If the buzzword for the industry in 2024 was "generative," then after another year of AI, the industry has been sobering up. While Europe is producing more than 2,400 feature-length films per year and attempting to score a global blockbuster in the increasingly audience-centric and platform-driven world, virtual production is maturing into established workflows with a handful of expert players.

The race of generative AI models is cooling off, with focus shifting from the larger models towards the smaller, more specific. Alongside the ever-chilly transatlantic relations in tech and content, this brings a sobering tone to an industry in transition. It is becoming clear that the industry is transforming into a new landscape where more boutique and radically different business models, cheaper and more powerful tools, and the omnipresence of AI is becoming a reality.

The 2025 edition of Picture This, organized by the National Film School, is thus looking beyond the hype, taking a pragmatic look into how pioneering creatives, producers, and innovation forerunners are adapting to this new industry environment beyond the headlines and buzzwords. The conference, taking place yet again at the Black Diamond of Copenhagen, this year focuses on practical learnings from directors and storytellers who have pioneered and domesticated the new (AI and VP) modes and models. Providing insights into what it takes to launch, manage, and operate a profitable and creatively flourishing AI-native film studio, unveiling the new rules of conception, production, and distribution for small-scale and European producers, and exploring how creatives can safely and securely monetize their assets and training data in the generative AI world.

As a new format, the 2025 edition will increasingly focus on the transforming roles of directors, writers, and DOPs through their personal journeys and case studies, assemble a new Nordic Showcase of Scandinavian Screen Innovators, and conclude with its classic deep dive into the most interesting case studies.

The 2025 edition is curated and moderated by Sten Saluveer, Head of Cannes Next & CEO at Storytek, with the collaboration of the Picture This Steering Committee.

Program and time schedule

The full lineup of Picture This 2025 will be unveiled in August 2025. For more information or to apply as a speaker or case study, go to the Picture This website.

Preliminary Themes, Topics, and Sessions of 2025:

• Opening fireside chat: Learning from the superheroes of next-generation storytellers
• Beyond the Hype: What it takes to launch, manage, and creatively operate an AI production-native film studio: Challenges, workflows, and creative opportunities
• Pivot or Perish: Understanding conception, production, and distribution in the audience-centric era
• Who is in Control? Understanding rights and monetization in the generative AI world
• Encountering the Unexpected: The directors, writers, and DOP chair in an innovation-focused industry
• The New Nordic Showcase of Scandinavian creators, forerunners, and studios
• Closing Session: Deep dive into case studies of European and Nordic productions

What will you learn?

Insights into the future of film production with a focus on AI, audiences, and creative workflows. Concrete experiences and strategies from those actively driving the transformation.

Who should attend?

Professionals in the audiovisual sector. Directors, scriptwriters, producers, Production designers, Post production professionals, Creative technologists, VFX people, film funds, scholars and students.