Cinema -
Figures of the 15th Venice Production Bridge
3,000 accredited attendees including Industry Gold, Industry Trade, and Industry Professional.
Venice Production Bridge
This year, the 15th edition of the Venice Production Bridge took place from 3 to 9 September 2026, as part of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia.
A well-established and specialized meeting point for all film industry professionals, the 15th Venice Production Bridge reached a total of 3,000 accredited attendees (including 1,371 Industry Gold, 808 Industry Trade, and 809 Industry Professional) across the Industry Gold, Industry Trade, and Industry Professional categories.
Programmes
VENICE GAP-FINANCING MARKET (September 4 - 6)
The Venice Gap-Financing Market celebrated its 13th edition in 2026.
For this edition 371 projects were submitted to the pre-selection of the Venice Gap-Financing Market (331 in 2025) directed by 413 filmmakers, including 142 by female directors, 11 by non-binary directors and 260 by male directors. 51 projects directed by 59 filmmakers were selected, out of these 37 Fiction and Documentary and 14 Immersive projects. Out of these23 by female directors and 36 by male directors.
The 51 Fiction, Documentary and Immersive projects, plus 11 Biennale College Immersive and 3 Biennale College Cinema (fiction) projects, including the projects selected for the VPB Focus on Greece, supported by EKKOMED - Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre, and the VPB Focus on Switzerland supported by SWISS FILMS, were presented across 3 days and 1402 one-to-one meetings have been organized.
BOOK ADAPTATION RIGHTS MARKET (September 4 - 6)
The Book Adaptation Rights Market celebrated its 11th edition in 2026.
30 publishing houses and literary agencies participated in this edition.
More than 527 one-to-one meetings were organized with producers for the adaptation from page to the screen of literary rights.
In addition to this, the panel “Stories Across Platforms: Crossover Strategies Between Books, Audio and Film” took place on Saturday, September 5th at the Excelsior Hotel, Spazio Incontri.
FINAL CUT IN VENICE (September 6 - 8)
The Venice Production Bridge has organized the 14th edition of its programme, Final Cut in Venice (September 6 – 8), the workshop to support films in post-production from Africa and Arab countries (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen).
83 projects directed by 87 filmmakers were submitted (25 by female directors and 62 by male directors), out of which 6 projects were selected (2 by female directors and 4 by male directors).
Between the 6th and 8th September, 6 works in progress were presented in the Sala Pasinetti (Palazzo del Cinema), followed by a Q&A, while on 8 September a total of 40 one-to-one meetings were organized between the project teams and potential financiers.
Further projects
MEET THE STREAMERS (September 6 - 7)
6 European and international streaming platforms participated in the market, taking 171 one-to-one meetings to offer their services to accredited (Gold or Trade pass-holders) international distributors, rights holders and AV professionals.
VPB LOCATIONS MARKET (September 7 - 8)
The VPB Locations Market launched in 2026. This new project included 15 film commissions and studios from around the world, helping producers and location managers to find not only the best destinations but also the best combination of rebates and financial incentives.
For this first edition of the VPB Locations Market, 152 one-to-one meetings took place on September 7 and 8.
Moreover, the Venice Production Bridge organised a dedicated panel, “What's New in Film Commission Incentives", on September 7, at the Hotel Excelsior, Spazio Incontri.
PANELS AND EVENTS
A total of 75 panels and events have been held, of which 54 on the Venice Lido and 21 on the Venice Immersive Island.
This includes the 4 Meet the Creators sessions held on the Venice Immersive Island, supported by: Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, Netherlands Film Fonds and SEE NL; Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg; SWISS FILMS.
VPB MARKET SCREENINGS
A total of 50 VPB Market Screenings took place this year. Per programme section there were: 10 screenings of films selected for Venezia 83, 3 OPEN - Out of Competition, 5 Orizzonti, 1 Venice Spotlight, 2 Giornate degli Autori, 1 Settimana della Critica, 6 Final Cut in Venice, 22 screenings of films not in the official selection.
INDUSTRY CONSULTANCY MEETINGS (September 5-7)
For the fourth year, filmmakers participating in the Venice Production Bridge once again had the opportunity to book a personal Industry consultancy meeting with the esteemed consultant of international co-productions, Katriel Schory.
