If You Don’t Have a Why, You Don’t Have a Business

This article originally appeared on my Substack page: https://alexiamelocchi.substack.com/p/if-you-dont-have-a-why-you-dont-have

As we approach the first major film festival and market of 2026 — Berlinale — our inbox is once again flooded.

Laundry lists of pitches.
Impersonal announcements.
Links to scripts and decks were emailed over as if we were browsing a digital supermarket.

No context for why these films are even on sale or represented.

And it makes me wonder if the Sales Agents are living in a disconnected bubble these days.

When we were sales agents in the 1990s at our company, Axelia International Pictures — and later buyers on behalf of major theatrical distributors — the independent film sales business operated very differently.

It was built on passion, belief, and authentic salesmanship.

The great visionaries of our time — Mark Damon, Mario Kassar, Andy Vajna, Arnold Kopelson, Dino De Laurentiis, Mike Medavoy — were not simply producers or heads of companies. They were architects of meaning.

They stood behind every film they picked up.
They knew the story so well they could sell it without notes.
They were rule breakers, relationship builders, and master raconteurs.

And the buyers mattered.

They were respected.
They were seen as partners in shaping the future of a film—not just a checkbox on a market schedule.

The goal was never just to close a deal.
It was to build something that worked — creatively, commercially, and culturally.

Today, too often, I walk into sales offices during markets, and the person across from me can’t articulate why a film exists, who it’s for, or why it should matter beyond a sales grid.

What happened?

The industry has slowly turned into a flea market, not a world of trailblazers and game changers.
Deals are devoid of vision.
Ten-minute sit-downs with no personal interaction are designed to survive the market, not to serve the film or the buyer’s longevity.

There is no longer a WHY driving much of international distribution.

Will markets become obsolete faster than we predicted? Probably.

As for us, we still hold on to ours.

We champion stories.
We champion filmmakers with a point of view.
But most of all, we champion distributors and producers — because when they do well, the ecosystem survives.

And while we still can, we choose to use our longevity, pattern recognition, and forecasting capabilities to help ensure there will be an industry left—one where people can work, create, and thrive, not just survive market cycles.

Because here’s the truth — in film, publishing, and business at large:

The only capital worth nurturing is not a laundry list of projects that often go nowhere, but relationships.

If you don’t have a WHY, you don’t have a business.

---

Watch the Conversation

If this resonates, I recently went deeper into these themes as a guest on Deborah Kobylt Live and the Little Italy Podcast.

We discuss:

• The current state of the film and publishing industries
• Why transactional thinking is failing creators and companies alike
• How we are redefining our next WHY through curated publishing and long-term IP strategy
• And what it will take to rebuild trust, leadership, and creative vision in this business

If you care about where the industry is going — not just where it’s been — I invite you to watch the interviews and join the conversation.

Haven’t found your Why? We work with a small number of creators, producers, and partners who are building a long-term vision — not chasing short-term market validation.

You can also follow my Substack newsletter here: https://alexiamelocchi.substack.com/