Reshaping Global Storytelling

Through WAVES, India will harness the power of cinema to shape global discourse—merging storytelling, diplomacy, and innovation into a bold cultural strategy that transcends borders

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WAVES, which is to be held in Mumbai (May 1-4), will usher in a new beginning for the M&E Ecosystem. It will position India as the 'Content Hub of the world'—a 'Pioneer in Storytelling and a Global Leader' in weaving business, technology, collaboration and participation in the M&E landscape. Waves 2025 is expected to give a fillip to the concept of a "Creator Economy", juxtaposing soft power, talent pool and innovation in the creative sector.

As a platform, WAVES has sparked a kinetic current of visibility, opportunity, participation, collaboration, and growth, firmly aligned with a robust push for soft power diplomacy. Its design is bold and future-forward, destined to influence how M&E summits are conceived across the globe, particularly in fostering international tie-ups, cinematic synergies, and strategic partnerships.

At its core, WAVES is expected to capture the pulse of a media and entertainment landscape in flux, where change is the only constant and innovation is a lifeline. The summit acts as a trigger, a push effect, encouraging the ecosystem to absorb novel ideas and transformative technologies while simultaneously weaving the threads of heritage, identity, and continuity. Thus, there are common elements between the Waves M&E Summit & India's participation at the Cannes Film Festival from May 13 to 24.

In the evolving power map of world cinema, Cannes remains the epicentre of global cinematic diplomacy. It is more than a red carpet; it is a reflective mirror of where the world is looking and listening. The films screened here set trends, spark discourse and influence everything from box office results to cultural consciousness. It is at Cannes that cinematic art meets geopolitical articulation.