Watch now on-demand on Hiway!
Winston Baker's Entertainment Finance Forum Berlin returns with a sharp focus on the forces reshaping global entertainment: Evolving Finance Models, International Partnerships, Platform Strategies, and The Creator Economy Revolution. We are also thrilled to be joined by heavy-hitters in the industry for 2 exciting Fireside Chats!
As streaming platforms redefine profitability, vertical content explodes on mobile, and cross-border collaborations become essential, the industry faces critical questions: How do producers and financiers navigate this new landscape? What deal structures work in an era of platform consolidation and audience fragmentation?
Join top executives and thought leaders for actionable insights on the areas defining entertainment finance in 2026.
LOCATION
The Event Hall, Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation
Stresemannstr. 90, 10963 Berlin.
OPEN TO EVERYONE WITH AN EFM BADGE! No further registration is required…just arrive at 9:45am to get a spot!
PROGRAM
(subject to updates)
Friday, February 13th, 2026
9:45am – 11:45am
9:50am
Welcoming Address
Amy Baker - CEO and Co-Founder, Winston Baker
10:00am – 10:25am
State of the Industry; State of Finance
Get a comprehensive view of the evolving entertainment finance landscape. This opening panel explores the forces reshaping how content gets funded and distributed, from streaming economics to private equity strategies, European soft money opportunities to international capital flows.
Discover where smart money is flowing, how AI is impacting production budgets and competitive positioning, and strategies for structuring deals that work across borders and platforms in an era of consolidation and change.
Moderator:
Harris E. Tulchin - Entertainment lawyer, Producer, Author, and Producer’s Representative
Panelists:
Yvette Zhuang - Co-CEO, Manifest Pictures
Charles Auty - CEO, Elevate Production Finance
Juliet Berman - Producer, Spiral Stairs Entertainment
10:25am – 10:50am
Fireside Chat with Stuart Ford
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer - AGC Studios
Moderated by: Andreas Wiseman, Deadline
Chairman & CEO of AGC Studios and one of the most influential independent producers and financiers in global entertainment, Stuart will reflect on his journey to date, the current state of AGC and its slate, and share his perspective on the market. Stuart is behind some of the biggest films to date, including: Eden, Hitman, Moonfall, Hacksaw Ridge, Silence and more.
10:50am – 11:15am
International Partnerships, Co-Productions & The Creator Economy
The production and distribution landscape has fundamentally shifted. International co-productions are evolving beyond tax incentives into strategic platform partnerships. Direct-to-fan platforms are enabling creators to own their content and monetize directly. Creators with proven communities are securing traditional financing on their own terms.
This panel brings together experts pioneering new models of collaboration, distribution, and audience engagement across borders and platforms.
Explore strategic international partnerships across Asia-Europe-Middle East-Americas, new hybrid financing models combining soft money, platform deals, and community monetization, co-production structures that maximize territorial and format opportunities, and what streaming platforms are prioritizing in their local-for-global strategies.
Moderator:
Amy Baker - CEO & Co-Founder, Winston Baker
Panelists:
Christian Sommer - Country Representative Germany, Austria & Switzerland, The Motion Picture Association (MPA)
Alexandra Lebret - Partner of Axio Capital, Head of Together Fund
David Orman - CEO & Co-Founder, Hiway
11:15am – 11:45am
Fireside Chat with Kornél Mundruczó
Moderated by: Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline
Kornél Mundruczó is a multi-award-winning Hungarian film director whose work has earned international acclaim for its bold cinematic vision and distinctive storytelling. Behind films such as: Pleasant Days (2002), Johanna (2005) White God (2014) Pieces of a Woman and At the Sea (Berlin 2026).
We are thrilled to welcome him to the Winston Baker stage!
FORUM CONCLUDES
SPEAKING FACULTY
Stuart Ford - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, AGC Studios
Los Angeles-based Stuart Ford is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AGC Studios and one of the most experienced and prolific independent film and television producers, financiers and entrepreneurs in the global entertainment industry. UK born and Oxford University educated, Ford is a former entertainment attorney and Miramax Films senior studio executive who in 2007 founded IM Global. Over the following decade, he built IM Global into one of the industry’s leading independent production, financing and international sales platforms with additional talent management and PR businesses across North America, Southeast Asia, India, Latin America and Europe. In 2018, Ford launched the so-called “super-indie” AGC Studios, an independent content studio with major backing from Silicon Valley, Abu Dhabi and Latin America that develops, finances, produces and sells a diverse slate of feature films and scripted, unscripted and factual television. Since its inception, AGC has been involved in over 50 major productions.
A recognized expert in assembling global finance and distribution strategies, Ford has also been a consistent champion of international cinema. He has launched successful sales and distribution businesses focused on respectively Latin American, Chinese language and Hindi content, as well as founding the Beijing-based PR firm Go Global and the U.S. based Latinx talent management company Valor Entertainment. He also has extensive ties to the Arabic-language film sector, including serving as executive producer and distributor for two of the highest-budget local films ever produced: “Al Kameen” and “Desert Warrior."
