The Sideletters

While the Cannes Film Festival 2026 buzzes on the Croisette, Joanna Szymańska and Fabian Massah analyze the industry from an observer's distance. This episode tackles the major political and structural shifts that impact European production. From the much-discussed AgoraEU mega-program to Canal+ leadership's shock announcement of blacklisting industry professionals, we dive deep into why cultural sovereignty, a new report from EAVE on producers‘ mental health are now at a critical breaking point and into Netflix's recent "Global Economic Cultural Engine" report and the massive expansion of their ad-supported tier. Is Netflix saving the industry or merely recreating "old TV"?Links:🔗 Screen quotes Henna Virkkunen🔗 The Guardian on Canal+ vs 600 industry professionals🔗 EAVE Report on Producers Mental Health🔗 WSJ on Streamers taking over Ad Market👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday. Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).

Join us as Thibaut Bracq, Head of La Fabrique, a game-changing program at Cannes that supports emerging filmmakers and producers from around the globe, reveals the secrets to launching your first feature film at the world's biggest film market.In this episode, Thibaut shares, what industry professionals look for in emerging projects, how La Fabrique selects 10 projects from 150+ applications, why bold cinema attracts major players, and pitching & networking strategies that actually work at Cannes.Plus, more about the future of the industry:Joanna caught statements from Lodz Film School students who will be in Cannes for the first time. Pretty insightful. Thanks to Ola Nowakowska, Marta Witkowska and Julia Pietrasik.And our support of the open letter “Cinema needs Europe. Europe need Cinema.” - signed by more than 5,000 professionals including Juliette Binoche, Sandra Hüller, Joachim Trier - calling on the EU to continue dedicated support of the movie sector within the MEDIA frameworks.Links:🔗 Sign the Open Letter: Cinema needs Europe. Europe Needs Cinema.🔗 La Fabrique Cinéma👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday. Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).

On the eve of Cannes 2026, The Sideletters go behind the scenes with Alexandra Zakharchenko, head of industry programs at the Marché du Film, the beating heart of the global film business.In this special episode, Alexandra reveals how the Marché connects thousands of producers, distributors, investors, and creators annually, explains the innovative Investor Circle program that bridges public and private financing, highlights emerging regions (sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Japan), and discusses what independent cinema actually needs to thrive in 2026 and beyond…and at the end, we found a unique German language expression that describes it very well 🙂Links:🔗 Marché du Film Industry Programs👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).

With major industry shifts happening simultaneously - the Academy rewrites Best International Feature rules, Netflix commits to theatrical windows for Greta Gerwig's Narnia, and NATO holds closed-door meetings with European filmmakers - we discuss the fundamental question: How relevant is cinema?This episode explores how development cycles lag behind cultural moments, why festival-qualifying films now bypass national committees, what streamer theatrical commitments actually mean for windows and revenues, and whether military-cultural partnerships constitute narrative influence or healthy consultation.Links:🔗 Greenlight Analytics on Production Cycles out of Sync with Culture🔗 New Academy Awards Rules for International Film🔗 The Guardian on NATO meetings with European Filmmakers👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).

How is one small country building a golden era of cinema while larger markets struggle? Kjersti Mo, CEO of the Norwegian Film Institute since 2019, shares the strategy behind Norway's recent Oscar wins, Berlin and Cannes successes, and multiple European Film Awards. Her insights reveal a roadmap for sustainable, culturally relevant audiovisual production in the age of consolidation, streaming, and geopolitical uncertainty.Plus:RTL buying Sky Deutschland for up to 527m EURWGA’s new deal and what that says about our industryHow a charity event became a massive YouTube phenomenon in PolandLinks:🔗 Norwegian Film Institute Strategy 2026-2029🔗 European Commission approving purchase of Sky by RTL👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).

