FIAD at Cannes 2026: General Assembly Charts the Course for a Decisive Year

The 79th Festival de Cannes was once again a defining moment for the European film sector — and a strategic milestone for FIAD. The Secretariat used the festival to convene the federation's 2026 General Assembly, hold a dense series of policy and stakeholder meetings, and reinforce the coalition that European film distribution has built with the rest of the audiovisual value chain. The result is a clear mandate, a coordinated coalition, and a packed legislative agenda for the months ahead.

FIAD 2026 General Assembly

The centrepiece of FIAD's presence in Cannes was its annual General Assembly, held on [DATE]. Members from across Europe joined in person and online to review the federation's work over the past year, approve the 2025–2026 activity report, and adopt the priorities for the year ahead.

The Assembly opened with an exchange among members on the state of theatrical distribution across national markets — a moment that has become essential to the federation's work. Members shared country-specific signals on attendance, release strategies, regulatory developments, and the evolving competitive landscape. The discussion confirmed both the resilience and the pressures of the European theatrical ecosystem, and underlined the importance of FIAD's continued advocacy at EU level.

Members endorsed the FIAD 2026 Action Plan, which sets a course for continued political engagement in Brussels on promoting theatrical distribution, securing a strong audiovisual envelope and a clear distribution mandate within the proposed AgoraEU programme, defending the film-audiovisual sector's exemption from the Geo-blocking Regulation, and pursuing the federation's ongoing work on anti-piracy enforcement, copyright protection, and the safeguarding of a balanced value chain. FIAD members reaffirmed their full support to the Secretariat and to the services provided by Europe Analytica.

The Assembly also marked an important transition at the helm of the federation's Secretariat. Members thanked Robert Heslop for his work as Secretary General, and welcomed Adeline [SURNAME] in the same role. The continuity of the federation's agenda, alliances and policy positions will be carried forward without interruption.

A Coalition Speaking with One Voice

Cannes confirmed the strength of the coalition FIAD has built with the wider European film and audiovisual community. Three joint actions stood out in particular.

Days before the festival opened, the "Europe Needs Cinema, Cinema Needs Europe" open letter was published, signed by over 4,700 cinema professionals — including Juliette Binoche, Francis Ford Coppola, Sandra Hüller, Stellan Skarsgård, Joachim Trier and Ruben Östlund. The campaign's branded pins were visible across the Croisette throughout the festival, sending a clear signal to policymakers that the European cinema community speaks with one voice on the need to protect and strengthen funding for cinema in Europe.

When the European Parliament's CULT/LIBE Committee released encouraging early signals on AgoraEU, ahead of the publication of the co-rapporteurs' draft report, FIAD reacted in real time together with Europa Distribution, Europa International and UNIC. The coordinated response reaffirmed the value-chain perspective that has been at the heart of the federation's advocacy throughout the AgoraEU dossier.

In parallel, FIAD joined FNEF and the broader distributors' coalition in a joint statement published in Le Film Français, defending the role of national distributors within the European film value chain.

Engaging with Policymakers on the Future of AgoraEU

The Secretariat held a dense series of meetings throughout the festival with MEPs, Commission officials and other key stakeholders, with a particular focus on the future of the AgoraEU programme. The Cannes context — with the European film industry concentrated in a single venue — proved especially valuable for these conversations. FIAD also attended the fireside chat with Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, which addressed several priorities for the European audiovisual sector and confirmed the political relevance of the work ahead.

FOCUS 2026: Data to Anchor the Case for Distribution

FIAD attended the launch of the European Audiovisual Observatory's annual FOCUS report — the reference document the audiovisual industry relies on for its data needs. The 2026 edition once again provided the figures that distributors bring into every advocacy conversation: European theatrical admissions, the share of non-national European films across markets, and the comparative resilience of the European cinema ecosystem in a globally challenging environment.

Looking Ahead

Cannes closes one chapter and opens another. The General Assembly has set the agenda, the coalition is in place, and the legislative window of the coming months — most notably the trilogue phase of AgoraEU — will be decisive for European film distribution. FIAD's Secretariat is now turning to the autumn work with a clear mandate from its membership and renewed energy.