Cannes 2026 #9: Breaking Borders at Cannes Docs
Jason Ryle, Mark Mushiva, and Lisa Smith discuss building cinematic networks that nourish connections across borders
Jason Ryle, Mark Mushiva, and Lisa Smith discuss building cinematic networks that nourish connections across borders

On May 15, Film Comment Editor Devika Girish moderated a panel at Cannes Docs, an industry sidebar dedicated to nonfiction filmmaking. Titled “Breaking Borders,” the conversation examined how, even as the film market has become increasingly globalized, traditional professional networks and production infrastructure are still structured around exclusionary ideas about countries and continents. Devika gathered three panelists who lead groundbreaking networks that are nourishing connections across borders, changing not just the terrain of cinema but also of our notions of power, place, and belonging. The speakers included Jason Ryle, the Chief Executive Officer of the Arctic Indigenous Film Fund; Mark Mushiva, a creative technologist and Research Fellow with Forensic Architecture; and Lisa Smith, a founder of the Romani Filmmakers Network.
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This story is part of the Summer 2026 issue of Film Comment.
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