In 2026, the film and media value chain remains under extreme pressure. Producers face a fragmented, unstable financing and distribution landscape and must decide if and how to integrate AI into their work. Access to new financing sources, cost efficiencies, and new revenue streams will increasingly determine success, survival, or shutdown.

This session examines key trends and shifts reshaping the industry and explores how producers can turn them into strategic advantage:

Content & Distribution 2.0: How a platform-native approach to YouTube might enable direct monetization, audience development, and IP value

AI Adoption: How AI in previz and (post-) production might unlock visual ambition under shrinking budgets

Vertical Content / Micro-Drama: How producers might access the billion-dollar short-form, vertical storytelling ecosystem

Liquid Content: How to prepare for an era in which IP becomes adaptive and continuously reconfigured

Guy Bisson from Ampere Analysis provides a data-based market analysis for broader context.