At Cannes, Filmmakers Explain How They Find Mainstream Funding for Culturally Specific Stories
At the Cannes Film Festival, filmmakers discussed how to secure funding for culturally specific stories. The panel emphasized the importance of genre in reaching broader audiences while maintaining authenticity. Filmmakers shared strategies for marketing and presenting their unique narratives in a way that appeals to both distributors and viewers.
- ▪The panel Local to Global Storytelling was hosted by IndieWire and The American Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival.
- ▪Filmmakers discussed the significance of genre in making culturally specific projects appealing to wider audiences.
- ▪Director Bao Nguyen highlighted the use of digestible pitches to convey intimate themes within broader narratives.
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At the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, IndieWire and The American Pavilion teamed up to host a series of panels exploring the work that goes into bringing films to life in 2026. Sponsored by Asian and Pacific Islander non-profit Gold House, the panel Local to Global Storytelling saw filmmakers and producers dive into how to get stories with an international or culturally specific basis funded and greenlit in the Hollywood system. Moderated by Gold House Chief Brand Officer and Co-founder Christine Yi, the panel featured director Bao Nguyen, The Dazey Phase founder Jake Casey, and Manifest Pictures founder Zach Glueck. The three talked about how to market and release cultural stories for an international or global audience.
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