Who is choosing the movies now: The audience or the algorithm? The film industry is coming to the table in Locarno

A film's meeting with the audience is no longer decided solely by producers, distributors, and festival programmers. Systems that measure viewing history, data models that classify user behaviors, and algorithms trying to predict which story will 'perform' are also part of the invisible decision-making table in the industry.

The 79th Locarno Film Festival, starting on August 5, will address this change not just through films but also through the way the industry operates. The professional section of the festival, Locarno Pro, will discuss the tension between artificial intelligence, algorithmic decisions, corporate mergers, financing, and creative freedom with industry representatives from August 5 to 11.

There is one central question in the program: Who is in charge of cinema?

This year's Locarno Pro StepIn meetings are organized under the title “Power, People, Data.” One of the most striking sessions in the program is titled “Films vs. Formula: Algorithms, Consolidation and Creative Freedom.”

The question directly posed by the festival management in its own promotion is clear... What happens when algorithms decide which films we will watch?

Bringing together around 2,000 international industry professionals, Locarno Pro will not only address this question through audience recommendations. The impact of data systems on which projects will be developed, which films will be purchased, which markets they will be shown in, and which will gain visibility will be discussed.

Algorithms do more than just prepare watchlists

On streaming platforms, algorithms are often associated with the recommendations shown to users. However, the system's impact on the industry is broader than just the film rankings on the homepage.

Data such as how many minutes viewers watch a production, at which scene they exit, which actors they gravitate towards, and which genres they consume in succession can be used in various decisions, from the development of new productions to marketing campaigns.

One of the focal points of the discussion in Locarno will be whether data is beginning to replace creative intuition. When a director's intended story conflicts with the formula deemed watchable by the platform, who ultimately has the final say is now one of the fundamental issues of independent cinema. The Locarno Pro program particularly highlights that algorithms and artificial intelligence are increasingly influencing creative decision-making processes.

Artificial intelligence is transforming from a production tool to a decision-maker

The debate around artificial intelligence in recent years has largely revolved around screenwriting, image production, voice cloning, and digital actors. However, Locarno Pro does not limit the issue to the question “Can a film be produced with artificial intelligence?”

The main concern is that technology is shifting from being a tool used in the production process to becoming a system that decides which projects will find commercial success. Since artificial intelligence models are based on past successes, they may push aside innovative or local stories that are hard to measure while highlighting previously tried genres and familiar narrative patterns.

This risk is particularly greater for independent cinema. How an algorithmic evaluation will accommodate a film that does not rely on big brands, star actors, or historical data collected from millions of users is among the questions that the meetings in Locarno will seek to answer.

Corporate mergers are reducing options

Another major topic on Locarno's agenda is the consolidation in the media industry. The concentration of studios, streaming platforms, sales companies, and distribution networks under fewer companies does not just change company names.

As the number of buyers facing independent producers decreases, the same company can simultaneously decide on a film's financing, distribution, promotion, and visibility on the platform. Locarno Pro will discuss the impact of global platforms on local markets and how independent cinema can maintain its creative autonomy within this structure.

Therefore, the issue of creative freedom is not limited to censorship or content intervention. A film not being financed at all, not being purchased, or becoming invisible in the depths of the algorithm are also among the new forms of control in this era.

The search for funding for independent cinema is also on the table

Alongside technology criticism, Locarno Pro is also addressing alternative funding models. Sessions will be organized for attracting private investors to cinema, public-private partnerships, international co-productions, and sources outside traditional funds.

The Locarno Investment Community, which will be held for the second time, will also bring private investors together with European independent cinema. The festival management sees new funding models as not just a preference but a necessity for the survival of independent films.

The issues to be discussed in Locarno over several days are therefore not just whether artificial intelligence can produce films. There is a more fundamental question: Will people decide which stories are worth telling, which films will reach the audience, and how the future of cinema will be shaped, or will systems that derive safe formulas from past data?

The danger facing cinema is not that algorithms suggest bad films. The real danger is that the algorithm preemptively decides why a different film that has not yet been made should not exist.