In this deep-dive episode, Joanna and Fabian pull back the curtain on how they actually run their production companies in the age of AI. They’re sharing insights, and discussing specific tools, workflows, and philosophies driving their daily work. From practical implementation of AI agents, automation platforms, to self-hosted European infrastructure - an essential guide for creative professionals navigating digital sovereignty, data protection, and smart AI adoption.Plus: The joint statement regarding the AgoraEU proposal and the UK Creative Europe petition, to the revealing statistic that 50%+ of internet traffic is now done by AI bots.Links:🔗 AgoraEU Joint Statement🔗 SIGN HERE: Petition on UK’s return to Creative Europe🔗 AI Bots create more that 50% of today’s internet traffic👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).

With Cannes 2026 fresh off the announcement and CinemaCon underway, The Sideletters explore the festival landscape, US box office recovery, and dive deep into global co-productions with Brazilian producer Leonardo Mecchi, whose film Elephants in the Fog just landed in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. Discover how cross-border co-productions work, what it takes to build equitable partnerships across economic imbalances, and how Brazilian cinema survived the Bolsonaro era through resilience and international collaboration.Key Topics: • first thoughts on the Cannes 2026 competition lineup • US Box Office & Cinema Culture • Warner-Paramount merger opposition: 1,000+ Hollywood creatives sign open letter • Leonardo Mecchi: Global co-production dynamics and decision-making structures, power imbalances based on funding, experience, and economic differences, how treaty systems enable cross-border partnerships (Brazil-Germany treaty as gateway)👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).

In this deep-dive B2B episode, Jennifer Sabbah-Imagine and Fabian Massah compare the theatrical film financing structures of Europe's two largest cinema markets: France and Germany. Discover and discuss with us!Key Topics: • French Cinema Financing: The CNC, broadcaster obligations, Sophica vehicles, and regional funds • German Cinema Financing: ARD/ZDF duopoly, and the Rundfunkräte governance challenge • Box Office Trends 2019-2025: France's 26.5% decline vs Germany's 4.5% growth momentum • National Language Films: How French and German films are performing in their home markets • The Role of Regulation: Mandatory investment requirements and their impact on film production • Broadcaster Obligations: Legal requirements in France vs voluntary investment in Germany • Recent Reforms: Germany's new 8% investment law and why it's not enough for theatrical cinema • Tax Incentives & Private Investment: SOFICA, regional funds, and diversified financing models • Cultural Policy & Political Challenges: Defending public broadcasting in an era of critique • Market Strategy: What Germany can learn (and innovate) from the French model-> CNC Financing Scheme👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).Note: Our virtual studio let us down this week - bear with us on the audio.

Europe just got a brand new rulebook for TV series co-production. And OpenAI quietly killed Sora, its much hyped video-generating product. In this episode of The Sideletters, Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine, Fabian Massah and Joanna Szymanska dig into two stories that signal a major shift for the European creative industry.First: Jennifer breaks down what the Council of Europe's new Convention on Co-production of Series actually means in practice. It was signed at the Séries Mania Forum on March 26 by nine countries: France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Georgia, Montenegro, Malta and Luxembourg (not including Germany... yet, we hope). Then: OpenAI shut down Sora. Less than two years after its splashy debut. The team unpacks what that says about OpenAI's strategic overstretch, how Claude and Anthropic quietly took over the professional AI space, and what the collapse of the Disney/OpenAI deal reveals about how Big Entertainment is really thinking about AI and IP. The conversation gets provocative: Is AI-generated content a threat to independent European producers? Or a window of opportunity? Will audiences accept full-AI mainstream series while still craving human-made originals? And could a European token tax actually redirect AI profits back into the creative economy?👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedIn.-> The New EU Convention on Co-Production of Series-> The Guardian on Sora being closedThe Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).Note: Our virtual studio let us down this week — bear with us on the audio.

