Head of Cannes Next / March Du Film - Festival de Cannes
Sten-Kristian Saluveer is a media and technology visionary, strategist and entrepreneur. Sten's career has seen him pioneering a co-production memorandum with the governments of South Korea and Estonia, and genre film co-productions between South Korea, Japan, and Europe. He also created the first genre film festival HOFF in Estonia, and media technology & startup innovation hub Storytek in North Eastern Europe, co-developed the future strategy of European Film and Media and Technology sector for Vice President Ansip of the European Commission, set in motion a large scope Horizon 2020 backed investment vehicle STADIEM to support film and media innovators in Europe, created and managed multi-million innovation projects. He also devised Startup Estonia 2.0 strategy for Estonian government plus also served as Strategist in Residence for the Estonian government's moonshot lab Accelerate Estonia. Currently, he is in the Advisory board at the Future Hubs of the Flemish Public Broadcaster VRT with innovation leaders from BBC, RTBF, YLE, Mediahuis, MCB, and others. Sten is also is the Strategic Advisor and head of the innovation track - NEXT - at the world's flagship film industry platform - Marche Du Film of the Festival de Cannes as well as Chief Curator of the Picture This conference in Copenhagen, produced by the National Film School of Denmark. He annually curates a invitation only rendez vous the best European tech innovators and the the Commissioner of Internal Market of EU, Thierry Breton.
Sten frequently facilitates ideations and top conferences on the future of storytelling and film, technology, and creativity whilst advising several enterprises and governments on storytelling, media, innovation, and technology, including the Metaverse. In 2020 he commissioned and curated an exceptional performance of Academy award-winning composer, artist and actor Ryuichi Sakamoto for the Meet the Composers section of the Marche Du Film/ Festival de Cannes, and most recently curated the launch of a new Decentralized film fund in Cannes by Roman Coppola and the American Zoetrope's DCP Foundation. In 2023 Sten served as executive producer of MURALS, an immersive 3D experience on the impact of the invasion of Ukraine inspired and documented by the murals of Banksy created across Ukraine in the summer of 2023, as well as devised a high-level Ukrainian tech and creative mission to Cannes.
Sten has moderated fireside chats, masterclasses and interviews at many of world’s top festivals and conferences. He speaks Estonian, English, Finnish, and Japanese is an avid Asian and genre film lover and a scuba diver whilst caring passionately for the future of artistic storytelling between creativity and technology.