More related content on the BRIDGE
- Picture Fireside 8 December 5:45 - 6:00PM
Stories That Cross Borders
Cinema has the power to travel, and few storytellers do it with more conviction than Mohamed Diab. In this session, he explores how Arab filmmakers can create stories that are both deeply local and universally human. From Cairo to Hollywood, Diab shares his creative philosophy on crafting films that challenge perception, carry cultural weight, and speak a language that transcends borders.
Explore by InstagramSpeakers
Moderator
- Picture Presentation 9 December 1:00 - 1:15PM
AI Empowerment in Film and Television Innovation Practices
AI is transforming how film and television are created, produced, and delivered. This session explores how one of Asia’s leading streaming platforms, iQIYI, is integrating AI across content development, smart production tools, recommendation systems, and global distribution. It highlights how automation and personalization are enhancing audience engagement, improving localization for international markets, and enabling new forms of creative collaboration. Attendees will gain a practical look at how AI-driven innovation can support regional creators, scale content globally, and shape the next generation of storytelling in the MENA region and beyond.
Explore by Instagram - Technology Panel 8 December 2:00 - 2:30PM
Spatial Media in Practice
Immersive technologies like augmented reality and volumetric video change storytelling, creating new ways to inform and engage. Pew found 40%+ adults interested in immersive news formats. How can journalists and educators harness spatial media to enhance empathy and critical thinking in a fractured landscape?
Central StageSpeakers
- Gaming Panel 9 December 1:25 - 1:45PM
Founders’ Playbook to Studio Survival and Growth
The gaming industry is navigating a reset as layoffs and studio closures continue, yet Kim Nordström, CEO of PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions and the author of UP DOWN UP and Robbie Daymond, famous voice actor (Sailor Moon, Critical Role), turned video game entrepreneur as CEO of Sassy Chap Games, are building new ventures anyway. In this conversation, they share what it takes to create enduring studios amid uncertainty, how to create buzz, attract talent and funding, and why tough times can be the best moment to start again.
Central Stage - Media Fireside 8 December 11:20 - 11:35AM
The Comfort Crisis in Media
Once defined by bold bets on new ideas and voices, media today has grown cautious amid consolidation, short-term metrics, and technological disruption. In this discussion, we ask how the industry can rediscover its edge, reinvigorate risk-taking, experimentation, and creative ambition. As leaders navigate shifting funding models, technological disruption, and the rise of independent creators and citizen journalists, this discussion explores what it takes to build companies, and cultures, that lead rather than follow in media.
Forum Stage - Picture Fireside 9 December 4:25 - 4:40PM
Achieving Outsized Returns on Entertainment & Media Investments
Two of the industry’s most influential voices, Chuck Roven and Dr. Roy Salter, come together for a rare joint dialogue on identifying E&M Industry investments possessing outsized return potential in often misunderstood or overlooked business areas including (a) investing in theatrical and streamed “Guideline Content” matching the most profitable and risk mitigated content produced and released by the world’s leading Content Creators and Major Distributors; (b) investing in brand-building social-media advertising to drive outsized Guideline Content value; (c) investing in the adaptation of large-audience-proven music IP into Guideline Content; and (d) leveraging these & other strategies in an innovative US Exhibitor-Affiliated distribution company focused on high-return high-concept and elevated-genre Guideline Content. Mr. Roven will combine his decades of producing globally successful Guideline Content with Dr. Salter’s decades of advising on thousands of successful E&M transactions to illuminate how creative judgment, disciplined production capability and clear-minded investment analyses and structuring can be combined with strategic capital, social-media ad-techniques, proven Guideline Content sources (i.e., large-audience music IP adaptation), a US Exhibitor-Affiliated theatrical feature distributor and other resources have the potential to generate extraordinary economic returns.
Forum Stage