audience access – At the Cannes American Pavilion, a panel tied the future of film financing to one shift: investors increasingly want proof of an audience relationship, not just artistic potential—turning studios into I.P. and opening new routes around traditional gatekeepers.
A panel promise at Cannes landed like a warning: this wouldn’t be the usual conversation about “how do you finance movies?”
Opening the New Models of Financing session at The American Pavilion, IndieWire Editor-in-Chief Dana Harris-Bridson said, “This is not going to be your typical ‘How do you finance movies?’ panel. These people all finance storytelling, but they all represent very different businesses.”
The Future of Filmmaking event brought three experts into the same room as film financing keeps getting more complicated: IPR.VC Co-Founder and Partner Tanu-Matti Tuominen. 5&2 Studios President of Production Mark Sourian. and Oval 5 owner Chrystine Zhang. The discussion centered on a new reality for investors—one where films aren’t evaluated only by their artistic merits. but by whether a preexisting relationship with an audience already exists.
Tuominen framed studios as the key asset in that equation. “The studios we want to work with, like A24 or mk2 or MUBI, are tastemakers. They have the relationship with the audience. They develop the content because they know who is their fan and who the story is made for,” he said. “And then our role is to help the studios to keep the ownership of the content.”.
For the panelists, the point was not subtle: if the audience bond is built into the studio’s value, financing becomes less about guessing what might land and more about backing a proven story-making engine.
Sourian added that this shift also changes who holds leverage. “Ten years ago. in order to get any film or television series made. you needed a mainstream network or studio to finance and distribute it. ” he said. “And I think over the last ten years with technological advances. whether it be YouTube. the internet. et cetera. you don’t need these big monolithic companies.”.
That’s where the “chaos” part came in. The panel made clear that new pathways can emerge for projects that can bring their own audience, instead of waiting for a traditional gatekeeper to open the door.
United for Business—the panel presenter—sat alongside the bigger theme of movement and access. United’s shared purpose is “Connecting People. Uniting the World.” The program is described as offering an entertainment-industry focused travel package. including reduced airfare. special rates for equipment. custom booking options. airport escort services. and a dedicated entertainment support desk.
For more information about United, the event material directed readers to www.united.com, and for details about United for Business, it pointed to the United for Business offering.
The complete panel is available in the video above.
Cannes American Pavilion Future of Filmmaking New Models of Financing United for Business film financing Dana Harris-Bridson Tanu-Matti Tuominen Mark Sourian Chrystine Zhang IPR.VC 5&2 Studios Oval 5 A24 mk2 MUBI