Sold out FMX 2023 celebrates success

Sold out FMX 2023 celebrates success + focus on sustainability and diversity

the 27th edition of FMX – Film & Media Exchange is already a thing of the past. Thank you for joining approximately 3,500 participants and attending 160 presentations, discussions, workshops and masterclasses by over 300 speakers from April 25 to 28 on site in Stuttgart as well as online!

FMX Project Manager Mario Müller is as happy as can be: “From the tickets to all the exhibition rooms, FMX was sold out again for the first time since the pandemic hit. While the attendees, speakers and exhibitors filled the venue with wisdom, inspiration and excitement, the central theme about sustainability and the tracks on diversity, equity and inclusion were heavily discussed. FMX 2023 made a smooth return to its former level – we could not be happier!”

FMX goes green

Work it, everyone! An important aspect of FMX, which was certified as a climate-friendly event for the first time this year, was the topic of sustainability. Not only did sustainability-themed content move into the limelight, including BAFTA Games Award winner ENDLING – EXTINCTION IS FOREVER – production and working conditions were also reexamined in the light of sustainability. One panel, for example, took a self-critical look at the technical perfectionism of the entertainment industry, delved into the possibilities for institutions and companies to minimize their own ecological footprint, and proposed to think about sustainability with the start of every content conceptualization process.

For Arne Braun, State Secretary in the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and Arts, FMX has thus again proven its importance for the region: “FMX is not only one of the world’s most important trade conferences for film and media production, but is also a significant event in our state. After all, animation has been strongly tied to Baden-Württemberg for more than three decades now. The securing and strengthening of the field in our region is crucial for the state government, and the creative industries are a key focus for our future. I am particularly pleased that this year’s conference focused on sustainability – a priority for us – and that FMX itself could be organized as a climate-friendly event.”

Cultivating inclusion – celebrating diversity

Talking about change: FMX was also a lot about transforming work cultures. Julie Ann Crommett, founder and CEO of Collective Moxie, curated the Cultivating Inclusion track that revolved around diversity and equal opportunity – another important matter of debate. She sums up her take-aways: “To cultivate inclusion it takes day to day intention, strategic operational design, deep empathy, and consistent accountability. In order for the global VFX and animation industries to continue to exist and to thrive creatively and economically, it is necessary to treat DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) not as a check list but rather as an essential, deep cultural shift that values people of all backgrounds equitably and insists on disrupting the biases that have impeded the industry from being the best it can be.”

27th FMX: Some of our shiny highlights

Don’t let machine learning get to you: Another hot topic of debate, artificial intelligence, was the center of attention of several presentations and discussions. One of them was a panel of artists and thinkers laying out the various risks that artificial intelligence poses, including a reliance on tools that create meaningless content which gets mistaken for art or creativity.

For Michael Kleiner, Ministerial Director at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg, it is important that the region also receives new input for economic developments by way of events such as FMX: “The competencies in the field of film and media production are a decisive key for the digital transformation of our economy. Through FMX, our companies receive new impetuses and the opportunity to network on a global scale. At the same time, we have managed to focus on important topics for society within the framework of FMX as well”.

But of course FMX also featured a lot of the shows and films that took your breath away in the recent months. FMX highlights included the four-time Oscar winner ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, the fascinating VFX worlds of Oscar winner AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER, as well as the HBO hit THE LAST OF US. As a special highlight, the FMX audience was treated to exclusive and extremely lively insights into the making of Netflix’ fantasy animated series ONI: THUNDER GOD’S TALE, which is inspired by Japanese mythology.

The good news is: Even if you missed some of this goodness, much of our FMX 2023 content will be available among our approximately 120 video on-demand talks, presentations and workshops, which will be ready for on-demand viewing following the conference until May 31, 2023.