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Leading global conference producer will also present Brett Ratner as Keynote Speaker for the 8th Annual International Film Finance Forum on May 19th

In its 8th year at Cannes, Winston Baker is proud to announce a new partnership and conference as part of the Croisette lineup. In partnership with Marché du Film, Winston Baker will present its first ever technology conference, the “Immersive Summit” to be hosted on May 19, 2017 to bring together leading minds in technology and film for discussions on monetizing innovation and breaking into the VR/AR world.

Winston Baker will also host its yearly high-level film finance program, geared towards global strategies for financing films, aligning interests with global partners, and identifying new distribution avenues. During the forum, topics will focus on preserving cinema culture, China’s pivot to Europe, and the next wave of film finance royalty. 

“When we first launched our Cannes Forum in 2010, we hosted 90 attendees in a cramped room on the second floor of the Majestic. We almost turned away TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts because he registered onsite and there were no seats left! Jared Underwood talked about the credit crunch, a studio exec stated that release windows would have to shorten and almost lost her job, and Bob Berney announced his departure of Apparition promising he’d be back somewhere soon – and now he heads up marketing and distribution at Amazon Studios. We have witnessed some major paradigm shifts through our Cannes programming and continue do so,” said Katherine Winston, Co-Founder of Winston Baker. 

“Our Cannes forum has also changed and grown in these evolving times to become a must attend event hosting 250 attendees from around the world annually. We are proud to have made such great strides in these past eight years and are truly honored to be partnering with Marché du Film to host our very first film and technology event at Cannes!” said Amy Baker, Co-Founder of Winston Baker.

“Within the frame of our program NEXT, we’ve started 2 years ago to explore immersive cinema and VR, both in terms of production and distribution. We’re excited to join our forces with Winston Baker to launch this Immersive Summit, which will complement perfectly the workshops and experiences offered by NEXT to Marché participants” said Jérôme Paillard, Executive Director of the Marché du Film.

On the morning of May 19^th, the Immersive Summit will host discussions on the latest strategies for innovation and growth in virtual and augmented reality for the film industry. Speakers will include Angel Investor Lawrence Braitman, Technicolor’s Marcie Jastrow, Venture Capitalist Gene Munster, Nomadic Labs’ Doug Griffin, Executive Producer Russell Levine, Digital-Reign Productions CEO Evette Vargas, and Dekker Dreyer at Clever Fox.

On the afternoon of May 19^th, Winston Baker’s International Film Finance Forum will feature a keynote conversation between entertainment mogul Brett Ratner and industry veteran P. John Burke. Ratner has garnered critical acclaim and worldwide box office success as a director, producer and financier. P. John Burke heads up Akin Gump's entertainment practice representing leading studios, investors and lenders. They will address the state of the industry and the new realities of the film business. Additionally, panel discussions and presentations will be joined by:

-         Michael Andreen, 20th Century Fox International

-         Vincent Grimond, Wild Bunch

-         Stephen Saltzman, Loeb & Loeb LLP

-         Deborah Riley Draper, Coffee Bluff Pictures

-         Tamara Birkemoe, Foresight Unlimited

-         Laura Lewis, Creative Artists Agency

-         Mike Goodridge, Protagonist Pictures

-         Libby Savill, Latham and Watkins LLP

-         Thorsten Schumacher, Rocket Science

-         Christian Mercuri, Capstone Group

-         Joseph Chianese, EP Financial Solutions

-         Sophia Yen, Manatt

-         Jared Underwood, Aperture Media Partners

Partners and sponsors include The Hollywood Reporter, Akin Gump, EP Financial Solutions, Latham & Watkins, Vine Alternative Investments, Loeb & Loeb, Manatt and FilmFestivals.com. Program updates and registration details are available on the conference website: FilmFinanceForum.com/Cannes.

About Winston Baker

Winston Baker produces conferences globally for the entertainment industry addressing strategies for finance, innovation and growth. In particular, Winston Baker is the leading producer of film finance conferences, successfully creating and organizing the Film Finance Forum ® Series and hosting sold out conferences across the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, China, and Latin America. For more information: www.WinstonBaker.com / @WinstonBaker. 


About the Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes

The Marché du Film is the most important international cinema industry event of the year. 12,000 participants, 1,500 screenings are organized, and more than 350 companies choose this market to be exhibitors. The Marché du Film takes place in parallel with the Festival de Cannes and offers a special programmation focused on producers with the Producers Network and the Producers Workshop, documentary specialists with the Doc Corner and the new ways of cinema and cinema business with NEXT, among others. For more information www.marchedufilm.com/en.

Brett Ratner_CREDIT_photographer to Brigitte Lacombe