Cinemata Community Convening 2026
OVERVIEW
On June 10–11, 2026, Cinemata will hold its first-ever Community Convening, bringing together filmmakers, curators, educators, technologists, and advocates from across the Asia-Pacific in Manila, Philippines.
Held alongside the Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC26), the convening marks an important milestone in Cinemata's journey. For the first time, many of the people who use, contribute to, and help shape the platform will gather in one space to exchange experiences, reflect on their work, and collectively explore Cinemata's future.
Over the past five years, Cinemata has grown beyond a video platform into a network of filmmakers, programmers, educators, students, technologists, community organisers, and partner organisations working across different contexts throughout the region. Through film uploads, community screenings, playlists, translations, workshops, and collaborations, the platform has become a shared space for circulation, dialogue, and connection.
WHY WE'RE GATHERING
The convening comes at a time when civic spaces across the Asia-Pacific continue to face increasing pressure from censorship, surveillance, and shrinking opportunities for public dialogue.
In this context, independent films and community-rooted storytelling remain vital ways of documenting lived realities, challenging dominant narratives, and creating spaces for exchange. Just as important is the infrastructure that allows these stories to circulate, reach audiences, and remain accessible over time.
As Cinemata continues to grow, so do the questions surrounding its future. How can the platform continue supporting filmmakers, educators, curators, and advocacy groups across the region? How can technology, curation, and community participation work together more effectively? What does long-term sustainability look like? And how can governance remain open, participatory, and grounded in the needs of the community?
Cinemata Community Convening 2026 creates a dedicated space to explore these questions together.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Across two days, participants will engage in conversations and exchanges on film, technology, and community-building across the Asia-Pacific.
Day 1 focuses on exchange, reflection, and community-building. Participants will explore questions of film circulation, community curation, digital infrastructure, sustainability, and governance through keynote conversations, partner-led sessions, screenings, and collaborative activities.
The programme creates space to learn from diverse practices across the region while reflecting on Cinemata’s journey and the role it can play in supporting public-interest storytelling. It also introduces Cinemata’s community governance direction, inviting participants to think about how partners and contributors can help shape the platform’s next chapter.
Participants interested in learning more about this process are encouraged to read the Community Governance Document, which outlines Cinemata’s governance journey, the role of its working groups, and the questions currently guiding discussions about the platform’s future.
Day 2 shifts into a more focused working session, bringing together active contributors, collaborators, and partners to discuss the future of Cinemata. Through working groups centred on curation, technology development, and sustainability, participants will identify priorities, surface challenges and opportunities, and contribute ideas that can help inform the platform's next phase.
Participants come from across the Asia-Pacific, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, and Australia, representing a diverse mix of filmmaking, cultural, educational, technological, and advocacy practices.
Read the Full Convening Programme.
L0OKING AHEAD
The convening is also an opportunity to mark several important milestones in Cinemata's ongoing development.
During the gathering, the Cinemata team will introduce Cinemata 3.0, the latest evolution of the platform and its open-source infrastructure. Participants will also take part in a community signing ceremony, acknowledging the people, relationships, and collaborations that continue to shape Cinemata as a community-driven platform.
Rather than a standalone event, the convening is part of an ongoing process to clarify how Cinemata can be collectively shaped, sustained, and made more useful to the communities it serves.