Zurich Summit 2026: FilmNation, AMPAS, Sony Classics, Mubi, Mattel, Komplizen, Mediawan, CAA, UTA, TikTok & YouTube Among Speakers At Swiss Conference — SkimNews
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- The 12th Zurich Summit runs September 25-27 at Zurich's Dolder Grand hotel within the Zurich Film Festival and is dubbed "the Davos of the film world," with a one-day Saturday conference tackling box office, awards season, AI, the creator economy, and YouTube and TikTok's film footprint.
- FilmNation CEO Glen Basner is the Game Changer 2026 honoree, following last year's recipient Neon CEO Tom Quinn; Conclave director Edward Berger will lead the tribute conversation, preceded by a tribute from CAA Media Finance Co-Head Roeg Sutherland.
- Particle 6 founder Eline van der Velden returns to the Zurich Summit for a conversation on AI creation Tilly Norwood, one year after her admission at the 2025 event that she was in talks with agents for the character sparked a global viral response.
- Mubi CEO Efe Cakarel delivers a keynote titled "Beyond Streaming: Building a Global Home for Cinema" on the platform's evolution into streaming, producing and theatrical distribution, then joins a disruption panel with Mediawan Pictures CEO Elisabeth d'Arvieu, Candle Media Co-CEO Kevin Mayer and Cinetic Media's John Sloss.
- AMPAS CEO Bill Kramer delivers a keynote on his vision for the Academy's future and joins a box-office resurgence panel with Mattel Studios President Robbie Brenner, Sony Pictures Classics co-head Michael Barker and Backrooms director Kane Parsons.
- YouTube's Andreas Briese and TikTok's Hasmik Matinyan deliver creator-economy keynotes — Matinyan uses Backrooms as a case study in TikTok fandom driving box office, then joins Constantin Film CEO Oliver Berben, Linda Fiolka and DDA's Julie La'Bassiere for a follow-up discussion.
- The Creatives CEO Romain Bessi delivers a keynote on the producer-owned group's evolution from an informal alliance of nine companies, leading into a "Global Storytelling" panel with Komplizen Film co-founder Janine Jackowski (Sentimental Value), Zurich Film Festival President Martin Moszkowicz, Sutherland and UTA's Rena Ronson.
Why it matters: The summit places legacy gatekeepers (AMPAS, Sony Pictures Classics, Mubi) and disruptive newcomers (YouTube, TikTok, AI creator Eline van der Velden) in the same rooms over one Saturday, while awarding Basner — whose exec-produced Conclave earned an Oscar nomination — over past Game Changers like Neon CEO Tom Quinn.
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