The Venice Production Bridge (VPB, 28 August-3 September) returns with an extra day, expanded international focuses and upgraded immersive spaces. VPB head Pascal Diot explains how the Lido-based industry event is evolving to better connect producers with the global production chain.

Cineuropa: A new edition of VPB awaits us. What’s new?
Pascal Diot: Following requests from many professionals last year – who were happy with the event overall but found it difficult to attend all activities within just five days – we added an extra day, on Wednesday. This allows the programme to be spread out more evenly. Additionally, since we’ve received many requests for VPB Focuses, especially country ones, I added two more international focuses.

This year, our European focus is the United Kingdom, while the international focuses are Morocco and Chile. I included Morocco and Chile because, unlike other countries, they don’t yet have established subsidy schemes for immersive works, but are actively exploring new grants and funding opportunities. If we involve them, they will also take part in the Venice Immersive Market. The UK is already very advanced in this field, but for Chile and Morocco, it will be particularly interesting to participate in the Venice Immersive Island.

Another new element concerns the Venice Immersive Market itself. Together with Michel Reilhac and Liz Rosenthal – the curators of the immersive official selection, who also support us with the Venice Gap-Financing Market for immersive projects – we discussed the increasing need for larger spaces. More installations now require higher ceilings and bigger areas. Last year, for example, we used the Spazio Incontri Immersivo – a conference room and the only place on the small island with a high ceiling. This year, we reorganised the layout to make better use of this space. Some installations will now be placed in that hall, previously dedicated to VPB.

Meanwhile, the main gallery and the third gallery will host exhibition booths from the UK, Unifrance, Québec, Chile, Morocco and others, as well as the one-to-one meeting area for immersive works within the Venice Gap-Financing Market. Finally, in the second garden, we will introduce a new structure to host all of the panels that previously took place in the conference room.

Could you touch on the key pillars of the offering: the Gap-Financing Market, Final Cut and the Book Adaptation Rights Market? How are they evolving to meet market needs?
Starting with Final Cut, we added another country this year – Yemen – to support a low-production-capacity country. We selected two film projects from there out of the eight chosen.

For the Book Adaptation Rights Market and Final Cut, the programme is growing. This year, we received around 90 work-in-progress projects – slightly more than usual. With 15 supporters providing in-kind or financial support to selected projects, Final Cut in Venice is becoming an important rendezvous for African and Middle Eastern projects.

Regarding the Book Adaptation Rights Market, we’re celebrating its tenth anniversary. We received around 60 requests and selected 30 publishers. Demand is growing because, unlike initiatives such as Shoot the Book!, we ask publishers to present their entire catalogue, rather than just one or two titles. This allows them to meet an increasing number of producers. Last year, we set up over 600 one-to-one meetings.

Publishers also have the opportunity to meet streaming platforms – around 11 are participating this year. It’s crucial for both publishers and producers to engage with them, as many are looking to acquire intellectual properties.

For the Venice Gap-Financing Market, we received 330 projects. While this shows strong interest, it also indicates that completing financing is increasingly challenging for many projects. As usual, we selected 40 films, plus one for the VPB Focuses and projects from Biennale College Cinema – both immersive and feature films – bringing the total to around 60 projects. Attendance from well-known directors is also increasing.

How many professionals do you expect to visit VPB?
About the same as last year: around 3,300, including 1,400 producers.

Toronto is launching its market in 2026. Will this affect VPB’s operations or editorial focus?
Honestly, not at all. Our focus is primarily on producers, although we do engage with sales agents and distributors. Toronto will focus more on sales and acquisitions than on production. Many European distributors are choosing to stay longer in Venice, rather than attend Toronto, because Venice offers a strong selection of Academy Award-contending films and a more convenient schedule in Europe. So, I don’t expect any major changes.

Are there any long-term plans for VPB? Do you have any advice for professionals making their trip to Venice this year?
We aim to offer a wide range of services for producers and those involved in production. The key is maintaining a relaxed atmosphere conducive to networking. The small, concentrated space makes it easy to meet people throughout the day and experience a lot. New panel venues have also been added. Six days in Venice will be worthwhile.

Long-term, we will continue focusing on production and producers – doing a few things fully, rather than many things partially. We will keep developing the XR and immersive worlds and have several panels on artificial intelligence. Next year, we may introduce events to connect attendees with film commissions and studios, given the competition among regions to attract shoots. Virtual production developments make it important to bring in big studios to showcase their capabilities.

Ultimately, I want VPB to be an invaluable rendezvous for producers – a single place where they can meet the entire production chain and connect with everyone involved. That’s what we aim to develop further next year.