Locarno Pro program ties industry ‘earthquakes’ to major media consolidation, as Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal reshapes dealmaking

The Locarno Pro industry strand at the Locarno Film Festival is framing this year’s programming around the upheaval caused by major studio and streaming transactions, as market consolidation continues to alter how films are financed and distributed worldwide. In comments reported by The Hollywood Reporter on Aug. 4, Markus Duffner, director of Locarno Pro, said there are “some earthquakes that are shaking up the infrastructure of the global industry,” and connected that broader theme to the festival’s industry agenda.

The remarks come as the festival’s industry programming intersects with a high-profile transaction in global media. The Hollywood Reporter tied Locarno Pro’s thematic approach to the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery mega-deal, describing it as a major factor in how the industry is reorganizing itself. The story characterizes the deal as part of the wider “infrastructure” shifts that festival industry programming is now addressing.

While the Locarno Pro comments focus on structural change rather than a specific single moment, the festival’s industry strand is indicating that dealmaking pressures are filtering down to event programming and professional networking. Duffner’s framing suggests that the Locarno Pro agenda is designed to help participants understand what consolidation means for output, licensing strategies, and the practical steps producers, buyers, and rights holders may need to take as companies redraw organizational priorities.

Industry-strand programming at major European festivals typically combines market discussions with professional sessions aimed at helping buyers and sellers align on expectations. In that context, The Hollywood Reporter report positions Locarno Pro’s theme as an effort to reflect how the business is changing in real time, including the uncertainty created when mergers and restructuring affect commissioning decisions, distribution pipelines, and the terms under which content is packaged.

The Hollywood Reporter’s account does not list every session topic or specific company commitments tied to the Paramount-WBD transaction in the same way a full festival program would. Instead, it uses the “earthquakes” metaphor to describe how the business environment is shifting, and it anchors that description in Duffner’s assessment of global industry conditions.

For festival participants and rights holders, the practical effect of consolidation can be felt through who is making decisions, what budgets are available, and how quickly catalog or slate strategies translate into acquisitions. Locarno Pro’s industry programming, as presented in the Aug. 4 report, appears designed to make those consequences part of professional conversations rather than leaving them as background context for attendees.

The Locarno Film Festival runs on its own calendar of screenings and industry events, while the business backdrop is unfolding across larger corporate timelines. With The Hollywood Reporter’s report linking Locarno Pro’s theme to current mega-deal activity, attendees are likely to encounter an agenda that treats consolidation as an immediate constraint and an immediate topic for negotiation and planning.

As the industry continues to absorb the consequences of large-scale media transactions, festival industry events such as Locarno Pro are increasingly positioned as places where professionals compare notes on shifting deal dynamics, rights strategies, and financing assumptions. The Hollywood Reporter’s report indicates Locarno Pro is making that shift explicit in its messaging for the current year, using Duffner’s comments to frame the industry’s moment as one defined by structural reorganization.