11/05/2016 - CANNES NEXT: The Cannes Film Festival gears up to present the 2016 edition of NEXT – Shaping Tomorrow's Cinema

Another year, another Cannes – and another opportunity to dive into the newest and most alternative forms of storytelling at the NEXT Pavilion, a one-of-a-kind hub for everyone interested in the future of film, showcasing projects, pitching sessions and talks by the industry movers and shakers.

All you need is a Market badge and accommodation in Cannes from 12-19 May in order to make the most out of the third edition of NEXT, which this year takes place in a bigger pavilion (n° 201), complete with a sea view.

The main highlight for 2016 is a virtual-reality (VR) movie theatre, dedicated to the market screenings of full VR films for 30 people. VR experiences will also be accessible every day at the NEXT VR showroom. It is thus safe to say that virtual reality will be a key issue this year, with VR talks scattered throughout the NEXT week and a conference about the Oculus Story Studio scheduled for the second day.

But it doesn't stop there, of course: NEXT will also delve into the realms of VoD (IPEDA will hold a conference about “Digital Marketing for VoD Distribution” on Saturday 14th), audience engagement (insights will be offered by Europa Cinemas on Tuesday 17th), financing (a panel courtesy of Wallimage Creative on the same day) and much more.

Here is a list of NEXT's guests for this edition: Cineuropa, Adastra Films, Agit Prog, B3 Biennial of the Moving Image, Cinando, Cross Video Days, CtrlMovie, the Tous Ecrans Film Festival, FilmDoo, Film265, the IDFA, IPEDA, PICKUP, The Festival Agency, TimeTonic, The R/O Institute and Wallimage.

Please click here for the full NEXT programme.