Is culture just a nice-to-have for society, or a superpower driving economic and social progress? In this episode of The Sideletters, Joanna Szymanska and Fabian Massah dig into UNESCO's International Decade of Culture and the Reshaping Policies for Creativity report to challenge how we measure success in the creative industries.You'll hear candid insights on why box office numbers don't tell the whole story.Fabian shares the behind-the-scenes model of "Symphony of Now" - a documentary that convinced a car brand to invest without appearing in a single frame. Joanna unpacks how Canadian policy metrics now reward female filmmakers and indigenous storytelling, and why South Korea's cultural exports exceed those of engineering giants like Samsung.The conversation moves beyond money to the harder question: What's the real value of culture?👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on ⁠LinkedIn⁠.→ RE / SHAPING POLICIES FOR CREATIVITY - UNESCO https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000397330?posInSet=1&queryId=53c2be71-1cd7-4fa4-a98e-1ebfc525fcee→ UNESCO CULTURE INDICATIORS 2023 https://whc.unesco.org/en/culture2030indicators/#:~:text=The UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators,transversally across many other sectors.→ CANADA SUCCESS INDEX (2021) https://telefilm.ca/wp-content/uploads/tfrfconsultationeng-final-5mars2021.pdf→ OECD https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2022/06/the-culture-fix_fda3a600/991bb520-en.pdfThe Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg)Note: We just started. Still fine-tuning our sound.

In Episode #006 of The Sideletters, we explore the forces reshaping European series production with Francesco Capurro, Director of Series Mania Forum, and on what to expect at this year’s edition. He also speaks about why co-productions aren't optional anymore, they're essential, about the new EU legal framework that is unlocking international partnerships, and the European vs. the American models for creative teams in series.Also in this episode: Joanna's breakdown on AI predicting the Oscars, and why diversity in governing bodies changes what algorithms can never predict. → [Series Mania Forum](https://seriesmania.com/forum/)→ [Prompt used by Joanna](https://files.studiomassah.com/s/SmpXsJZ7w7tFw4E)→ Links to documents mentioned by Joanna:https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2026-0066_EN.pdfhttps://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-10-2026-0066_EN.htmlhttps://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/media-centre/house-of-lords-media-notices/2026/march-2026/uk-creative-industries-face-a-clear-and-present-danger-from-generative-ai-government-must-not-sacrifice-our-outstanding-creative-capacity-for-speculative-ai-gains/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5901/ldselect/ldcomm/267/26702.htm👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on [⁠LinkedIn⁠](https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sideletters).The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg)*Note: We just started. Still fine-tuning our sound.*

In Episode #005 of The Sideletters, Joanna and Jennifer have a conversation with Kristina Trapp, CEO of EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs), on 35 years of training international producers and why success isn't just about money. How EAVE's Impact Think Tank imagines a better industry through equity, inclusion, and social responsibility. Plus: an exclusive outlook on upcoming workshops, Creative Europe MEDIA's critical role, and why producers in war-torn countries without funding inspire her most.Trapp's message: "You are not only working in this industry, you are the industry. You are agents of change."Also in this episode:Fabian's deep dive on the Great Consolidation (Paramount-Warner Bros, Showmax shutdown, Banijay-All3Media merger) and what previous consolidation eras teach independent producers about positioning for what comes after.Hosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg)→ EAVE👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on ⁠LinkedIn⁠.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Note: We just started. Still fine-tuning our sound.

In Episode #004 of The Sideletters, Joanna and Jennifer sit down with Katharina Gellein Viken, CEO of Metrotone and creator of the Raynmaker Project, to discuss what it actually looks like to build an AI-native production company in Europe.Kat's journey - from producing Norway's Strictly Come Dancing to rebuilding her company around AIHow a small production company turned "disadvantage" into competitive advantageRa<nmaker: A K-pop crime thriller developed as transmedia IP (graphic novel, music videos, micro drama)The AI tool Kat built that fingerprints scripts to prevent unauthorized LLM trainingPractical advice: Which AI models to use, how to evaluate ethics, where to startWhy "human-first creation" could be the most valuable pitch in the AI eraHosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris) and Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw) today. (Fabian Massah will be back next week)→ AI & The Creative Professional Podcast→ Screenburn App→ “Say Chickabang!” - Raynmaker👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on ⁠LinkedIn⁠.The Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.Note: We just started. Still fine-tuning our sound.

