France and Korea to lead debate on film industry's big issues at Lumiere summit

By Dawn Chmielewski

LOS ANGELES, Sept 3 (Reuters) - France and South Korea will lead debate at a one-day summit ‌next week on how the film industry should respond ‌to artificial intelligence, compete with social media platforms and cope with funding ​shortages, the secretary general of the summit said in a press briefing on Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will co-chair the summit on Monday, which organizers ‌said would include ⁠representatives from the major Hollywood studios, including Disney, NBCUniversal and Netflix , the CAA talent agency, and ⁠the technology industry.

Dubbed the Lumière Summit, in honor of the French film pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière, the event takes place in the hilltop ​village of ​Saint-Paul-de-Vence, near the French Riviera, ​and will include participants from ‌more than 55 countries.

The French government has said the summit is an opportunity to showcase the country's strengths in cinema, while South Korea has also gained international cultural influence through its K-pop bands such as BTS and critically acclaimed films ‌like "Parasite."

The sessions will address AI , and ​how the entertainment industry can embrace ​technological change while safeguarding the ​role of creators. They will explore new financial ‌models and discuss how the industry ​can reach ​audiences, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Organizers said in a briefing on Thursday that the summit aimed to ​provide a place ‌where governments, companies and cultural institutions can find a ​practical response to the changes sweeping the industry.

(Editing by ​Barbara Lewis and David Gregorio)