UNIC attended the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. On 14 February, UNIC, together with HDF Kino, was invited by the LUX Audience Award to meet with MEPs Riba i Giner (S&D, ES) and Ros Sempere (S&D, ES), together with colleagues from the Federation of European Screen Directors and the Society of Audiovisual Authors. Creative Europe MEDIA, the impact of AI, the role of cinemas in society were discussed. Both MEPs displayed strong support to the film value chain and to cultural diversity.
The meeting was followed by a Lux Audience Award conference on A.I. in the Audio-Visual Sector: Innovation, Ethics, and Democratic Values, which featured the following speakers:
- MEP Emma Rafowicz – Vice-Chair, Committee on Culture and Education (S&D, France)
- Renate Nikolay – Deputy Director-General, DG CNECT, European Commission
- MEP Diana Riba i Giner – Vice-Chair, Committee on Culture and Education (Greens/EFA, Spain)
- MEP Marcos Ros Sempere – Substitute Member, Committee on Culture and Education (S&D, Spain)
- Pauline Durand Vialle – CEO, Federation of European Film Directors (FERA)
- Volodymyr Ovsiienko – Business Development Executive, Respeecher
- Sofie Hvitved – Futurist, Senior Advisor & Head of Media at Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies
The event was moderated by Sten Kristian Saluveer – Director, Tallinn Digital Summit & Head of Cannes Next, Marché du Film. The impact of AI on creatives, the need to ensure remuneration and the role of the European Parliament and the European Commission were discussed.
On 15 February, UNIC and HDF Kino hosted Cinemas Meet Berlinale. Sponsored by The Spot and Opus, the event was an informal get-together for colleagues from the European and German film sector and for politicians. UNIC and HDF delivered a short opening speech, highlighting the crucial role of cinemas in the value chain as well as their economic, social and cultural contributions. Theatrical exclusivity, Geoblocking, fighting against piracy were touched upon.
UNIC then attended a conference organised by Creative Europe MEDIA on Media consumption habits of young people in Europe. The event unveiled the preliminary results of an EU wide consumer survey on media consumption habits with a specific focus on young audiences. The full results will be published together with the new Media Outlook in Spring 2025. Speakers included:
- Dirk Beinhold, Vice Chairman of Animation Europe
- Mathias Holtz, President Europa Cinemas & Cinema Consultant, Folkets Hus och Parke
- Oliver Schablitzki, CEO, Super RTL
- Jutta Croll, Chairwoman of the Board of Digital Opportunities Foundation / Project Manager childrens-rights.digital, Digital Opportunities Foundation
Finally, on 16 February, UNIC hosted a get together for mentees and mentors of its Women’s Cinema Leadership programme. The new intake will be launched in June 2025 – stay tuned!