European Film Market 2026 Concludes on a Five Percent Increase in Participants in Attendance as well as a Remarkable Programme Growth

With a notable five percent increase in participants, the European Film Market 2026 at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival once again secured its position as a driving force for the global film industry at the beginning of the year.

More than 12,500 professionals attended the various EFM venues. The U.S. presence remained strong and represented the second-largest group of participants after Germany, followed by France, the UK and Italy, while visitor numbers from China and India decreased slightly.

A total of 606 films were screened during the market, more than in 2025, with an 83,17 percent market premiere rate, attracting 1,794 buyers and further underlining the EFM’s importance for distributors across the globe.

Industry engagement was evident from the outset and reflected in a 20 percent increase in screening-guest scans on the very first day of the market.

Visitor numbers rose across all major venues, including the Gropius Bau, the Marriott Hotel, and the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation Berlin, each recording growth between t en percent and 18 percent.

The EFM programme also seemed to resonate with its audience across the digital channels, with an increase of 4,5K followers on EFM social media within the last 30 days alone and a successful launch of the EFM app.

As in the previous year, the Producers Hub and Innovation Hub generated strong momentum, drawing consistent crowds and receiving strong positive feedback from tech-providing exhibitors, praising EFM as the leading platform for establishing long-term engagement with investors and prospective users.

New EFM programme elements such as the EFM Animation Days, or the Games IP Pitching Sessions were met with amazingly strong industry interest. EFM Beyond, featuring a Cross-IP accelerator and a newly introduced Immersive Zone recorded fully booked 60-minute-sessions across the four VR stations.

The expanded EFM Industry Programme welcomed 369 international speakers, experts and hosts in over 100 masterclasses, workshops and panels exploring new pathways in production and distribution, ranging from innovative virtual workflows to AI supported audience engagement. The DocSalon programme, had a ten percent attendance increase at the Documentation Centre compared to 2025.

The first ever Berlinale Film School Summit was attended by over 120 film students from 18 film schools from 13 countries.

Following its successful debut in 2025, the Distributor Award, sponsored by Fintage House, returned to honour the crucial role of European arthouse distributors and was presented to Romanian distribution company Bad Unicorn.

Two additional inaugural awards were introduced this year: The EFM StartUps Award, in partnership with “Screen International”, whose recipient Veronika Gamper, CEO of WeDaVinci, impressed both the jury and more than 100 industry professionals with her AI-storyboard pitch.

The Berlinale Series Market presented the Studio Babelsberg Production Excellence Award to Cláudio Torres, Márcio Maranhão and Andrucha Waddington, creators of Emergência 53, recognising creative vision, excellence in execution and strong international potential.

The Berlinale Series Market Selects featured 17 international scripted series and three documentary series as well as a new collaboration with Iberseries & Platino Industria through Series Match, an exclusive meeting format connecting ten companies from each region.

As this year’s Country in Focus, Morocco delivered an exceptionally strong and highly visible presence at the EFM. With a consistently well-attended pavilion at the Gropius Bau, the Moroccan film industry not only showcased its creative excellence, but also clearly demonstrated its capacity to host major international productions and large-scale shoots. The dynamic engagement with buyers, producers and financiers underscored Morocco’s growing appeal as a competitive production hub offering experienced crews, diverse locations and a highly efficient industry framework.

For the first time, the EFM also hosted a series of live podcast recordings in partnership with PUBLIKUM, to be released as a special edition of the EFM Industry Insights podcast after the end of the market.

Funding & Programme Support

The EFM 2026 is supported by a range of national and international partners. Various initiatives are co-funded by Creative Europe MEDIA. The EFM Animation Days are also funded by MDM Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and BFI National Lottery UK Focus Fund, while EFM Toolbox receives additional support from Hessen Film & Medien and the Canada Media Fund and the DocSalon from FFF Bayern. EFM Beyond is co-financed by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB).

The Berlinale Series Market (BSM) is supported by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW as main partner, with additional support from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB).

The European Film Market is part of Berlinale Pro, which unites the European Film Market, the Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and the World Cinema Fund. Berlinale Pro is the festival’s full-circle industry infrastructure that serves the global film industry as incubator, enhancer and supporter in all stages of film development, production, sales and distribution.