Episode #003 of The Sideletters tackles the uproars on the Berlinale jury statement, major industry consolidation moves, and César Awards predictions.This Week:The "stay out of politics" remark that sparked industry backlash - and how legacy and social media picked it up, and certain politicians weaponized it within hoursParamount’s and Netflix's aggressive play for Warner Bros. assets and what it means for European marketsa fresh report by McKinsey on the impact of AI in the film & TV industriesCésar predictions: Best Film, Best Foreign FilmHosted by Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw, and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg).→ McKinsey Report on the impact of AI in Film & TVThe Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Note: We just started. Still fine-tuning our sound.

Episode #002 of The Sideletters comes to you live from the European Film Market and Berlinale 2026!This week, Fabian Massah and Joanna Szymanska report directly from the EFM, with Joanna - whose film “Dust” premiered in Competition - delivering a personal dispatch from the market floor, and Fabian sitting down with Yohann Comte, co-founder and chairman of French sales company Charades.Joanna reflects on:The jury press conference controversy: Did cinema really get told to "stay out of politics"?Why this year's festival feels different: from survival mode to building modeThe return of transmedia strategy and "liquid IP"AI conversations: getting practical vs. the hypeThe Agora EU threat to Creative Europe's MEDIA ProgrammeAudience fragmentation isn't the problem - discovery isIn Conversation with Yohann Comte (Charades): Charades has “A New Dawn” by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya premiering in Competition tonight. Yohann discusses:The relevance of animation titles in their portfolioGenre trends: What's selling vs. what's strugglingHow Charades are navigating within the streaming-theatrical balanceTheir approach to director-driven projects over IP-driven contentWhy curation matters more than ever in an oversaturated market→ Film i Väst→ CharadesThe Sideletters is a weekly European B2B conversation on film, tech & future business. New episodes every Wednesday.👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Note: We just started. Still fine-tuning our sound.

Finally, white smoke in Berlin! After years of uncertainty, the new German Film Law is here. In this episode, we break down what the new 8% investment obligation means for Netflix, RTL, and ZDF - and why the numbers might not be as scary for them as they look. And above all: What does it mean for producers?Then, we head to Potsdamer Platz. With the European Film Market (EFM) kicking off this week, we sit down with Tanja Meissner (Director of Berlinale Pro) to get the inside track.In this episode, Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris), Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw), and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg), discuss:Boosting the incentive volume to 250m EUR, including a rights escalator for producers: Is one of the biggest European markets finally competitive again?The Investment Quotas: We run the math on broadcasters and streamers.EFM 2026 Preview: From the future of Indie Film to the AI-driven tools in the Innovation Lab. What to expect for the 12,000 film industry professionals landing in Berlin. And how the EFM amidst its focus on technical innovation, always keeps the human in the centre.→ EFM Event Schedule→ EFM Industry Insights Podcast→ German Film Law (from The Spot, German language)👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on ⁠LinkedIn⁠Note: We just started. Still fine-tuning our sound.

Is the independent film model broken, or is it just changing hands? In this pilot episode of The Sideletters, we look at the numbers that confused the industry this week.While Sharon Waxman (The Wrap/NYT) writes about the "Death of Indie Film" post-Sundance, two "independent" films just stormed the US Box Office top 3: The controversial Melania documentary and the YouTube-creator-led horror Iron Lung.Joanna Szymanska (Warsaw), Jennifer Sabbah-Immagine (Paris) and Fabian Massah (Berlin/Hamburg), analyze the divide between the US hype and the European reality.In this episode:Joanna reports back from a screening of Melania. Why the documentary grossed $7M in the US, and hardly had any impact in European cinemas.Definition Dilemma: When a YouTuber - Mark Fischbach’s Iron Lung hit an $18M opening without studio backing - and a political figure dominate the "Indie" charts, do we need to redefine independent distribution?-> The Guardian on Melania-> Sharon Waxman in the NY Times👉 Connect with The Sideletters community on LinkedInNote: This is our pilot recording. We are fine-tuning our sound, but the insights were too hot to wait.