The seventh edition of Hamburg’s Explorer Konferenz, which was held on 1 October, attracted about 350 film professionals from all across the world. The one-day event is the centrepiece of the FilmFest Hamburg Industry Days and covers all aspects of the audiovisual industry, from development, production and distribution to sales and theatrical release.

“We chose topics for our programme that have not been covered by other conferences,” stressed Fabian Massah, head of FilmFest Hamburg Industry Days. “For example, how can we reach people through comedies that address relevant topics?” Creativity, business and innovation were the key themes that ran like a common thread through the programme.

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The conference kicked off with a keynote on the science of laughter by Sophie Scott, director of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL, who explained what happens in the brain when an audience laughs. Emotional interaction has a strong impact. “Adding laughter makes things funnier,” she pointed out. “The polygraph measures body reactions.”

The storytelling of French writer-director duo Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano connects with millions thanks to its universal themes, humour, emotions and characters that feel real. “We don’t have a formula for what is good – and that’s good,” said Nakache. “We stay inventive,” added Toledano. “If you lose constraints, you lose creativity.” At FilmFest Hamburg, they presented a screening of their new film, Just an Illusion. “We see cinema as an experience,” underlined Nakache. “When we are on set, we are already in the editing room and sorting things out.”

Distribution is a risky business. “Interest does not equate to attendance,” explained Alex Stolz, head of Audience at usheru, who helps distributors close the gap between people discovering a film and them actually watching it. Resilient movie marketing requires answerability. “A quarter of filmgoers ask AI if a film is good.” Therefore, the movie’s digital footprint should contain the elements that a curious person would want to know.

According to the Nostradamus Report (see the news), audience behaviour, the media ecosystem and the whole infrastructure have changed. “Be more curious about the audience’s taste,” suggested Josef Kullengård, head of Industry at the Göteborg Film Festival. Films like Parasite and Oppenheimer are very different from one another, but they both appeal to the audience because they are dark and offer a deep dive into the subject matter.

Meanwhile, Europe intends to revamp its cultural and media policies. The new AgoraEU programme is to be allocated €8.6 billion for the period 2028-2034. It will merge Creative Europe – MEDIA and CERV, the programme for citizens, equality and rights, into three strands, one of which is the new MEDIA+, which encompasses the audiovisual sector alongside news and video games. However, the total budget has not been decided yet. “The European Parliament is still preparing its position,” outlined Els Hendrix, senior government official at Germany’s BKM. “EU support offers a chance for independents,” emphasised Torsten Frehse, CEO of Neue Visionen. “It is the most equal system in the film industry.”

After a string of productions pushed Walker+Worm to breaking point, Tobias Walker and Philipp Worm, producers of the Berlinale 2026 title Rose, realised they needed a major reset. The company went through a change management process during which the roles of the co-workers were clearly defined.

At the Explorer Konferenz, thinking outside the box also meant sharing challenges, and building something new across different funding systems, creative cultures and ways of working. “K-drama and K-pop are coming to Europe,” concluded Massah. “We are also shining the spotlight on Asian markets and co-productions.”