Tehnopol’s Film and Multimedia Accelerator teams took part in the Cannes Next programme

Teams from Tehnopol’s Film and Multimedia Accelerator attended the Cannes Next programme, held as part of the Cannes Film Festival, where they met film industry professionals and introduced innovative solutions developed by Estonian startups.

Cannes Next 2026, which brings together the global film ecosystem, focused this year on the challenges facing the film industry and how they can be addressed through technology and innovation. FilmLink and IRIS Casting Ecosystem, both part of Tehnopol’s Film and Multimedia Accelerator portfolio, also took part in the programme.

Olga Kurdovskaja, Head of Programme at Tehnopol FIlm and multimedia accelerator IDA Hub, said the aim was to make Estonia’s creative technology voice heard in the international ecosystem and to gain a better understanding of the challenges facing the film industry.

“Estonia has strong foundations for becoming a recognised player in the film and multimedia industry — we have strong teams, technical capability and a real understanding of how startups are built. Tehnopol Accelerator helps startups grow and scale, and our role is not only to support them at an early stage, but also to help them develop through the next phases of growth. What stood out to me most in Cannes was how much our teams have developed, and how meetings and conversations with leading industry players helped sharpen their focus,” Kurdovskaja said.

Sander Lebreht, founder of FilmLink, said they went to the Cannes Film Festival to learn which tools producers are currently using and to prepare FilmLink for smooth integration and export.

“We received confirmation that we are moving in the right direction, as Google Sheets and Movie Magic are widely used in the film industry and those are exactly the tools FilmLink was designed for,” Lebreht said. He added that the meetings held during the festival were substantive and that they will continue communication with the contacts they made.

“Cannes gave us very concrete feedback on FilmLink’s positioning, and based on that we have already moved more towards presenting FilmLink as infrastructure, rather than simply as a standalone tool or software,” he emphasised.

Ronja Kissa, founder of IRIS Casting Ecosystem, said the startup’s solution resonated with representatives of the film world, who also provided valuable feedback. She also noted that technologies in the creative sector are developing very rapidly, and that the startup now needs to shift into a higher gear.

“A good idea and a smartly built product are not enough if we move too slowly. Right now, we need to raise funding and expand the team to reach the market at the right time. Cannes made it very clear that speed is just as important as quality, because even if our product is better, someone else may reach the market earlier with a simpler solution and become the industry standard,” Kissa said.

Over the next month, the IRIS Casting Ecosystem team will focus on increasing its pace. Changes have also been made to the team to speed up development and decision-making.

The Film and Multimedia Accelerator is part of the IDA Hub Film and Multimedia Innovation Center, founded by IVEK, IVIA, and Tehnopol. The goal of this unique innovation center is to support the development of film talents and future smart creators, as well as to help revitalize and diversify the economy of Ida-Virumaa. The solutions created by the accelerated companies will bring innovation to both the region and the wider film industry.

The development of the IDA Hub Film Innovation Center is funded by the European Union through the Just Transition Fund measure.