Locarno StepIn 2026 puts AI, data and indie film power on the table

Locarno StepIn 2026 is setting its sights on the machines, money and power plays now pressing on independent cinema, with the 15th edition of the think tank built around the theme “Power, People, Data and the Future of Film.”

Marcello Paolillo, Locarno Pro, StepIn and U30 project manager, said last year’s discussions centered on risk in independent cinema and left organizers with a sharp takeaway: caution is rarely the smartest move. He said audiences connect with films because they feel original, surprising and emotionally honest, even as the business leans harder on algorithms, AI and data tools meant to cut uncertainty.

What is Locarno StepIn 2026 about?

StepIn is Locarno’s industry think tank, now in its 15th year, where film professionals discuss the pressures shaping the business. This year’s program will look at how power structures, human talent, politics, AI, data-led decisions and consolidation are affecting the future of independent film.

The event will approach the subject through four areas: algorithms and creative freedom, indie financing, cinema’s social role and gender equality in film careers. Paolillo said StepIn is designed as a place to discuss both the opportunities and risks of AI, which he said is already affecting development, financing, marketing and distribution.

Analyst Stephen Follows will open the event with an introduction titled “Fear, Lies, and the Illusion of Control.” In comments to Variety, Follows said the film industry has spent a century buying tools that claim to reduce uncertainty, from stars and test screenings to franchises and algorithms.

Follows argued that those tools can help, but not enough to justify treating them as control systems. He said the danger comes when the industry mistakes a small advantage for certainty and lets the questions those tools can answer push aside more important creative questions.

He also pointed to the power of streaming platforms over discovery. According to Follows, major streaming services see less than 6% of titles account for about three-quarters of viewing. He said the threat is currently less about what gets made and more about what gets seen, with festivals acting as a human counterweight to automated recommendation systems.

The opening panel will include Andrea Occhipinti of Lucky Red, Yasmine Talli, head of production at mk2, and Doris Ruth Eikhof, professor of cultural economy and policy at the University of Glasgow.

Paolillo said Occhipinti’s experience at Lucky Red, including its recent partnership with Studiocanal, makes his view of consolidation and the changing market timely. He said Talli brings experience with auteur cinema in a difficult market, while Eikhof is a leading European voice on diversity and inclusion in the cultural economy.

Eikhof told Variety that statistics on women in film remain discouraging, with women still less likely than men to hold powerful jobs or receive recognition. She said counting women is useful evidence, but the industry also has to build workplaces where women from different ages, religions, races, class backgrounds, disability statuses, sexual orientations and caregiving situations can remain and succeed.

StepIn will also address activism and political engagement in film. Paolillo cited recent public debates around titles including “Parasite,” “The Zone of Interest,” “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners” and “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” saying many films have drawn attention because of the social, political and ethical questions they raise.

He also referred to recent comments by Wim Wenders at the Berlinale, followed by remarks from Paul Laverty and Park Chan-wook in Cannes, as part of a renewed debate over whether films are political by nature. Wenders’ call for filmmakers to stay out of politics was widely contested.

Paolillo said he remains optimistic about independent cinema, despite a period of major change in business models, technology and industry power. He said StepIn’s purpose is to bring people with different views together to ask difficult questions about what comes next.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.