Anne Pouliquen, the founder and director of Futura Cinema, the incubator programme dedicated to innovation in cinema auditoriums and cultural venues, sat down with us to explain her project, which is now opening up to wider Europe after three editions in France.

Cineuropa: What is Futura Cinema and what observations gave rise to this project?
Anne Pouliquen: Futura Cinema is a European incubator programme dedicated to innovation within cinemas and cultural venues. It was founded in 2021, at the height of the health crisis when the sector was demonstrating great resilience and a desire to explore new kinds of programming, mediation and digital approaches. In the face of technological, economic and social upheaval, the idea is to reinvent broadcasting models, to strengthen bonds with audiences and to assert the role played by cinemas across the different regions, combining innovation, experimentation and collective intelligence. After three editions in France (supporting 23 projects and 140 professionals), Futura Cinema is now opening up to the whole of Europe as of October 2025.

How does your approach differ from the current offering?
Futura Cinema’s USP is about co-construction, cross-pollination of skills and a trans-sectoral approach (tech, design, education, architecture, live performances…).

What form does the programme take?
The programme consists of two complementary strands. First, there’s the Incubation cycle (lasting 1 year) for a selection of 7 to 8 projects or project-bearers who are supported from the emerging phase until they have a potential solution which is ready for testing. The programme will unfold in five festivals: the FEFFS in Strasbourg, Cimix in Vienna, CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, the BRIFF in Brussels and FilmFest in Hamburg. It will wrap at the Les Arcs European Film Festival in December 2026. In each of the festivals, the projects will benefit from strategic mentoring and development support.

We’ve also implemented an experimentation network (lasting 15 months) through which advanced projects can be tested in cinemas, festivals or partnering cultural venues. These tests will involve methodological support, the evaluation of results, and three meeting sessions in festivals.

Our steering committee, which is composed of various partners, supports and advises project-bearers throughout the year, and facilitates networking.

What place is there for a hybrid project like Futura Cinema in the current audiovisual landscape?
Futura Cinema acts as a bridge between cinemas, cultural innovation and technological solutions. It provides a context where people can create prototypes outside of traditional set-ups, while keeping cinema auditoriums — which are cultural and social hubs in all their regions — at the heart of innovation. The programme unites institutions with the regions themselves, strategic thinking with concrete experimentation, and speaks to durability, accessibility and digital transition questions.

What tangible synergies are there with industry players (financiers, producers, cinema operators…)?
Quite a few. For cinema operators, it’s an opportunity to innovate and experiment with new formats without shouldering all the risks alone. Distributors see it as a space to test new viewer journeys and new formats for promoting and circulating works. Investors and financial partners use Futura Cinema as a vehicle for finding innovative projects and initiating collaborations through our network. Our partner festivals strengthen their professional offering, enriching their programmes and diversifying their audiences. And our start-ups and entrepreneurs enjoy rapid access to a fragmented market. They see the different cinemas’ needs and develop viable solutions for real problems emanating from the sector.

Can you give us some examples of your alumni and the services they provide?
Moviematon have created a device which captures viewers’ reactions between seances and provides them with an instant video souvenir, turning cinema foyers into places where people can express themselves. La Nef are working on converting a deconsecrated church into a hybrid space (neighbourhood cinema, concert venue, made-to-measure cafe) with collective, open programming. Refractio is an AI-based search engine for film scenes, facilitating iconographic searches for professionals and opening up new revenue sources for rights holders. Transmets Ton Ciné provide training for socio-cultural and medico-social professionals looking to incorporate experimental films into their work approach. Playful devise solutions for incorporating video games into cinema practices… These examples illustrate the different kinds of innovation — whether technological, social or cultural — and their capacity to generate useful, concrete and long-lasting ideas.

What do you research and how can people apply to your programme?
The incubator programme is open to any person or any group (business, association, collective team) looking to propose a tool, service or format, or to link up on an existing project.

Our criteria is that projects are innovative, bold, reproducible and pertinent, and geared towards digital transition, inclusion, durability, audience development and new experiences. All profiles and professions are welcome, provided they’re open to experimentation and co-construction.

Call for applications (for the incubator and for experimentation) open on 28 April 2025, which can be submitted via the online form on our website. A webinar outlining the programme will take place on Tuesday 27 May 2025 at 11am (online): the link to this event will be sent to participants after they have registered here.