Across his career, Ford has produced or executive produced nearly 80 films and television shows and has assembled over $2 billion in independent production financing. As a seller, Ford has executed more than $2 billion in independent film and TV sales including features that have collectively generated more than $5 billion at the worldwide box-office, marking him as one of the most financially impactful independent producers of his generation. Ford’s AGC Television label has quickly become a major player in high-end scripted content, including the recent epic series “Those About to Die,” with a first-season budget of $165 million—one of the largest independently financed TV productions in history. Ford received Variety’s Achievement in International Film Award in 2015 and was named one of The Guardian’s 50 Most Influential People in Global Cinema. In 2023, he was honored at the Cannes Film Festival with Variety’s “Billion Dollar Producer” award. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Television Academy, and BAFTA, and has been profiled in the Variety 500 in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Kornél Mundruczó - director and producer
Kornél Mundruczó is a multi-award-winning Hungarian film director whose work has earned international acclaim for its bold cinematic vision and distinctive storytelling. He made his feature film debut with Pleasant Days (2002), which was awarded the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, marking the arrival of a major new voice in European cinema.
His subsequent films established a long-standing presence at the world’s most prestigious festivals, with several titles premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. These include Johanna (2005), a striking and unconventional reinterpretation of the Joan of Arc story; Delta (2008), which received the FIPRESCI Prize; Tender Son (2010); and White God (2014), which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section. Mundruczó continued to expand his international profile with Jupiter’s Moon (2017), a visually ambitious and politically resonant film, and Evolution (2021), a powerful work exploring generational trauma and memory of the holocaust.
In 2020, Mundruczó directed his first English-language feature, Pieces of a Woman, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. The film received major critical attention, with its lead performance winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, and its international success culminated in an Academy Award nomination in 2021. Across his body of work, Kornél Mundruczó has become widely recognized as one of the most significant contemporary filmmakers, known for creating emotionally intense, visually inventive, and socially engaged cinema.
Christian Sommer - Country Representative Germany, Austria & Switzerland, the Motion Picture Association (MPA)
Christian Sommer is Country Representative Germany, Austria & Switzerland for the Motion Picture Association (MPA). In this role, he has been representing the political interests of leading international production and distribution companies and their film, streaming, and television divisions in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland since February 2013.
He also coordinates cross-industry association work at the national and international level for MPA members and their international subsidiaries. Members of the MPA include Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Netflix Studios, LLC, Paramount Pictures Corporation, Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Universal City Studios LLC, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Previously, he was responsible for Warner Bros. Entertainment's content protection activities since 2004, most recently as Executive Director, EMEA at the European headquarters in London. During this time, he was also Chairman of the Board of the GVU - Society for the Prosecution of Copyright Infringements from 2006 to 2010.
He is a specialist lawyer who, in addition to positions at AOL Time Warner, has also worked in politics and legislation. Christian Sommer studied at the universities of Münster and Hamburg. He has been a member of the European Film Academy since 2022.
Yvette Zhuang - Co-CEO, Manifest Pictures
Yvette Zhuang is Co-CEO of Manifest Pictures. She most recently led global sales and distribution on Miramax’s slate of feature films including Jason Statham starrer The Beekeeper, the highest grossing independent movie of 2024, Academy-award winner The Holdovers, Robert Zemeckis’s Here, the widely acclaimed Strange Darling, as well as Wrath of Man and The Gentlemen from Guy Ritchie. She is also producing Miramax’s adaptation of Thailand’s box office hit and Oscar entry How to Make Millions when Grandma Dies, which she brought to the company. Prior to Miramax, Yvette was SVP of International at STX, where she sold franchise-starters Bad Moms, Den of Thieves and Greenland and films from directors including Ridley Scott, Lorene Scafaria and Neil Burger. Zhuang was an entertainment lawyer in Australia before starting her Hollywood career at Sierra Affinity.
David Orman - CEO & Co-Founder, Hiway
David Orman is CEO and Co-Founder of Hiway, a media infrastructure platform built for the direct-to-fan economy. He has spent over 20 years working across venture capital, sport, digital media, and content monetisation.
David began his career at Eurosport before holding leadership roles at Queens Park Rangers FC, Templewood Merchant Bank, and a private family office. In 2014, he co-founded Hatch-House, a venture consultancy focused on emerging technology and media business models.
In 2023, David started to rethink how media companies store, share, and monetise content using next-generation infrastructure. That work became the foundation for Hiway, where he now focuses on building tools that give creators, producers, and rights holders direct control over their audiences, data, and revenue.
Juliet Berman - Producer, Spiral Stairs Entertainment
Juliet Berman is a film and television producer with experience working in both the independent and studio/streamer space. She was recognized as one of Variety’s “10 Producers To Watch” in 2025.
Since forming Spiral Stairs Entertainment in 2023, Berman has produced three features, a remake of the 1991 cult classic DON'T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER'S DEAD starring Simone Joy Jones, Nicole Richie and June Squibb, critically acclaimed comedy GRIFFIN IN SUMMER, which was released theatrically in August 2025 and currently has a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and THE LONG HAUL (formerly known as DEAD LETTERS), an independent drama starring Margo Martindale, Cole Sprouse, Stephen Root and Yalitza Aparicio which is currently in post-production.
