Glenn Basner, founder and CEO of FilmNation Entertainment, will receive the Game Changer Award at this year’s Zurich Summit, a film industry conference held in conjunction with the Zurich Film Festival.
Basner is being honored for what the festival described as his “outstanding achievements, excellent cinematic taste, and great contributions to the film industry.”
Under Basner’s leadership, FilmNation has become one of the dominant players in the independent film industry, supporting awards season and commercial successes including Anura, concave, Promising young woman, Access and The big patient.
The company has also expanded aggressively into television, podcasts, and theater. Her recent television projects include House of spirits for Prime Video and Emmy Award winner I know this is very much true For HBO. Its podcast arm has been a huge success SNAFU with Ed Helms. FilmNation’s theatrical credits include Tony Award-winning productions anthropomorphic, At first glance, Visit the band and The sound is inside.
“Since its founding in 2008, FilmNation Entertainment, under the steady leadership of Glenn Basner, has grown into a major and dominant independent force with global ambitions,” Christian Jungen, director of the Zurich Film Festival, said in a statement. “Pasner has consistently championed bold and distinctive cinematic voices, championing celebrated auteurs such as Denis Villeneuve, Edward Berger, and Sean Baker.”
Youngen added that Basner “is distinguished by his rare ability to combine creative instincts, market insights, sales experience and strong business acumen.”
Calling the honor “a huge honor for me and the team at FilmNation,” Basner commented on the award, noting that “we all need a game changer in independent entertainment today and I’m excited to talk about why I remain absolutely optimistic about our future.”
Previous winners of the Game Changer Award at the Zurich Summit include Tom Quinn, CEO of NEON; Rog Sutherland, President, CAA Media Finance & International Film Group; Patrick Wachsberger, former president of Legendary Entertainment and Oscar-winning producer Coda; and Pam Abdi, co-chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group; and Michael Parker and Tom Bernard, co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics.
Sandwiched between the Toronto, Venice and London Film Festivals, Zurich has increasingly established itself as a key springboard in the fall for contenders for prestigious awards and titles targeting the German-speaking market. The Zurich Summit prides itself as the ‘Davos of the film industry’, a high-level gathering that brings together executives, financiers, producers and creatives from the film, television and technology sectors.
The Zurich Summit is scheduled to take place from September 25 to 27 at the Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich, while the 2026 Zurich Film Festival is scheduled to take place from September 24 to October. 4.
