South Korea and France Hold First International Film and Video Summit... Macron: "We Must Set the Direction Together"

President Lee and President Macron Co-chair the Summit
Exploring a New Global Order for the Film and Video Industry in the Age of AI and Platforms

South Korea and France have jointly hosted the first-ever international summit in the film and video sector, aiming to establish a new cooperative order within the rapidly changing visual content industry driven by artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, and the expansion of global platforms. French President Emmanuel Macron, who serves as co-chair of the Lumiere Summit alongside President Lee Jaemyung, stated on the 7th (local time), “We should not be afraid of any of these changes,” and emphasized, “Nor should we simply be swept along by them.”

President Jaemyung Lee and French President Emmanuel Macron are moving to the venue at the Mag Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, where the international film and video summit "Lumière Summit" is being held on the 7th (local time). 2026.9.7 Yonhap News Agency

During his opening address at the Lumiere Summit held in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, President Macron discussed these points and explained, “This is precisely why France and the Republic of Korea decided to host the world’s first international summit on cinema and video.” He stressed that the international community must collectively set the future direction for the video industry amid the rapid technological and industrial transformations.

He analyzed that although film, television, and video games have become universal cultural languages that transcend borders, languages, and continents, the ways in which content is created, produced, and consumed are changing at an unprecedented scale and speed.

In particular, he pointed out that algorithms are increasingly influencing the content that users consume, and that the economic models supporting creative works for decades have now entered a phase of complete restructuring. Regarding generative AI, Macron said, “It offers incredible possibilities, but at the same time, it raises questions about our understanding of copyright and creativity, as well as how much we can trust the images we see.”

President Macron emphasized that cinema itself was a product of a technological revolution and that the audiovisual industry has constantly evolved with the advent of television, digital technology, and video games. “It is not our responsibility to stop this change,” he said, “but we must determine its direction.”

He continued, “The choices we make today will shape the creative works of tomorrow.” Depending on our future decisions, Macron explained, the creative ecosystem could become more open, technology may foster greater possibilities or push towards standardization, and the richness of imagery could either lead to true diversity or endless repetition.

President Macron stated that at the heart of this summit lies the conviction that “images matter.” Images are culturally significant because they allow us to experience different worlds beyond borders, languages, and memories. Economically, film, television, and video games are important as they generate jobs, invite investment, and drive innovation and growth.

He also underscored democratic values. Images are also vital for democracy since society must maintain spaces where people can encounter stories, perspectives, and cultures different from their own. Macron called for moving beyond old frameworks that pit film and distribution platforms, public organizations and private enterprises, culture and technology, and producing and consuming countries against each other. “No country can build this future alone,” he emphasized, adding that as technology, capital, images, and audiences naturally cross borders, “Given the global scale of these challenges, our responses too must be global.”

In this context, South Korea and France announced plans to use the summit as an opportunity to establish a new collaborative model—‘multilateralism of projects and actions’—that unites nations, creators, producers, broadcasters, platforms, cinemas, video game and technology companies, and international organizations under one roof.

President Lee Jae-myung and French President Emmanuel Macron are moving to the venue of the international film and video summit "Lumiere Summit" held at the Mag Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence on the 7th (local time). 2026.9.7 Yonhap News Photo by Yonhap News

Specifically, Macron proposed that the universal goal should be to protect the world’s endangered audiovisual heritage and promote media education so that every child is not only a viewer but also learns to understand and create images. He also laid out plans to support independent cinemas in vulnerable regions and to create a new international forum for the video game sector that matches its growing cultural and economic significance.

President Macron emphasized that the success of this summit should be judged not by declarations alone, but by tangible results. “The true measure of this summit's success is what emerges from it,” he said, citing new partnerships, projects, and sustainable dialogues as the criteria. He added, “Some 130 years after the birth of cinema, our task is not to merely celebrate a golden age, but to open a new era of creativity.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.