Cannes Market on Technology Push with Village Innovation and AI Summit
Brady Corbet’s Oscar- and Globe-winning drama The Brutalist was the subject of a brief storm during the awards season in January when it became known that AI was used to alter the dialogue of Adrien Brody, and Felicity.
The storm was downgraded from a squall when Corbet explained his sound team worked with Ukrainian AI company Respeecher in order to “fine-tune certain vowels and letters for accuracy” within the co-stars Hungarian language dialogue. English language dialogue, however, had not been altered.
Alex Serdiuk, Respeecher’s CEO and cofounder, will attend the Cannes Marche du Film for a discussion entitled ‘AI Voices for Hollywood & Beyond’. The panel will discuss the company’s involvement with The Brutalist, Jacques Audiard 2024 Cannes Jury Prize, and Oscar winner Emilia Perez.
This event is one of many technology- and innovation-focused panels, talks and demonstrations that will take place in the new Village Innovation at the market, a 1,000-square-meter space overlooking the old Port.
The village is a part of Cannes Next, a long-running program that focuses on virtual production, immersive content, and AI. It also touches on other aspects of technology in cinema.
Guillaume Esmiol, Cannes’ market director, says that the village is a part of a larger initiative to make Cannes an innovation event at the intersection between technology and film. We’re not trying to compete with other tech events such as CES and IBC. We want to talk about how technology can be used for creativity.
Esmiol began his career as a digital specialist at French TV Network TF1 and took over the role of market leader Jerome Paillard, in 2023. He believes the market is ready to expand into the space of technology.
It’s open to everyone, whether they have a market or a festival badge. It’s open to all, regardless of whether they hold a badge for a film festival or market.
He admits that the issue of generative AI is a contentious one in the film industry.
It’s not up to the market to decide whether technology is good, or bad. It’s our job to explain what is happening. “Whether you like AI or not, it’s important to know what is happening.” he says.
A.J. Wedding and Brian Nitzkin at Orbital Studios (Snowfall, History’s Greatest Heists) in L.A. explore the Omniverse platform by Nvidia. Wedding and Brian Nitzkin, at Orbital Studios in Los Angeles (Snowfall and History’s greatest Heists), explore Nvidia’s Omniverse Platform.
A handful of Cannes Next discussions will take place outside of the Village Innovation, such as conversation on the market’s mainstage between Japanese games creator and filmmaker Hideo Kojima and German Turkish director, who are in Cannes 2025 Official Selection with Exit 8 and Amrum respectively, on how technology has impacted their storytelling.
Roman Coppola & Leo Matchett are also returning to the market for a discussion on DCP+, a streaming platform launched by Decentralized Pictures last year, a blockchain-based film financing platform that is a sister to American Zentropa.
Market also aims to take AI conversation to a new level with its one-day AI Summit, which will be held on May 15. The summit will begin with a keynote from Rob Bredow, SVP, Creative Innovation, Digital Production & Technology Lucasfilm & ILM.
The Oscar-nominated visual effect veteran, whose credits included Solo: A Star Wars Story (The Mandalorian), Aquaman and The Mandalorian, gave a Ted Talk recently promoting ILM’s legacy and future opportunities provided by AI.
The invite-only summit aims to gather decision-makers, technologists and creators for discussions around investment opportunities, strategic partnerships and the future of AI-driven innovation in cinema and entertainment.
Esmiol says, “We will be inviting 150-200 high-profile guests.” It’s not like the Village Innovation events, which are open to all… This is only for those in the film industry who already work with technology. The goal is to host a high-level conference.”
MDF Martina Barbon
Beyond AI and virtual production, the other key pole of the market’s technology focus is immersive content, in conjunction with the festival’s second Immersive Competition (a reboot of the Cannes XR Competition).
The 16 titles in the 2025 selection include Eloise singer Trailblazer about German automobile pioneer Bertha Benz. Daisy Ridley is EP’ed, and Lili by Navid Khonsari, featuring Cannes’ Best Actress Zar Amir. Dutch immersive directors Maartje Wegdam, Nienke Huitenga Broeren’s Lacuna revisits an octogenarian’s World War Two memory.
The works from last year will be displayed at the Carlton Hotel. Esmiol says that the event generated 3,000 sessions in the past year, but feedback indicated it should be held closer to the festival.
The Village Innovation will host a series Immersive Spotlights of talks featuring many of the contestants.
The market is also launching its inaugural Immersive Market, which will be situated on the Art Explora catamaran, and revolve around a seven-day Curators Network, aimed at connecting
museum curators, cultural institutions, and themed entertainment venues with immersive works and creators.
Esmiol says, “The festival manages the competition but we can complement this work by bringing it to the market.” “One of immersive works’ biggest challenges is distribution. Last year’s competition was very popular, so we took a great effort this year to reach out to curators we thought might be interested in the market.”
