The Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) has represented African cinema at the inaugural Lumière Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, where global film and entertainment leaders gathered to discuss the future of the moving-image industry.
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Nigeria was represented at the summit by the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, and founder of AFRIFF, Chioma Ude.
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‎Convened by French President, Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, the summit brought together more than 200 leading figures from the global film and entertainment industry, including Hollywood actor and filmmaker George Clooney, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, and executives from Disney and Sony Pictures.
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The gathering, described as the Davos Forum of the film industry, featured filmmakers, policymakers, cultural leaders, studio executives and representatives of major entertainment platforms from more than 60 countries and international organisations.
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‎Ude’s participation brought AFRIFF and an African industry perspective into discussions on the future of global cinema, with conversations focusing on artificial intelligence, streaming platforms, changing audience behaviour, the sustainability of theatrical film, and new models of international collaboration and financing.
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A major outcome of the summit was the launch of the Lumière Partnership, under which France and South Korea pledged a combined €1 billion investment in the film, audiovisual and moving-image industries between 2027 and 2031.
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Each country will contribute €500 million, with France’s commitment to be mobilised through Bpifrance and South Korea providing an equivalent investment.
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The partnership is designed to support the growth of the screen industries while advancing human creativity, copyright protection and cultural diversity.
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The summit was held at the Fondation Maeght, a contemporary art institution, as participants examined the technological, economic and cultural changes reshaping cinema.