HanWay Films’ Head of Production Katie Ellen, microfilm producer Ada Solomon and Co-Head of WME Independent Alex Walton will address the audience during Locarno’s StepIn opening keynote.
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According to this year’s theme “The Ground Is Shaking,” they will take on four topics: A.I., current challenges in independent production and financing, the traditional theatrical model and gender equality and diversity representation.
Following the panel, a select group of industry players will take part in four closed roundtable discussions, each focusing on one of the topics, later sharing their findings with others during a wrap-up session.
“We are all facing challenges in our different areas and there are always periods of change. I’m old enough to have seen previous cycles and during these moments, there are always opportunities [too]. We shouldn’t be panicking,” said Alex Walton.
“StepIn is a great opportunity to listen and to hear about the challenges others are facing, and to build avenues that can help us push through this current period in the shifting media landscape.”
“The world is shaking and it’s not only our sector. It’s the climate, politics and human relations. Everything is at stake,” noted Solomon, praising the interactive side of the event.
“I always prefer conversations to monologues and I think debates are more useful than lectures. It gives me energy and new ideas,” she said.
“I believe we should stay awake and curious, especially in my field of expertise: arthouse cinema. It’s a time when we should question the formulas. We want to master the answers but we forget that sometimes, it’s more important to ask the right questions. I believe that a bit of humble uncertainty, as well as challenging well-paved roads, can be beneficial for everybody: for the filmmakers and for the business.”
“For this opening keynote, we wanted speakers that, for their experience, background and history, can introduce and summarize all these topics. I look forward to the conversation between them,” Marcello Paolillo, StepIn & U30 project manager, told Variety .
“Over the years, StepIn has become an international think-tank where renowned film executives get together to discuss what works and what doesn’t in our industry. With this year’s provocative title, ‘The Ground Is Shaking,’ we wanted to address that sense of instability perceived in all the different branches of our industry.”
This year’s participants include Guillaume Esmiol, executive director at Cannes’ Marché du Film, producer and film analyst Ted Hope, Eurimages’ Executive Director Susan Newman Baudais, European Film Academy CEO and Director Matthijs Wouter Knol, as well as EFA’s Diversity & Inclusion Officer Fatih Abay, Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle, Unifrance’s Executive Director Daniela Elstner, Netflix’s Wolf Osthaus, Paramount Pictures’ Sejin Croninger, A24’s Joe Fragrassi and U.S. producer Stacey Sher, who will be also awarded with Raimondo Rezzonico Award at the fest.
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According to Paolillo, it’s “undeniable” that every sector of the film industry is showing signs of distress.
“Whether it’s the consequence of simultaneous shocks caused by the rise of streaming platforms, a global pandemic, wars, worldwide recession and a strike that stalled the industry for months, or it’s just the anticipation of a larger upheaval due to the looming threat of A.I. still remains to be seen. But it will be something to discuss together.”
A full-day event that takes place on the first day of Locarno Pro, StepIn is supposed to anticipate the tone of the market and ignite conversations that continue in the following days.
“The core of the event is the closed-door roundtable session in the afternoon: a protected space where film executives can interact, share options, even disagree, but in the end tackle some of the most pressing issues we all have to contend with,” noted Paolillo.
“It’s something that wouldn’t be possible in Cannes or Berlin, simply because at those markets everyone is so caught up in the day-to-day business. It would be impossible to ask film executives to take a full day off to dedicate it to the future of our business and how we can improve our working environment. But in Locarno, for one day, they can afford this luxury. Given the feedback we receive year after year, they seem to truly enjoy it.”
The event will focus on A.I. also during Kelsey Farish’s “Scripting New Realities: The Role and Risks of AI. in Modern Filmmaking” panel. Farish, a media and entertainment lawyer with expertise in generative A.I., will address the legal, business and ethical challenges posed by A.I. – as well as its benefits.
“It has become a tradition to kick off our event with an ‘out-of-the box introduction.’ It’s a way to shake up our common ground and reconsider assumptions we too often take for granted,” explained Paolillo.
“AI – and generative AI – is the big elephant in the room, arguably the most disruptive force meant to radically change our industry in the upcoming years. And while it can undoubtedly bring some great advantages in terms of cost and time savings, give access to incredible tools and open up the door to new professions, it also raises many concerns and questions which are at once creative, ethical, legal and economical.”
Solomon added: “I see AI as a fantastic tool that we need to learn how to use. Once you learn how to ‘tame’ it, it can do miracles. But it will never be able to replace human creativity. I am sure of it.”
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