From Festivals to Audiences: The Enduring Power of Global Arthouse Films

Speakers

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  Matt Mueller Editor-in-Chief, Screen International
  

  Matt Mueller

  Editor-in-Chief, Screen International

  Matt Mueller is the Editor-in-Chief of Screen International, which provides insight and intelligence into the global film and high-end TV industries via its print magazine, daily editions at major festivals and markets, and industry website ScreenDaily.com.

  Before becoming Editor of Screen International in 2015, Matt worked as a freelance film journalist across a variety of print and online outlets, including The Sunday Times, The Independent and IndieWire, and prior to that served as the Editor of two UK consumer film titles, Premiere UK and Total Film. Matt was shortlisted in 2022 for the Editor of the Year (Business Media) award by the UK’s Professional Publishers Association (PPA).

  He is a voting member of BAFTA and the European Film Academy.

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  Kent Sanderson CEO, Bleecker Street
  

  Kent Sanderson

  CEO, Bleecker Street

  Kent Sanderson is the CEO of Bleecker Street, an independent studio founded in August 2014 by Andrew Karpen. A key architect of the company’s slate and strategy since its launch, Sanderson previously served as Head of Acquisitions and Ancillary Distribution, and then President, before being elevated to CEO earlier this year. He previously led the acquisition of celebrated titles including Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky, Gavin Hood’s Eye in the Sky, James Hawes’ One Life, and dozens of other acclaimed titles, while also overseeing output and licensing deals with Amazon Prime Video, Showtime / Paramount+, Hulu, HBO, Netflix, Starz, and more.

  Bleecker Street has released nearly 100 theatrical films and built a reputation for championing both commercial and filmmaker-driven cinema. Recent releases include the 40th anniversary event-style re-release of the 1984 cult classic This Is Spinal Tap, created by Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, followed by sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, and the horror-thriller Bone Lake. Upcoming releases include Max Walker-Silverman’s Sundance favorite Rebuilding (November 14), starring Josh O’Connor, Lily Latorre, Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis, and Amy Madigan; and Fackham Hall (December 5), a sharp satire of British period dramas starring Damian Lewis, Thomasin McKenzie, and Katherine Waterston which had its trailer go viral in October.

  Looking ahead to 2026, Bleecker’s lineup features an untitled action-comedy starring multi-Emmy® winner and entertainment icon RuPaul and directed by Adam Shankman; Oscar-winner Guy Nattiv’s Harmonia, starring Bella Ramsey, Odessa Young, Carrie Coon, and Lily James; The Third Parent, starring Rob Lowe, Crispin Glover, and Roselyn Sanchez; Victorian Psycho, a horror-thriller adapted from the acclaimed novel and starring Maika Monroe, Thomasin McKenzie, and Jason Isaacs; Academy Award® winner Alex Gibney’s Musk, centered on the world’s most controversial tech entrepreneur; and the next, still-untitled feature from auteur Mike Leigh.

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  Gabrielle Stewart CEO, HanWay Films
  

  Gabrielle Stewart

  CEO, HanWay Films

  Gabrielle Stewart is the CEO of HanWay Films, having joined the company in 2016 as Managing Director. HanWay’s current slate includes Alice Winocour’s Couture starring Angelina Jolie, Ben Sharrock’s Alone Together, Werner Herzog’s Bucking Fastard and Amma Asante’s Billion Dollar Spy starring Russell Crowe. Stewart came from serving as SVP of International Sales and Distribution in Los Angeles for Bloom Media since its 2013 inception selling films such as The Nice Guys and Suburbicon. The company has since been acquired by Endeavor Content. She joined Bloom from Exclusive Media where she worked on films such as Rush and Jane Got a Gun. Prior to Exclusive Media, she spent eight years in London at Focus Features International where she served as Vice President of International Sales, selling films by international directors including Ang Lee, Pedro Almodovar, the Wachowskis, Woody Allen, Gus Van Sant, Alejandro Iñárritu, the Coen Brothers and Joe Wright.

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  Susan Wendt Managing Director, TrustNordisk
  

  Susan Wendt

  Managing Director, TrustNordisk

  With a general background from International Sales, I started in the Film Industry in year 2000 at Nordisk Film International Sales. In 2008 I moved to Zentropa’s international Sales arm Trust and later the same year the 2 companies merged to become TrustNordisk, which today is one of the largest sales agents in Europe and the leading expert when it comes to Scandinavian feature films and TV-series worldwide, representing one of the most extensive catalogues in Europe, with films from both upcoming talent such as Mathias Broe (Sauna) Lija Ingolfsdottir (Loveable) as well as highly acclaimed directors such as Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round), Anders Thomas.

  Jensen (The Last Viking), Nicolaj Arcel (The Promised Land), Petra Volpe (Late Shift).

  Alongside I have been speaker as an ‘Expert’ at Indside Pictures as well as at ACE and active within Europa International, an association for European Sales Agents and former part of the Advisery Board the MIA (Industry Market during Rome Film Festival).

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  Yohann Comte Chairman & Co-Founder, Charades
  

  Yohann Comte

  Chairman & Co-Founder, Charades

  Yohann Comte (b. 1980) is the cofounder of Charades, a Paris-based sales and co-production company launched in 2017 after his tenure as Deputy Head of International Sales at Gaumont. At Charades, he co-produced Revenge by Coralie Fargeat, Mirai by Mamoru Hosoda, and I Lost My Body by Jérémy Clapin — all acclaimed internationally, with Mirai and I Lost My Body earning Academy Award® nominations. He also executive-produced Swallow by Carlo Mirabella-Davis, The World to Come by Mona Fastvold, and co-produced Hosoda’s Belle (Cannes 2021). His later credits include Tchaikovsky’s Wife by Kirill Serebrennikov (Cannes 2022), Sanctuary starring Margaret Qualley and Christopher Abbott, Flow by Gints Zilbalodis (Oscar® winner 2025), Memoir of a Snail by Adam Elliot (Annecy 2024 Cristal Award), Sorry, Baby by Eva Victor (Sundance 2024), and Vermiglio by Maura Delpero (Italy’s Oscar® entry 2025).