In France, cinema’s biggest names debate what comes next...and what must not be lost

George Clooney at Lumiere Summit Saint-Paul-de-Vence witnessed a one-of-its-kind summit when the French President, Emmanuel Macron, invited some of the world’s top entertainment bosses for a discourse on the future of cinema and the moving image on September 7. More than 200 guests from 55 countries converged for the event, where Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director of the Film Heritage Foundation and festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, was invited as a speaker for two panels. He was the only Indian at the gathering.The summit, co-chaired by President Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, brought together filmmakers, festival heads, industry leaders and cultural figures to look at some of cinema’s biggest challenges — from artificial intelligence and changing audience habits to the economics of filmmaking and the preservation of film heritage. “Together, we are committing €1 billion over five years to create what we have called the Lumière Partnership, an initiative dedicated to supporting the audiovisual sector and cultural sovereignty,” Macron said at the event. He also warned against allowing technology to replace human creativity. “We would be making a tremendous mistake if this technology became a tool that replaces, or claims to replace, creators.”Shivendra Singh Dungarpur with George ClooneyEmmanuel MacronClooney, cinema’s lost reels and an Indian archivist’s big conversationSpeaking about his panel discussions, Dungarpur said, “The discussion focused on the protection of endangered film heritage around the world and the need to support and scale up preservation, infrastructure and capacity-building in the race against time, as films continue to be lost to deterioration, neglect and obsolescence in the digital age." He also met leading film-festival heads and Hollywood star George Clooney at the summit. “George Clooney and I discussed the history of film preservation in Europe, the legendary archivist Henri Langlois and the importance of saving film heritage around the world,” he told us. 
For Dungarpur, however, the preservation of cinema remained an urgent conversation. At the session titled Saving the World’s Film Heritage: Now or Never, he joined Festival de Cannes director Thierry Frémaux, Eastman Kodak’s Head of Motion Picture and Entertainment Vanessa Bendetti and other cultural figures to discuss the race to preserve films before they disappear.He also took part in a discussion titled Easy to Criticise, Impossible to Replace: Rethinking the Festival, alongside Iris Knobloch, president of the Festival de Cannes; Tricia Tuttle, festival director of the Berlinale; Park Kwang-su, chairperson of the Busan International Film Festival; and Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival.For an industry increasingly looking towards what comes next, Dungarpur’s message was about making sure it does not lose what came before.The value of this summit lies in creating that meeting place, where the format itself helps drive the discussion - Thierry Fremaux, Cannes Film Festival Head, to France 24France and South Korea will invest €1 billion to support the audiovisual and entertainment sectorTop filmmakers including Jafar Panahi, Jane Campion, Pedro Almodóvar, Wim Wenders and Jia Zhang-ke have signed on to take part in the International ResilienceGet the latest Bollywood & Entertainment News, and more. Download the TOI app.Give your child the gift of confidence! Claim your exclusive TOI Masterclass spot today!