The newly promoted head of sales at London and Los Angeles-based Cornerstone Films talks about her love of Billy Wilder and why her favourite film festival is Toronto.
As the London-based head of sales at Cornerstone Films, Italy-born Carla Quarto di Palo has played a pivotal role in the growth of the company since it was launched by Alison Thompson and Mark Gooder in 2015, joining after stints at HanWay Films and Focus Features.
She attended AFM earlier this month with a slate that included Euros Lyn’s supernatural black comedy The Radleys, starring Damian Lewis, and BFI London Film Festival premiere Starve Acre, the second feature from Apostasy director Daniel Kokotajlo, headlined by Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark.
What is your office like?
We work some days from the office and some days from home. We have a lovely warm space in Bermondsey Street, London. When I work from home, I like to focus on contracting stuff; when we’re in the office, we talk about general strategies and planning.
Who do you look up to in the industry and why?
Alison [Thompson]. I started as a junior [at Focus Features] and she was heading the company. As I grew into my role, I started looking at friends in the industry who became successful and ran businesses on their own — generally women who have succeeded. For example, I have a client in Switzerland, Corinne [Rossi], who runs a distribution company there, Praesens.
What was your favourite film growing up?
The first film I saw in the cinema was E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial — my grandmother took me. Stories with fantastic elements appealed to me. Then growing up, in my adolescent years, I loved John Hughes movies, such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. My favourite, favourite filmmaker is Billy Wilder. I always say I’m in the film industry because of him.
What are you most proud of professionally?
I am proud of having seen this company being born and grow into what it is now. When we started, we were working out of Alison’s kitchen. I couldn’t have imagined where we are now, having films in the major festivals and the success we’ve had. We now have a team of 10.
What is the biggest professional mistake of your career?
It’s not a mistake but one regret is coming to the world of film later in my life, rather than in my early 20s. I was pursuing a career in music — I have a diploma in sound engineering and I wanted to produce music. I always wanted to work in cinema, but when I was studying, there were no university [opportunities] in Milan that were centred on cinema.
Which is your favourite film festival to visit?
Toronto — I love the people there, I love the audiences. It’s the most exciting festival to attend. It’s laidback and cool. I’m Italian, so obviously I love going to Venice as well.
What do you think film sales will look like five years from now?
I don’t think it will change massively. There are always challenges — we’ve been disrupted by Covid, we’ve had economic crises, wars, and now there are mergers of big companies and the [Hollywood] strikes. The industry is very good at adapting. I think the only thing that will change is new windows and new technologies bringing new opportunities. There’s probably going to be more production companies and sales companies merging — everyone is trying to merge to compete with the bigger players. The independents are being smart and want to continue their business [and face] the challenges, so in five years’ time there will be more mini-studios.
What new technologies do you see impacting the industry?
We now have a whole list of windows we’re exploiting in terms of where we license rights for our content — we’re watching movies in cinema, on TV, on our tablets and phones. What’s next? What is Apple or Google going to launch?
Who would play you in a film of your life, and who would direct?
I don’t think I look like any actress, but I very much like Saoirse Ronan — I saw her recently in Foe and loved it. As far as directing, there are two directors for two versions of my life — one directed by Cameron Crowe and one by Wes Anderson.
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