Declaration for Safer Sets and Greater Gender Equality in the Screen Industries

Lumière Summit — Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 7 September 2026

Jointly presented by France and the Republic of Korea

 

1. Despite the progress made in recent years, significant gender inequalities persist across the screen industries. Women remain underrepresented in many professions and, in particular, in senior and decision-making positions. They can also face greater barriers to accessing funding, developing projects, and advancing their careers. Addressing these inequalities requires sustained efforts to ensure equal opportunities throughout the industry.

 

2. The sector is already undergoing a profound transformation. Questions of gender equality, working conditions, power dynamics and the prevention of gender-based and sexual violence are closely connected. Improving working environments is essential to ensuring that everyone can pursue a career, take on responsibilities and contribute fully to the industry.

 

3. The participants gathered in Saint-Paul-de-Vence for the Lumière Summit bring together Countries, Regions, International Organizations and Professionals from the film, audiovisual and video game industries. They recognize the need to build on the progress already made and to make these changes lasting across the sector.

 

4. Screen industries draw on a wide range of experiences, perspectives and cultures. Ensuring that people with different backgrounds and life experiences can participate fully in the creative process can enrich the stories that are told and broaden the perspectives they offer audiences. Greater diversity among those who create, write, direct and produce screen works is therefore an important part of the industry’s creative vitality.

 

5. Gender equality is therefore not a secondary issue. It is a matter of fairness and equal opportunity, but it is also a creative, economic and professional imperative. A strong and dynamic screen industry must be able to draw on the full range of talent, experiences and perspectives within society. This requires women to have equal opportunities to enter the industry, develop their careers, take on leadership roles and see their creative work supported and recognized.

 

We, the undersigned Countries, Regions, international organizations, private-sector partners and civil society organizations, therefore express our support for the following shared commitments:

 

I. Promoting Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities

6. Significant progress has been made in recent years, in part through public policies and industry initiatives. We recognize the importance of continuing these efforts and of ensuring that women have equal opportunities across all professions and at every level of the screen industries. This includes access to employment, career development, leadership positions, financing and participation in festivals, as well as equal pay for work of equal value.

 

II. Creating Safer Workplaces and Preventing Gender-based and Sexual Violence

7. Everyone working in the screen industries should be able to do so in a safe and respectful environment. We recognize the need to prevent and address gender-based and sexual violence and all forms of harassment and abuse in the workplace. This requires clear standards and procedures, appropriate support and reporting mechanisms, as well as training and awareness-raising for professionals at all levels. Safer working environments are essential to ensuring that everyone can participate fully and sustainably in the industry.

 

III. Supporting Diverse Voices and Perspectives

8. The strength of the screen industries lies in their ability to tell a wide range of stories and reflect the diversity of societies. Creative freedom, artistic ambition and diversity of perspectives are essential to a vibrant cultural sector. We therefore commit to supporting greater diversity in creative and decision-making roles and to promoting the work and leadership of women across the industry. Greater gender equality can help broaden the range of experiences and perspectives represented on screen and behind the camera, while contributing to a richer creative landscape.

 

9. By endorsing this declaration, we affirm our shared commitment to making the screen industries safer, fairer and to ensuring that women and men have equal opportunities to build careers, take on responsibilities and contribute to the creative life and future of the industry.

 

Adopted at Saint-Paul-de-Vence, 7 September 2026.

Signatories:

 

States, Regions, International Organizations

Côte d’Ivoire, Finland, France, Greece, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, South Africa

 

National and Regional Film Agencies

Austrian Film Institute, British Film Institute, Cinema Foundation of Armenia, Estonian Film Institute, European Film Agency Directors Association, Film centre of Montenegro, Film Fund Luxembourg, Finnish Film Foundation, Fondo Mixto de Promoción Cinematográfica Proimágenes Colombia, Fonds des Médias du Canada, General Organization for Cinema of Syria, German Federal Film Board, Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center, Hungary, Indonesian Film Agency, Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual ICA, Iraqi Prime Minister Office, Kenyan Film Commission, KOCCA, KOFIC, Screen Ireland, SODEC, Swedish Film Institute, Téléfilm Canada

 

Organizations

Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), African Film and Media Arts Collective (AFMAC), Arcom, ARP, Arte France, Association Française des Cinémas Art et Essai, Banijay France, Berlinale – Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin, Beta Group, Busan International Film Festival, Business France, Chapter 2, Cinépolis, Cineworld Group, CITIA, CJ ENM, CJ Group, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Dharamsala, Durban FilmMart Institute, Eastman Kodak Co., École GOBELINS Paris, European Film Agency Directors Association (EFAD), Expertise France, Fédération Nationale des Éditeurs de Films, Federation Studios, Festival de Cannes, Festival Séries Mania, FICAM, Film Heritage Foundation, Films du Losange,  Fubon Educational and Cultural Foundation, Galaxy Studio, Gaumont, Gaumont Télévision, GLOBO, HTC, I Wonder Pictures, Illumination Studios Paris, International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (CICAE), International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), JP Morgan, KawanKawan Media, Kinepolis Group, La Fémis, La Cinémathèque du documentaire, Letterboxd, Liquid XO, M6, Mediawan, Misr International Films, mk2 Group, National Federation of French Cinemas (FNCF), NAVER, NEXON Korea, Nisaba Institution for Moving Images, Nomadis Image, North Road, Pathé Cinémas, Pathé Films, PHI Centre, Rothschild & Co, San Sebastian Film Festival, SLL, Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM), Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Studios de Bry, Sud Écriture, Sunuy Films, Syndicat de la Production indépendante, The Society of Film Directors (SRF), The Originals Group (TOG), Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers (SACD), Toronto International Film Festival, TVING, Unifrance, USC School of Cinematic Arts, Vietnam Film Promotion and Development Association, Vuelta, Webedia Éléphant, Xilam Animation.

 

Public personalities   

Howard A. Rodman, Nabil Ayouch, Julie Bertuccelli, Céline Calvez, Angèle Diabang, Laurence Farreng, July Jung, Denis Masséglia, Tarik Saleh