Previously, Berman was the Head of Production for Treehouse Pictures where she built a film and television slate from the ground up and managed an in-house fund for independent development and production financing. During her ten-year tenure at Treehouse, she brought in and oversaw a diverse range of films, including the Italian drama MEDITERRANEA written and directed by Jonas Carpignano which premiered at Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015, Iraq war film SAND CASTLE, starring Nick Hoult and Henry Cavill which was one of Netflix’s early Original Film acquisitions and the romantic comedy SET IT UP starring Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch, which was developed based on her original idea and was Netflix’s top-performing movie in over 200 territories in the summer of 2018.
Prior to Treehouse, Berman worked at New Line Cinema, Summit Entertainment and Anonymous Content. She grew up in Los Angeles and graduated with honors from Columbia University. Berman is a proud member of Producers United.
Alexandra Lebret - Partner of Axio Capital, Head of Together Fund
After graduating with a master's degree in Macroeconomics at Paris Dauphine University, and an MSc in International Economics at ESSEC and at the Università di Bocconi, Alexandra has dedicated her career to the cinema industry.
In 2002, she was named Managing Director of the EPC and has driven since then the association into a new era, working at transforming the association into the renowned actor it has become.
She was decorated in 2013 Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her work and dedication in favor of the European cinema.
In 2014, she became a producer herself, founding the production companies Mare Nostrum Productions and Halley Production, and produced 10 films which received 16 awards in international festivals.
In 2025 she joined Axio Capital as a partner and created an investment fund dedicated to production companies. TOGETHER Fund is the first European investment fund dedicated to support the growth of European independent production companies.
Alexandra is an expert of the audiovisual sector, doing conferences all over Europe. She teaches at films schools and universities. She is also member of jury in international festivals.
CHARLES AUTY - CEO, Elevate Production Finance
An industry veteran and prolific dealmaker, Charles has successfully financed hundreds of films and is known for being highly skilled in finding creative and expedient ways to close.
Independent financing credits include Oscar®-nominated films Carol, starring Cate Blanchett, and Brooklyn, starring Saoirse Ronan, as well as projects such as Mix Tape starring Teresa Palmer and Jim Sturgess, War With Grandpa starring Robert De Niro, Terminal starring Margot Robbie, and High Rise with Tom Hiddleston.
Earlier in his career, Auty qualified and worked as a lawyer before moving to fund management and deal-making at Ingenious Media. His career includes over a decade at Ingenious, with five years as Managing Director of their USD 500 million independent film fund.
Andreas Wiseman - Executive Editor, International & Strategy, Deadline
Andreas is Deadline's Executive Editor, International & Strategy. He joined Deadline in 2018 covering the international and U.S. film industries, and is a regular fixture at major festivals and markets including Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and AFM. He is based in London but makes regular forays to Los Angeles. Andreas spent eight years covering the film industry at Screen International and held posts there including Chief Reporter, News Editor and Deputy Editor. He has broken hundreds of stories and has written extensively on harassment and diversity. He has also worked in film production.
HARRIS E. TULCHIN - entertainment lawyer, producer, author, and producer’s representative
Harris E. Tulchin is a veteran entertainment lawyer, producer, producer’s rep, author, and professor of motion picture law with over 40 years of experience in the industry. He has been an adjunct professor of entertainment law at Southwestern University Law School and an arbitrator for the Independent Film & Television Alliance. A former studio General Counsel and Business Affairs Executive, Tulchin has produced or executive produced over 25 motion pictures, and sold or licensed hundreds of films, and is the co-author of a book considered one of the bibles of the motion picture industry entitled "The Independent Film Producer’s Survival Guide."
Amy Baker – CEO and Co-Founder, Winston Baker
As CEO of WINSTON | BAKER, Amy Baker oversees the company’s global strategic planning, business development and vendor relationships. Amy Co-Founded the FILM FINANCE FORUM® in 2008, which provides the leading series of events dedicated to bringing seasoned finance and entertainment executives together from around the globe. Winston Baker is a renowned leader in the entertainment industry, known for curating content and organizing Forums worldwide. Amy has successfully organized sold out conferences, film festival programming and private events across the United States, Europe, Saudi Arabia, China, Pacific Asia and Latin America, along with a lineup of exciting virtual programs.
Prior to establishing Winston/Baker, she was at SRI which was acquired by ALM. At ALM, as Vice President of Business Development, Amy provided finance executives and marketers with targeted channels for reaching decision-makers within the legal, entertainment, healthcare, sports and tech sectors. In her previous position, Director of Business Development at RPMC, she worked with entertainment, music, and sports companies, creating event marketing programs, travel incentive services, sweepstakes, and media promotions.
Amy lived for many years in Europe, while working as a professional Model before receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with Honors from New York University. Amy proudly sits on the National Board of Advisors for the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida since 2018. She has recently started producing and developing projects for Film and Television.
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