Exploring Synergies 2026: Managing Intellectual Property Across Creative Industries has wrapped its latest edition at the Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink Industry Days, once again confirming its role as a key meeting point positioned between the publishing and audiovisual worlds. Held from 23-27 April, the programme gathered a wide range of professionals, including writers, producers, publishers, screenwriters, directors and agents, to explore how stories can move across formats, platforms and markets.

Developed within CineLink Industry Days Training and Skills, the initiative focused on the growing importance of intellectual property (IP) management and cross-format storytelling. This year’s edition placed particular emphasis on emerging formats, such as microdrama and vertical series, reflecting ongoing shifts in how content is created, distributed and consumed.

Through a combination of lectures, case studies, discussions and hands-on sessions, participants engaged directly with current industry practices and challenges. Topics included literary adaptation, international TV development, packaging strategies, commissioning processes and market consolidation, offering both a creative and a strategic framework for developing projects across different media.

The 2026 edition featured a strong group of international lecturers and industry experts. Among them were Roy Ashton, partner and agent in the Television Literary Department at Gersh; Billy Bowring, co-executive producer of Slow Horses (Apple TV+) and executive producer at 60Forty Films; Gerhard Maier, co-founder and head of programme at Seriencamp; Marina Williams, co-founder and co-CEO of Asacha Media Group (Fremantle), and former COO of Endemol Shine Group (Banijay); Tamara Babun Zovko, producer at Wolfgang & Dolly LLC; Jasna Novakov Sibinović, CEO and executive director at Geopoetika; Barbara Daljavec, producer at RTV SLO; and Luka Marčetić, screenwriter and director.

Together, they contributed expertise spanning literary sourcing, adaptation, international co-production, packaging and new storytelling formats, while also addressing broader industry shifts affecting both the publishing and audiovisual sectors.

In 2026, Exploring Synergies was organised in close connection with CineLink Drama, whose selection for the Drama strand was recently unveiled (see the news), creating a shared framework that linked project development, training and industry exchange. The collaboration introduced a format combining an industry platform with a workshop-based environment, enabling participants to refine their projects while testing them against current market realities.