Cinema is back at the center of the conversation – that was the unmistakable message of this year's reception hosted by the arthouse cinema associations during the Cannes Film Festival. The international arthouse cinema association CICAE, along with the German AG Kino – Gilde, French AFCAE, and the UK's Independent Cinema Office (ICO) had invited guests to the Cinema Club, located directly in the Palais des Festivals. Over 200 guests from exhibition, the film industry, funding bodies and politics accepted the invitation – among them Charles Rivkin, CEO and Chairman of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).

It is perhaps the only industry reception in Cannes that puts the big screen front and center. Demand was high again this year. The attendance of MPA Chairman Charles Rivkin alongside EMEA Director Emilie Anthonis underscored the reception's international reach. Also among the guests were Jackie Brenneman, Executive Director of the American Film Market (AFM), and Lela Meadow-Conner, Executive Director of the Art House Convergence.

On the European side, attendees included Mathias Holst, President of Europa Cinemas, alongside Secretary General Fatima Djoumer, and Tanja Meissner, Director of the European Film Market (EFM). The realignment of the MEDIA Programme under the AgoraEU umbrella is a defining issue for the sector – reflected in the strong turnout from national funding bodies, including German Federal Film Board (FFA) President Kirsten Niehuus, Peter Dinges and Jolinde Sawahn.

The growing alignment between cinema associations and film festivals was equally visible in the guest list: the leadership team of Filmfest Munich, Julia Weigl and Christoph Gröner, as well as Malika Rabahallah, Director of Filmfest Hamburg, were among those present. Many distributors took the opportunity to share first impressions of the festival's highly anticipated competition lineup – because that, ultimately, is what it all comes down to: getting films to audiences in cinemas.