With its focus on film distribution, the INTERNATIONAL FILM DISTRIBUTION SUMMIT attracts international attention every year and convinces many industry colleagues with a unique platform for dialogue and exchange – this year taking place in Hamburg for the first time. The IFDS is a distribution-specific forum for discussion and networking that analyzes the massive upheavals within the global cultural industry and their consequences for distribution. Numerous lectures, panels, masterclasses, and informal conversations enable the development of concrete perspectives and new visions for how distribution can make an economically and politically meaningful contribution to preserving a vibrant democratic culture.