Zurich Summit: CAA, WME, AGC, UTA, Mediawan, Fremantle, Neon, Searchlight, FilmNation & Constantin Among Companies Set For Swiss Conference

The Deadline Team
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CAA Media Finance co-head Roeg Sutherland, FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner, Mediawan Pictures Elisabeth d’Arvieu and Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben will be among the industry executives participating in the 10th Zurich Summit this weekend.

Dubbed by organizer the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) as “the Davos of the film industry”, in reference to the annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps, the event will gather more than 100 top film professionals from North American and Europe at the city’s luxury Dolder Grand hotel.

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Over the course of Saturday, they will discuss key issues including AI, monetization of indie films, financing, distribution, representation, and the awards season.

As the Zurich Summit’s official media partner, Deadline will be on the ground covering and moderating panels, as well as providing exclusive interviews with key executives via the Deadline Studio. We’ll also have video from key panels.

Sutherland, a long-time supporter of the meeting, will be in attendance this year to receive the summit’s Game Changer Award, following in the footsteps of the likes of Oscar-winner Patrick Wachsberger (CODA), Co-Chair & CEO Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group Pamela Abdy, Leonine Studios Head Fred Kogel and Sony Pictures Classics co-founders Michael Barker and Tom Bernard.

Zurich Film Festival Conference - Portraits
Roeg Sutherland

As part of the honor, Sutherland will also discuss his career and lessons learned in an on-stage conversation with FilmNation Entertainment CEO Glen Basner and Deadline Co-Editor-in Chief Mike Fleming Jr.

Other panels across the day will include a deep dive into the impact of AI entitled “The Future of Entertainment AI – Curse Or Blessing?”, featuring Jim Rivera, Chief Product Officer of burgeoning generative AI firm Flawless.

Rivera will be joined by Licorice Pizza producer Sara Murphy, co-head of Fat City; David Unger, Founder and CEO of Artist International Group, the clients of which include Jonathan Rhys Meyer and Fan Bingbing among others, and Chris Jacquemin, Partner & Head of Digital Strategy WME.

Anton CEO Sébastien Raybaud, AGC Studios CEO and Chairman Stuart Ford; Katie Irwin, agent at WME Independent, 30West Executive Vice President Maren Olsen and UTA Independent Film Group agent Alex Brunner will discuss “How To Monetize Independent Films?”.

Looking at film finance from the other end of the chain, Marie-Christine Jaeger-Firmenich, a private investor and producer of Nick Hamm’s recent TIFF title William Tell; Lia Buman; Principal Tango Entertainment; Andreas Roald, CEO Sovereign Media Capital and Nick Shumaker, Head of Anonymous Content Independent will delve into “What Do Investors Want?”.

The growing ties between the film worlds of Europe and U.S. focus will be in the spotlight in a panel bannered “Hollywood in Europe: Decentralizing The Global Film Industry”.

The discussion will bring together a roster of high-profile execs in this space spanning Karl Spoerri, Co-Founder & MD Zurich Avenue, which enjoyed transatlantic success earlier this year with Sundance breakout Thelma; Italian producer Lorenzo Mieli (Our Films), whose recent credits include Queer, Without Blood and Maria producer; Oliver Berben who upped to CEO of Constantin Films earlier this year; international sales stalwart Vincent Maraval, President of Goodfellas and The Veterans; Christian Vesper, CEO of Global Drama and Film Fremantle and Elisabeth d’Arvieu, CEO Mediawan Pictures.

Further discussions include “Behind The Curtain of Hollywood’s Changing Representation Business”, featuring former Film4 and Netflix film boss and now independent producer David Kosse; Marc Mounier, Manager and Producer at Entertainment 360; Theresa Peters, Partner UTA and Dawn Olmstead, CEO Secret Menu, the company she founded with Charlize Theron last year.

The state of independent box office will in the spotlight in “Theatrical Disruption: Where Have All The Cinema Lovers Gone?” with Neon CEO Tom Quinn, Searchlight Pictures EVP Head of International Market Rebecca Kearey, Film4 Head of Distribution and Sales Stefanie Fahrion, and Nathanaël Karmitz, chairman of French independent film powerhouse MK2.

There will also be a timely chat on “How To successfully launch an awards contender?” with Publicity and Marketing Consultant Tolley Shields, Danish producer and awards circuit regular Kim Magnusson at M&M Productions, and Claudia Tomassini, founder of PR agency claudia tomassini + associates.

Zurich Film Festival Artistic Director Christian Jungen noted that the summit’s 10th edition coincides with the 20th anniversary of the festival.

“The Zurich Summit has become an integral part of our festival as an important conference – think the Davos of the film industry – where we discuss relevant topics and the state of our business as a bridge between Hollywood and the global film and TV community,” he said.

The day has been spearheaded once again by ZFF’s Head of Programme & Industry Reta Guetg.

“I am very excited for this year’s Zurich Summit, where our panels will once again shed light on what collectively concerns and inspires us as a global community,” she said.

The event will wrap on Sunday evening with the annual Zurich Summit dinner, at which Sutherland will be honored and presented with his award. Before that, there will be the annual industry tennis tournament against the backdrop of the Dolder Grand.

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