IRIS, the International Resilience Initiative for Independent Screens

IRIS, the International Resilience Initiative for Independent Screens is one of the Summit’s flagship commitments: the first international organisation dedicated to safeguarding arthouse and independent cinemas at risk. IRIS will contribue to advancing the circulation of the diversity of cinema worldwide, particularly where local actors are isolated, vulnerable or under threat. The reasoning is structural.  At the very moment audiences are rediscovering independent film, the ecosystem that brings it to them is weakening. Unlike film production, which can to some extent relocate, independent distribution and exhibition depend on locally rooted institutions. Yet they receive far less support – nationally and internationally – than production. IRIS is designed to address this gap through the first international mechanism dedicated to the circulation of independent cinema, combining funding, expertise and advocacy.

IRIS is backed by an International Council of more than forty leading filmmakers and artists from 31 countries, whose work has collectively earned 14 Palmes d’Or and 16 Academy Awards. Its members include Juliette Binoche, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Costa-Gavras, Isabelle Huppert, Jim Jarmusch, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Nanni Moretti, Ruben Östlund, Jafar Panahi, Martin Scorsese, Tilda Swinton, Denis Villeneuve and Wim Wenders.

Through practical tools, shared expertise and dedicated financial resources, IRIS aims to build a lasting global network of solidarity and support for arthouse and independent cinemas and distributors. The initiative works across four fronts: 

1. Protect. Intervene rapidly where an independent cinema, distributor or network is at risk, with emergency funding, expertise and international backing. 
2. Strengthen. Help locally rooted organizations grow audiences, train professionals and open new venues. 
3. Connect. Bring together actors facing the same challenges across borders. 
4. Cultivate. Bring new generations into cinemas through film education.
   

Built to amplify, not replace. Modest, well-targeted resources can be decisive. Metropolis, the only independent cinema in Lebanon, has trained twenty exhibitors to reopen cinemas across the country. #SaveTheCinema in Japan was launched by filmmakers to defend the country’s independent mini theatres. On the model of ALIPH in endangered cultural heritage, IRIS gives such initiatives greater reach through funding, expertise and advocacy. A diverse public-private funding base, an independent board and an International Council of filmmakers from every continent will safeguard its independence

Are members of the International Council of IRIS:
Pedro Almodóvar (Spain), Jacques Audiard (France), Lila Avilés (Mexico), Nabil Ayouch (Morocco), Sean Baker (United States), Kaouther Ben Hania (Tunisia), Juliette Binoche (France), Jane Campion (New Zealand), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Türkiye), Sofia Coppola (United States), Costa-Gavras (France & Greece), Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (Belgium), Chucko and Arie Esiri (Nigeria), Miguel Gomes (Portugal), Hasan Hadi (Iraq), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Japan), Agnieszka Holland (Poland), Isabelle Huppert (France), Jim Jarmusch (United States), Payal Kapadia (India), Aki Kaurismäki (Finland), Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan), Vicky Krieps (Luxembourg), Richard Linklater (United States), Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil), Nanni Moretti (Italy), Ruben Östlund (Sweden), Jafar Panahi (Iran), Rithy Panh (Cambodia), Ira Sachs (United States), Tarik Saleh (Egypt & Sweden), Martin Scorsese (United States), Albert Serra (Spain), Abderrahmane Sissako (Mauritania), Tilda Swinton (United Kingdom), Denis Villeneuve (Canada), Thomas Vinterberg (Denmark), Wim Wenders (Germany), Rebecca Zlotowski (France), Jia Zhangke (China), and Andrey Zvyagintsev (Russia). 

IRIS aims to raise €30 million, enabling it to commit €10 million annually over the next three years. The French Ministry of Culture, with the support of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will contribute €1 million per year on behalf of France. 

Founding partners France, Morocco, Republic of Korea
Partners Greece, Portugal
With the support of Les Amis du Festival de Cannes
Governance established autumn 2026
First international event New York, 22 September 2026
Fully operational January 2027