Monday, February 12----The International Film Festival Summit (IFFS), the first international conference for film festival directors, programmers, fundraisers and sponsors held on the European continent, hosted a reception today at the Vox Bar at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the heart of Potsdamer Platz, the nerve center for the Berlin Film Festival. IFFS made a number of exciting announcements at the event, for both the International Film Festival Summit Europe, to be held on April 18, 2007 at the Cumberland Hotel in London, and the original International Film Festival Summit, which will be held December 2-4, 2007 at the Loews Lake Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas.

Following the success of three previous Festival Summits in North America, IFFS is launching the inaugural European summit addressing the many important issues and challenges facing the film festival sector in the coming years. From branding and sponsorships to programming, alternative distribution models, and new digital technology platforms,  the IFFS Europe will feature dynamic seminar panels and professional discussions that will feature a who's who of professionals working in the trenches of the international film festival community. The International Film Festival Summit Europe (IFFS) has announced that Sandra Hebron, Director, BFI Film Festivals will present the Inaugural IFFS Europe Keynote Presentation.

Other speakers who will be offering a global perspective on the film festival and entertainment industries include top flight representatives from British Film Institute, Venice Film Festival, Times BFI London Film Festival, Datakal, Dubai International Film Festival, Brisbane International Film Festival, UK Film Council, Thessaloniki Film Festival, Deluxe Digital Cinema Europe, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Filmfestivals Entertainment Group, First Look International, Milano International Film Festival, and the UK Independent Cinema Office.

Sponsors and Media Partners include Arts Alliance Media, Sub TI, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Factory Magazine, PITCHERS Film, fest21, Filmfestivals.com, and The Film Festival Magazine.  Arts Alliance Media, one of the major sponsors of the European Film Market, will videotape the entire IFFS Europe program and the summit content will be available for download.

Another impressive announcement concerns the Keynote Speaker for the International Film Festival Summit North America to be held in Las Vegas in December 2007.  Piers Handling, Director and CEO, of the Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG), will present the 2007 IFFS Opening Keynote Presentation. Mr. Handling is one of the most knowledgable film festival professionals in the world, having joined the Toronto International Film Festival in 1982 and overseen its dramatic growth as one of the world's most important festival events. Another new initiative being launched this year, The IFFS Achievement Awards will honor festival professionals for their dedication and important contributions to independent film and the festival community.

For more information on these two events, visit IFFS Europe: www.iffseurope.com and IFFS North America: www.filmfestivalsummit.com

Sandy Mandelberger, Berlin Online Dailies Editor