Eve Gabereau, director of distribution at the UK’s Vue, and Vladimir Kokh, CEO of French distributor KMBO, are among the speakers set to appear at the 5th International Film Distribution Summit (IFDS), which will be held from September 29 to October 1 during this year’s FilmFest Hamburg Industry Days.
Gabereau’s presentation, ‘Films on the Big Screen and Beyond - from Release to Relationship’, will be one of 11 keynotes to be given by experts working in the distribution, marketing, audience technology and box-office analysis sectors.
Securing a unique place in a competitive market will be the focus of the keynote by Thomas Legal, head of programming at French distributor The Jokers Films, which is preparing to release films including Nicolas Winding Refn’s thriller Her Private Hell and Agnieszka Smoczyńska’s sci-fi thriller Hot Spot.
Tunisian distributor Mohamed Frini, CEO of HAKKA Distribution, will talk about building an alternative distribution network throughout Tunisia that includes theatres, cultural centres, school and university screening spaces and prisons. It offers approximately 500 screenings per year outside of cinemas.
Further keynotes will see Eduardo Calla, chief strategy officer of Chile’s BF Distribution, share insights into how world cinema reshaped his company’s thinking “about strategy, uncertainty and market development”, and Lee Yun-Yeong of the South Korean distribution company Cinematograph will explain how it is possible to bypass the system with smaller-scale releases.
KMBO’s Kokh will present a masterclass called, ‘Growing in French Distribution’ in the year when his company acquired animation specialist Gebeka Films, whose releases include Kirikou And The Sorceress and My Life As A Courgette.
Additionally, the distributors and sales agents of two Creative Europe Media- funded films, Little Amelie and Nouvelle Vague, will talk about their national and international distribution strategies for these films.
Marché du Film
Cannes’ Marché due Film has become an official partner of the best international innovation distribution award, which will be presented on the evening of September 30. The Marché will provide the winner with a visibility package at the market’s next edition in 2027 to showcase the company’s line-up.
Past award winners include Charades, Elastica Films, and Neon.
Furthermore, up to five participants of the Cannes Makers training and mentorship initiative will be invited to attend the Distribution Summit as well as the preceding European Work in Progress (EWIP) platform (September 28 - 30, 2026).
This is the second year the two events are being held during the FilmFest Hamburg after previously being organised in Cologne.
The IFDS is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, FilmFest Hamburg, the MOIN Film Fund, and the German Federal Film Board (FFA).
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