new storytelling – IndieWire teams up with Andreessen Horowitz and more for a Cannes panel featuring live music-and-visual collaboration at 10am.
Cannes is getting a serious tech-and-storytelling moment. and the live panel at the American Pavilion is built to show how that future is being made right now.. The discussion. centered on “Music. Film & the New Storytelling Stack — Co-Authoring What Comes Next. ” is already lining up a real-time collaboration that blends on-the-spot composition with visuals generated in parallel.
IndieWire is partnering with Andreessen Horowitz. Cultural Leadership Fund. and Masters vs Machine for the event. scheduled for Sunday. May 17 at 10am. at The American Pavilion.. The format goes beyond a traditional talk: composer Roahn Hylton will compose music on the spot while Krea co-founder and chief technology officer Diego Rodriguez builds matching visuals in real time.
That “co-authoring” approach is the central idea behind the gathering. bringing together channels that range from creative practice to technology and how audiences engage with new work.. The event is framed as a look at how music and film workflows are evolving through new tools. and how production and creative collaboration are adapting as distribution and monetization methods continue to shift.
After the live collaboration. the program shifts into a fireside conversation featuring Dave Clark. co-founder and chief creative officer of Promise Studios. and Judene Smalls. a partner with Cultural Leadership Fund.. Their discussion is set to focus on the current state of studio models and the practical steps involved in scaling creative products.
Andreessen Horowitz and the Cultural Leadership Fund are also part of the event’s broader mission. with the organizers positioning the panel as a convening of the major components involved in what’s next for entertainment—music. film. tools. audience dynamics. and policy questions that shape how ideas travel from creators to the public.
For readers planning a trip. access details matter: the event is open to all American Pavilion members. but Cannes festival accreditation is required to enter the Pavilion.. Interested attendees can RSVP and also purchase an American Pavilion membership through the options referenced by the event information. and Cannes accreditation is noted as a prerequisite for Pavilion access.
The lineup reflects a wide spread of experience across composing, filmmaking technology, and creative strategy.. Judene Smalls. identified as a partner at Cultural Leadership Fund where she focuses on strategic partnerships and community engagement. previously co-founded CHIENET. a marketing and operations company. and RootsxWings. a digital media company spotlighting the stories of nonbinary youth.
Before joining a16z. Smalls served as chief strategy officer at BAM Communications. where she launched the company’s venture and startup marketing practice. and she also worked as director of operations for uBeam (now Sonic Energy). supporting efforts that helped the company raise more than $30 million in funding.. She is described as trained as a professional dancer. with dual bachelor’s degrees in Theatre & Dance and Sociology from Trinity College. an MFA in choreography and performance from Mills College (where she was also an adjunct professor). and an MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School.
In addition to her professional work. Smalls is noted as a volunteer on the All Raise Los Angeles Steering committee and as a board member of the Los Angeles Chapter of Best Buddies.. Those details underline the community-facing angle the Cultural Leadership Fund brings to conversations about creative industries.
Roahn Hylton is also central to the event’s live component and wider discussion.. He is described as a Grammy and Emmy nominated composer. producer. and creative strategist working at the intersection of storytelling. music. and emerging technology.. His track record includes co-producing “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj. which the event information characterizes as one of the defining pop records of its era.
Hylton’s work across film and television is listed as spanning NBC’s “Bel-Air. ” the Emmy-winning “SNL50. ” “Chef’s Table. ” and the internationally released feature film “Brave the Dark. ” produced by Angel Studios.. He is also the founder of Masters vs Machine. a platform created to convene creators. technologists. studios. and policy leaders around how AI is reshaping authorship. creative workflows. and the future of entertainment.
Through programming reaching across the Grammys, Emmys, Oscars, and Cannes, Hylton’s work is described as building cultural and practical bridges between creative industries and emerging AI tools—an emphasis that aligns directly with the panel’s live “music + visuals” demonstration.
On the technology side, Diego Rodriguez serves as co-founder and chief technology officer of Krea.. The report describes how Rodriguez and co-founder and CEO Victor Perez launched Krea with a vision of transforming AI into a controllable creative medium for all. conceived while they were studying at Cornell University before they left their program to pursue the mission.
Since then. Krea has evolved into a platform used by major creative teams at organizations including Apple. Shopify. and Amazon Studios & MGM. according to the information shared for the event.. For this Cannes panel. that expertise feeds directly into the real-time visuals Rodriguez will build to accompany Hylton’s on-the-spot composition.
Rounding out the program, Dave Clark is described as co-founder and chief creative officer of Promise Studios—an entertainment studio built for the GenAI era. He is characterized as a leading voice in GenAI filmmaking, known for blending emotionally resonant storytelling with technology.
Clark is credited with pioneering “hybrid filmmaking. ” described as merging traditional production with GenAI tools. as well as creating advanced fully generative narratives.. Before founding Promise. the report says he directed commercial and branded content for major companies including Snapchat. Coca-Cola. Hewlett-Packard. Warner Bros.. and Intel.
For anyone navigating Cannes this weekend. the event adds up to more than a panel—it’s a live demonstration of how creators. composers. and technologists are beginning to collaborate around new storytelling systems.. Those who want the full picture on what’s happening at the American Pavilion can look to the detailed programming schedule referenced for IndieWire’s Cannes plans.
Cannes Film Festival American Pavilion IndieWire Andreessen Horowitz Roahn Hylton Krea new storytelling stack