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Now in its 15th year, Locarno’s think tank StepIn will debate “Power, People, Data and the Future of Film.”
“Last year, StepIn focused on one of the defining qualities of independent cinema: the willingness to embrace
risk. One of the strongest conclusions from those discussions was that playing it safe is rarely the smartest strategy,” said Marcello Paolillo, Locarno Pro, StepIn and U30 Project Manager.
“After all, audiences fall in love with films because they’re original, surprising and emotionally truthful. Yet we are increasingly surrounded by algorithms, sophisticated data analysis, AI and systems designed to reduce uncertainty, predict outcomes and optimize decisions.”
The event will explore how power structures, human capital, politics, AI, data-driven decision-making and increasing industry consolidation are reshaping the future of independent cinema.
Approaching the subject from “four interconnected perspectives,” it will allow the participants to discuss the following topics: “Films vs. Formula: Algorithms, Consolidation and Creative Freedom,” “Sustainable Indie Financing: Connecting Private Investors with Sales Agents and Market Realities,” “Why Cinema Still Matters: Activism, Social Relevance and Audience Renewal” and “Gender Equality and the Cost of Inclusion: Who Can Afford to Build a Career in This Industry?”
“For many people, algorithms have become synonymous with the death of art. At the same time, there’s another perspective. Used intelligently, data can become a valuable tool rather than a creative constraint,” noted Paolillo. The same is true of AI.
“Whether we like it or not, it’s already impacting every stage of the filmmaking process, from development and financing to marketing and distribution. Ignoring it is no longer an option. StepIn wants to create a space where these questions can be discussed openly and honestly, acknowledging both the opportunities and the risks.”
The out-of-the-box introduction called “Fear, Lies, and the Illusion of Control” will be delivered by analyst Stephen Follows.
“For a century, this industry has bought tools that promise to control the inherent uncertainty in an arts-based business. This has included the use of stars, test screenings, tracking surveys, franchises, and now algorithms,” he told Variety.
“My thesis is that while most of them do work to some degree, (a) they don’t work nearly well enough; and (b) the industry uses them wrong. They test what they test and they produce real numbers. Sometimes those numbers even make things marginally better – or at the very least more defensible. The trouble starts with what we do next, because we mistake a marginal edge for control.”
He added: “Once you’ve bought a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail, and the questions the tools can answer begin to crowd out the questions that matter. I’m not saying the tools are bullshit – just that we use them wrong. They are expensive comfort, and the side effects often cost more than the edge is worth.”
Familiar IP and sequels “do shift the odds,” he noted, but “safe choices still fail all the time, and we never book those failures as risk.”
“We call it franchise fatigue or bad marketing, or star casting. Fame genuinely lifts returns, but the star captures most of that uplift in salary. The insurance mostly ends up in the star’s pocket, while the film underneath has become more expensive to save.”
Then there’s “the complete misuse and misunderstanding” of the frequently repeated line “nobody knows anything.”
“People quote Goldman as if it’s humility and use it as cover for not doing the work,” said Follows.
“Right now, there’s a booming trade in certainty. Every stage, every panel, every feed has someone selling the film industry a dream – that this tool, this model, this dataset will finally crack the code. And we are the perfect customers. A hundred years of terrible odds makes people desperate, and desperate people buy dreams.”
While the platforms “measure everything and share nothing” – “Netflix has redefined what a ‘view’ is four times and Apple has never published a single audience figure” – people ignore the algorithms that already decide what gets seen.
“On the big streaming services, under 6% of titles take around three-quarters of all viewing. The threat is not currently to creation but to discovery. And the one move the machine cannot make is a person with taste saying: ‘This one.’ That’s what festivals are. The counter-algorithm is a human being who gives a damn, and Locarno is full of them.”
The opening panel will feature distributor Andrea Occhipinti (Lucky Red), mk2’s Head of Production Yasmine Talli and Doris Ruth Eikhof, professor of cultural economy & policy at the University of Glasgow.
“What [Occhipinti] has built with Lucky Red over the past three decades speaks for itself, and the recent partnership between Lucky Red and Studiocanal makes his perspective on consolidation, independent cinema and the changing marketplace particularly timely,” noted Paolillo.
Yasmine Talli “has first-hand insight into how ambitious auteur cinema can continue to thrive in an increasingly challenging market,” while Doris Ruth Eikhof is “one of Europe’s leading experts on diversity and inclusion in the cultural economy.”
“Statistics about women in film remain discouraging: women are still less likely than men to hold influential positions and be celebrated for their work,” Eikhof told Variety.
“It’s important to keep looking at them, as they tell an important story and are powerful evidence, but just focusing on statistics creates an incentive to ‘just bring more women in.’ That’s a big mistake. We need to make sure that women can stay and succeed.”
Too often, people tend to take a “one size fits all” approach that dismantles some barriers to women’s opportunity and inclusion but leaves other barriers in place.
“We need to support production companies and small businesses to create the conditions in which women of different ages, religions, races and class backgrounds, disabled women, LGBTQ+ women or women with and without caring responsibilities can all do their best work. That’s not a job for statistics. That’s a job we need to do every day, in our workplaces,” said Eikhof.
The good news?
“It’s possible, we can do it one step at a time, not all of it costs money and it will benefit everybody, not ‘just’ women.”
Activism and political engagement will also be discussed, as “the world around us is once again creating a sense of urgency, and filmmakers are responding to it.”
“Many of the films that have generated the strongest public debate in recent years have done so not only because of their artistic qualities, but because of the social, political and ethical questions they raise,” noted Paolillo, mentioning the likes of “Parasite,” “The Zone of Interest,” “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” or“The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
“Interestingly, this has also revived an older debate: during this year’s Berlinale, remarks by Wim Wenders, followed in Cannes by comments by Paul Laverty and Park Chan-wook, brought back a question central to the cinema culture of the 1970s: whether films are, by their very nature, political.”
Wenders’ comments that filmmakers should “stay out of politics”were widely disputed.
“This is something we want to discuss within the broader question whether films are culturally and social relevant in an era shaped by social media, algorithm-driven platforms, fragmented audiences, and an overwhelming flow of images. Does cinema still matter as a cultural and social force? And what strategies can help expand and renew its audience, by finding new ways to engage people across generations?”
Overall, Paolillo remains optimistic about the future of film.
“I’ve been in this industry long enough to have heard people announce the death of independent cinema countless times. They’re always wrong. Every few years, a new generation of filmmakers, a new movement or a number of unexpected films remind us why cinema still matters,” he argued.
That being said, we are now living through a period of “profound transformation.”
“The economic model is changing, technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and power within the industry is becoming more and more concentrated. We shouldn’t ignore these challenges, but neither should we fear them.”
Paolillo added: “That’s ultimately what StepIn is about: bringing together people with very different perspectives, asking difficult questions, challenging assumptions, and collectively imagining what the next chapter of independent cinema could look like.”
“I’m genuinely curious to see where this year’s conversations will lead us.”