Between the 5th and 7th of September, 40 individual meetings were arranged between producers and directors with Katriel Schory. In addition to this a special masterclass was held for a group of selected emerging producers.
VPB WEBSITE
From 23 July to 9 September:
4.526 users accessed the website, of which 2.178 Industry registered delegates had access to the restricted areas of the website.
Overall, the website had 12.790 sessions and 82.423 page views.
Notable decision makers attending the VPB
The VPB has once again welcomed a considerable number of key Industry players and decision makers in order to cover all the initiatives. The professionals who participated in the one-to-one meetings of the Venice Gap-Financing Market, Book Adaptation Rights Market, Final Cut in Venice, Meet the Streamers and VPB Market screenings were producers, distributors, financiers, institutions, broadcasters, sales agents, VR/XR -Immersive experts from distinguished companies such as A24, Academy Two, Ad Vitam, Adler Entertainment, Adok Films, Amazon MGM Studios, Apple, Arte France, Atlas V, Autlook Filmsales, BE TV, Banijay Studios International Holding, Bayerischer Rundfunk, BIM Distribuzione, BFI Distribution, BIM, BTeam Pictures, Canada Media Fund, Carlotta Films, Cattleya, CBS, Cercamon, Charades, Cherry Pickers Film Distribution, Ciné Canal Group, Cinéart, Cinecittà, CinemaLeap, Cinephil, Coproduction Office, Curzon Artificial Eye, DCM Film Distribution, Diaphana, Eagle Pictures, Elle Driver, Epicentre, Fandango, Film Movement, Film4, Films Boutique, Focus Features, Fremantle Media, Gaumont, Goodfellas, Gutek Film, Hanway Films, Haut et Court, Google, HBO Max, Heretic, I Wonder, Indiana Production, Iconoclast, Imagine Film Distribution, Indigo Films, Intramovies, Kinology, Latido, Le Pacte, Leone Film Group, Leonine Distribution, Lemming Film, Les Films du Losange, Lucky Red, Lumière, Madman Entertainment, Luxbox, Medusa Film, Mediaset Group, Medusa, Memento Distribution, MK2, Minerva Pictures, MUBI, NBCUniversal International Ltd, New Europe Film Sales, Nordisk Film Productions, Notorious Pictures, Palace Films, Palomar, Pathé Films, Picturehouse Entertainment, Piper Film, Playtime, Pyramide International, Q Department/ Mach, Rai Cinema, Rapid Eye Movies, Razor Film Produktion, RT Features, Searchlight Pictures, September Film, Sky Italia, Sony, Strand Releasing, StudioCanal, StudioCanal UK, Studio Hamburg Production Group, Teodora, The Match Factory, Tempesta, The Walt Disney Company Italia, True Colours, TrustNordisk, Under the Milky Way, Vision Distribution, Vive Arts, Warner Bros. Discovery, Weltkino Filmverleih, Wild Bunch Germany, Wildside, X Verleih, ZDF German Television.
These were joined by representatives from major festivals, markets and institutions, such as Agog – The Immersive Media Institute, Austrian Films, Arri, Barbican Centre, Berlinale – Berlin International Film Festival, British Film Institute, Cannes Film Festival, Czech Audiovisual Fund, Danish Film Institute, Doha Film Insitute, DOK Leipzig, Edinburgh International Film Festival, EKKOMED - Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center S.A, El Gouna Film Festival, Eurimages, European Producers Club, EYE Filmmuseum, Festival International du Film de Marrakech, Film Fund Luxembourg, Film I Våst, Film Fest Hamburg, Film und Medienstiftung NRW, Filmfonds Wien, German Films, IFFR - International Film Festival Rotterdam, Internationale Münchner Filmwochen, Istanbul International Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Les Arcs European Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, Marché du Film Cannes, Luxembourg Film Fund, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, MOIN Film Fund Hamburg, Netherlands Film Fund, Norwegian Film Institute, PHI Centre, Red Sea Film Foundation, Red Sea International Film Festival, San Sebastian Film Festival, Sundance Institute, SXSW, Swiss Films, Sydney Film Festival, The Gotham Film & Media Institute, Thessaloniki Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Unifrance, Viennale, Zagreb Film Festival, amongst many others.
