The 15th edition of Locarno Pro’s industry conference featured a panel discussion examining the relationship between power, people, and data in the film sector. Moderated by AC Coppers of The Catalysts, the discussion brought together three industry figures with differing viewpoints on how to prioritize and understand these interconnected concepts.
Doris Ruth Eikhof, CEO of Design Otherwise, advocated for addressing power structures and narrative frameworks before considering people, arguing that establishing these foundations creates space for broader prosperity. Andrea Occhipinti, president of Lucky Red, prioritized people first, followed by power, then data as a tool. Yasmine Talli, acquisitions manager at mk2 Films, proposed that people gather data to maintain power, suggesting a sequential relationship between the three concepts.
The panelists discussed how their respective organizations balance instinct and conviction against data-driven decision-making when selecting projects. Occhipinti emphasized that Lucky Red relies primarily on intuition, sensitivity, and experience rather than algorithms, citing films like Ida and Moonlight as examples where conviction overrode negative data predictions. However, he noted that the company does monitor community responses as a form of feedback data.
Talli described mk2’s approach as incorporating both emotional and analytical components. The process includes evaluating a director’s festival history, assessing the creative team and cast, and comparing projects to recent releases in terms of market positioning rather than narrative similarity. She stressed that acquisition decisions involve multiple stakeholders, including a pool of readers and acquisitions team members, making the process collaborative rather than individual.
The session was part of the 2026 StepIn kick-off event, which also featured a presentation by film industry data analyst Stephen Follows addressing topics such as the prevalence of connected industry figures among top-grossing films and profitability rates for independent productions.
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