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About the 2026 Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film The countdown is on—the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is just around the corner, running May 12–20, 2025, in the breathtaking city of Cannes, France. For over a decade, Stage 32 has proudly partnered with the Marché du Film as an official education partner, and this year, we’re taking things to new heights! Whether you’re a seasoned Cannes regular or planning your first adventure to the Croisette, 2026 promises to be one of the...

Financing in Hollywood is changing faster than most producers can track, and the clearest trend emerging is this: whoever controls distribution controls access. Black Bear is now selling their own films. XYZ is financing their own slate. Voltage acquired The Exchange to play in a bigger sandbox and financing bigger budgets. The old separation between money and distribution is fading. How you get your movie to an audience has become almost as important as the movie itself. With that in mind,...

In the captivating world of filmmaking, securing financing is often a pivotal step in bringing creative visions to life. However, the process of finding suitable investors can sometimes resemble navigating a maze filled with hidden pitfalls. In recent years, the call for transparency in film finance has grown louder, and for good reason. Filmmakers, both seasoned professionals and aspiring creators, are frequently approached by individuals or entities offering funding opportunities that appear...

As we get closer to the Cannes Film Festival and Marché du Film, kicking off in just a couple of weeks, I want to take a moment to share two of the most exciting updates shaping this year’s market experience. As many of you know, Stage 32 is proud to be returning for our 12th year as the official Education Partner of the Cannes Marché du Film, and every year we look closely at how the market is evolving so we can better prepare you to take advantage of the opportunities in front of you. This...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! I hope your weekend has been a creative one so far. Whether you have been writing, filming, editing, or sketching out the next spark of an idea, I have something today that will give you a boost. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week’s featured video comes from Variety- How 'One Battle After Another' Shot the Car Chase Scene Like a Gritty '70s Film. Cinematographer Michael Bauman breaks down how they blended the richness of VistaVision with the rough,...

Hey, Stage 32 Community! You’ve spent months (maybe years) perfecting your screenplay. You’ve revised, proofread, and maybe even gotten feedback from a few friends. But when it comes time to get someone in the industry to actually read your script? Crickets. The truth is, getting your screenplay into the hands of the right people is one of the hardest parts of this business. But there are often some common mistakes that hold great scripts back. Let’s break down three of them, and how you can...

I remember seeing the van speeding toward my vehicle. When it struck, the impact sent a shudder through my nerves. Fortunately, I had enough sense to lean away from the window, so my head didn’t smash through the glass but only slammed into it with a mild “thud”. I was left with a bump on my head instead of a concussion, or worse. The car, sadly, did not fare as well: it was a write-off. Later, I learned that a piece of the engine had been propelled through the bodywork and had missed me by i...

The Cannes Film Festival is almost here, Creative Army! In just a few short weeks, the global film community will once again gather on the Croisette for one of the most important, electric, and opportunity-filled events in our industry, the Cannes Film Festival and the Marché du Film. And this year marks something special for us at Stage 32. We are proud to be returning for our 12th year as the official Education Partner of the Cannes Marché du Film. For over a decade, we have worked side...

Remember when it seemed like every TV writer in town had an overall or first-look deal with a studio? Lucrative deal announcements dropped every week like clockwork. Your worth was measured by the size of your deal and the prestige of the logo above your name. Today, we're watching behemoths like Bad Robot, Higher Ground and Monkeypaw navigate bruising renegotiations, lay off staff, and reckon with a simple, uncomfortable truth: one movie and a TV show a year cannot sustain 40 employees and lu...

The Myth of Push-Button Filmmaking It took me roughly nine months to make a two-minute film using tools that are supposedly instantaneous. When people talk about AI-assisted filmmaking right now, the conversation usually breaks in one of two directions: the tools are treated either like magic or like contamination. Neither framing has been especially useful to me. What interested me was something more practical: could one independent creator, working on a limited budget and without studio i...