Leading representatives from film festivals, distribution companies and marketing mavens are huddling in Berlin in the next few days just prior to the Berlinale for a "meeting of the minds" conference. The International Film Festival Summit, a European addition to the highly successful industry conference and trade event held every year in Las Vegas in December, will bring together an intriguing mix of film festival programmers, managers and marketers.

The 4th Annual International Film Festival Summit, which made a canny move to Berlin this year after being held in the past in Paris, London and Amsterdam, will be a "boot camp" intensive on the topics that film festivals need to be aware of in these hard economic times. The event will be held at the Berlin Hilton in the historic Mitte district.

The roster of speakers and attendees are a "who's who" of movers and shakers in the industry. Filmfestivals.com CEO and Co-Founder Bruno Chatelin is the event's Conference Chair. I will be moderating two panel discussions, one on the expanding role  of film festivals in the distribution space, and a "fireside chat" with the programming directors of the Tribeca and Taormina film festivals that explores their strategies for the upcoming Berlinale.

For a full program of the 2-day event, visit: http://www.filmfestivalsummit.com/europe.html. Look for additional coverage on this event in the coming days on this blog site.

Sandy Mandelberger, Festival Circuit Editor