Artificial Intelligence, Authors’ Rights & Guild Solidarity: Aligning Standards with the Needs of Europe’s Neighbours
Artificial intelligence tools, data-driven production methods and accelerated viewing habits are reshaping the European screen sector. Writers, directors and producers in neighbouring non-EU countries face these shifts with far fewer safeguards than their peers inside the Union. This conversation unites the Federation of European Screen Directors, the European Film Agency Directors Association, the Society of Audiovisual Authors and the European Producers Club to explore how film agencies, directors’ guilds, authors’ societies and producer organisations can turn advocacy and standard-setting into protections that travel smoothly across borders. Beyond mapping regulatory gaps, the panel will examine practical cooperation mechanisms, joint bargaining strategies and ways to future-proof creative autonomy when technology moves faster than legislation.
SPEAKERS
CECILE DESPRINGRE
Secretary General, Society of Audiovisual Authors | BE
KLEMEN DVORNIK
MODERATED BY
TIME
Thursday, August 21st, 2025
12:00 – 13:00 (CET)
LOCATION
Festival Garden
SEVARA IRGACHEVA
Secretary General, European Film Agencies Directors Association | BE
GEORG SZALAI
Global Business Editor, The Hollywood Reporter | UK
MARTA KRZEPTOWSKA
Producer, ORKA | PL
Cecile Despringre
Cécile Despringre studied international and European law at the University of Paris I and holds a master's degree in international economic law. After a traineeship at the Delegation of the European Commission in Geneva, she started her career at the commission as its European Affairs Officer in 1997. In 2001, she was promoted to Deputy Director for European Affairs and Trade Negotiations. In 2006, Despringre became CEO of the European association for film and television directors. In 2009, she was offered the opportunity to set up the Society of Audiovisual Authors, a new home for European collective management organisations of audiovisual authors in Brussels. Since March 2020, she has also been the president of its board of directors.
Klemen Dvornik
Marta Krzeptowska
Marta Krzeptowska is a film producer and Head of International Development at ORKA Production Studio, where she specialises in international co-productions and high-end content. She is a co-producer of BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY, which won the Audience Award at the Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival and was Croatia’s submission to the Academy Awards. In 2025, Krzeptowska completed QUE MA VOLONTÉ SOIT FAITE, which was presented in the Directors’ Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes and was later selected for the New Horizons Film Festival and the Gdynia Film Festival, both in Poland. Other credits include SHARP CORNER, which played at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2024 and was acquired by NEON. She is currently finalizing LEX JULIA, which shoots in August 2025. Krzeptowska has over a decade of experience in factual and documentary production, with work for BBC, Discovery, Canal+, TVP, and A&E. Krzeptowska is an alum of EWA, ProPro, ACE, Market Ready, and Inside Pictures.
Sevara Irgacheva
Sevara Irgacheva is the Secretary General of European Film Agency Directors Association. She started her career in the film industry and held a variety of roles in film production. In 2015, she joined the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel as Adviser on audio-visual and cultural policy, audio-visual production, and content regulation. Later, she held the position of Political Advisor on Media Policy to the Minister of Media and Culture of Wallonia Brussels Federation, implementing EU policies and leading the work on public service media. Most recently, she was a director at a EU public affairs consultancy, advising international and European clients on public affairs strategies in audio-visual and digital policy. She holds a master’s degree in film directing and production from the Institut National des Arts de Spectacle in Brussels and an LLM in European and international IP and ICT law from KU Leuven.
Georg Szalai
Georg Szalai joined The Hollywood Reporter in 2001 as a business reporter in New York, was named business editor in 2003 and also became New York bureau chief in 2005. He has been based in London since 2012, working with THR's global team as international business editor and, since 2023, as global business editor. Despite being THR’s resident Austrian, he has never met Arnold Schwarzenegger. Georg has covered such major Hollywood deals as Disney's acquisition of large parts of Fox, Comcast's takeover of Sky and various music catalog sales. He enjoys covering film festivals from Berlin and Cannes to Tokyo.