build studios and ultimately attract big international shoots, such as “The White Lotus” Season 4 and “Emily in Paris.”
Alongside boasting Europe’s largest theatrical box office market, the country is now home to some of world’s biggest independent media consolidators, including Banijay, which recently acquired All3Media, and Mediawan, which recently completed its merger with North Road and is reportedly eyeing Lionsgate.
Last month, France was also named Creative Country of the Year at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, underscoring the country’s growing influence across the global creative industries.
Speaking at Cannes Lions in June, Macron previewed the Lumière Summit, calling it “a perfect rendez-vous” for French creativity. “It will be an opportunity to celebrate with our South Korean friends the richness of the cinematographic creation of our two countries, and it will be a perfect rendez-vous for this French creativity,” Macron said. “You will see, beyond what you already recognized and celebrated through this award, that we can go further and be even more creative.”
France has indeed ranked as Europe’s leading destination for foreign investment for seven consecutive years, while this year’s Choose France summit secured €93 billion in pledged investments, particularly in AI and data infrastructure.
