Estonian EU Presidency Conference
"Pictured futures: connecting content, tech & policy in audiovisual Europe"
27-28 November 2017 Cinema KOSMOS, Tallinn, Estonia
As part of Estonian Presidency of the EU Council, Estonia will hold a visionary conference on audiovisual content, technology and policy, entitled "Pictured futures: connecting content, tech & policy in audiovisual Europe" on 27-28 November 2017 in Tallinn.
The conference aims at taking a broader view of the European audiovisual sector beyond provisions in the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, funding schemes of film funds or the MEDIA programme. Discussions will include where the European audiovisual market is going long-term, where the EU should strive to and how new business models based on algorithms and big data analytics are impacting the industry and our culture more broadly.
The two-day high-level event, held within the framework of the Black Nights Film Festival will host talks and panels on the impact of new business models and big data on culture; how policymakers envision film funding in Europe; the European Union’s potential with emerging storytelling technologies, such as virtual reality and augmented reality and many other topics.
The conference will present an impressive lineup of renowned speakers. One of the main keynote speeches will be given by Jeremy Darroch, the CEO of Sky Group who will analyse the dynamics of broadcasting and audiovisual media in the context of future technologies. Sky Group is Europe’s largest entertainment company and, based on the huge annual investments it makes into audiovisual content (approximately £6 billion per year), it is undoubtedly an influential trend setter.
Jeremy Darroch’s presentation will be part of an entire day of fascinating panel discussions and presentations about the synergy of technology and the audiovisual landscape. For example, Director of Operations and Strategy at MIT Media Lab, Barak Berkowitz, the digital technologies research centre at America’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will speak about the impact on society of companies that are directed at accelerated growth. His thoughts will no doubt be echoed in the subsequent panel discussion, where the representatives of the sector will speak about the development of business models based on algorithms and new technologies. Among others, the panel of speakers will also include Efe Çakarel, the founder and CEO of MUBI, a company focused on the streaming of art-house films. The participants in the subsequent discussions will include representatives from Google, Netflix, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle, the European Commission and the European Film Agency Directors (EFADs). The conference will be closed by Lord David Puttnam, a British film producer who won an Academy Award for Best Picture for Chariots of Fire and has been the head of Columbia Pictures and a deputy chairman for Channel 4. Lord Puttnam will take a closer look at Europe from inside out and sees new digital developments as adding value for good filmmaking.
A visionary conference in audiovisual field entitled 'Pictured Futures: Connecting Content, Tech & Policy in Audiovisual Europe' will take place on 27 and 28 November as part of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, at the initiative of the Estonian Ministry of Culture and in cooperation with the Black Nights Film Festival and the Estonian Film Institute, supported by the European Commission and Enterprise Estonia.
See more about the Estonian Presidency news at EU2017EE website.
