by FilmInk Staff
winners and semi-finalists gain first-look exposure to participating distributors, production companies and industry decision-makers, alongside distribution opportunities, career access and a connected international media market.
CÔTE D’AZUR, FRANCE – Empowering Entertainment will launch the inaugural EE Screen Festival and EE Media Market, October 13-16, 2027, bringing filmmakers and screenwriters into the same ecosystem as producers, sales agents, distributors, buyers, financiers, platforms and international production partners. The proposition is concrete: winning should create opportunities. EE is building an awards platform where selected creators can leave with far more than recognition – including first-look exposure to participating industry companies, potential distribution through EE Vault, media visibility, introductions, hiring and collaboration opportunities, and access to the business marketplace running alongside the festival.
ACADEMY AWARDS & BAFTA PATHWAYS
EE intends to build qualifying pathways for eligible short films under the applicable Academy Awards and BAFTA rules as the festival develops. Qualification is category- and rules-dependent and is not automatic.
CANNES CONNECTION
Based on the Côte d’Azur, EE will help creators understand and navigate relevant Cannes opportunities and industry routes. Cannes Official Selection remains entirely independent and subject to Cannes’ own eligibility and premiere rules.
FIRST LOOK AT WINNERS & SEMI-FINALISTS
Selected projects can be circulated to participating distributors, production companies, sales agents and other decision-makers for first-look consideration.
DISTRIBUTION OPPORTUNITY
Selected work can be considered for distribution on EE Vault, extending discovery beyond the festival itself.
REAL CAREER ACCESS
Actors, writers, directors, animators and other creators can be surfaced to participating companies for potential jobs, representation, collaborations and future projects.
A MARKET ATTACHED TO THE FESTIVAL
EE Media Market brings buyers, sellers, producers, financiers, platforms and production partners into the same four-day ecosystem, creating immediate business context around the work being discovered.
The Aurelia Awards: recognition with an industry destination
The festival’s Aurelia Awards will recognise films, screenplays, animation, performance and emerging formats. Winners and semi-finalists will become part of an industry-facing pipeline designed to put strong work in front of people who can acquire it, distribute it, finance it, produce it, represent its creators or hire its talent. For industry professionals, that creates an equally clear benefit: a curated source of new films, scripts, IP and talent, with the ability to identify projects early and explore rights, partnerships and commercial opportunities.
EE Media Market: where the business happens
Running alongside the festival, EE Media Market will feature curated one-to-one meetings, pitch opportunities, masterclasses and forums spanning film finance, sales and acquisitions, international production, locations and incentives, streaming and FAST, animation, microdrama, AI, content capital and distribution. Qualified buyers and sales professionals will be able to review projects through the market catalogue and identify relevant meetings before arriving, creating a more focused environment for deal-making and discovery.
10% of All Profits for Oceans, Marine Life and Measurable Good
EE Screen Festival intends to direct 10% of all profits toward measurable impact beyond the screen industry, beginning with a major commitment to ocean preservation and marine life. On the Côte d’Azur, the Mediterranean is part of the festival’s home and identity. EE intends for the festival’s success to create a growing contribution to protecting the environment that surrounds it. The commitment is designed to grow with the festival and may support work that cleans oceans, protects marine environments and marine life, rebuilds forests and damaged ecosystems, protects endangered species, restores threatened populations, and expands education and opportunity for children in need. EE will communicate confirmed initiatives and donations as they are formally established so that the impact can be followed and measured. The commitment also lives on screen through the festival’s Ocean and Environmental Films category, giving filmmakers whose stories bring audiences closer to the natural world, conservation and environmental action a dedicated place within the program.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO FILMMAKERS
A Festival Win Can Become a Beginning
A filmmaker can enter EE with a film, screenplay, animation project or emerging-format work and potentially leave with visibility across several parts of the industry at once: awards recognition, media exposure, first-look consideration, distribution consideration, professional introductions and access to the commercial market.
The 2027 edition is also being built with international producers, sales and distribution executives, speakers, buyers, strategic partners and other industry participants. Founding members and participating companies will be announced progressively ahead of the inaugural event.
The result is a festival designed around a question filmmakers care about: What can this selection actually lead to? EE Screen Festival and EE Media Market are being built to create more possible answers.
EE Screen Festival is an international film and entertainment festival recognizing filmmaking, screenwriting, animation, performance and emerging formats while connecting selected projects and talent with industry visibility and professional opportunities.
EE Media Market is an international entertainment business market connecting producers, projects and talent with sales agents, distributors, buyers, financiers, platforms, production partners and other industry decision-makers.
