This story first appeared in the June 2017 issue of BoxOffice magazine. To subscribe to the magazine click here.

Name: Laura Fumagalli
Company: Arcadia
Title: Marketing & Events Manager
Country: Italy

“Since Arcadia is the family business, I have been involved in the exhibition industry ever since I was born,” says Laura Fumagalli, the circuit’s marketing and events manager. It’s no wonder then that Fumagalli’s undergraduate thesis focused on the exhibition industries in the United States and Europe, part of an education that included stints at different exhibition circuits in the United States and Italy.

“The greatest reward to everyday efforts and sacrifices for me is feeling the genuine appreciation and excitement of our raving patrons in the Energy theater,” citing the audience’s excitement after a screening or a trailer as one of the most memorable assets of her job. “Over the years, I’ve always preferred ‘the behind-the-scenes, hands-on approach,’” she confesses, a byproduct of a humble personality that she exhibits and appreciates in others. “The vis-à-vis direct communication with our patrons being such an important part of the whole cinema experience.”

In terms of professional mentors, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. “My greatest mentor is my father. He has instilled to me the love and passion for the cinema business and has taught me to keep always looking forward.” A cinephile herself, Fumagalli also includes the filmmakers who make the magic of the movies possible as sources of personal influence. “On a wider cinema basis, I’d say that a great source of inspiration to me are directors, technical crews, producers, anyone who has a genuine passion and is a ‘humble perfectionist’ about the art of making film and showing a unique theatrical presentation to audiences,” she says—listing filmmakers such as James Cameron, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, and Quentin Tarantino as examples.

“For many years the cinema industry has been mainly a male driven industry,” admits Fumagalli, noting it’s prevalent in both distribution and exhibition. She does, however, notice a gradual increase in the number of women coming up in the industry in recent years. “I think it is inevitable that more and more women will to be in executive positions in the years ahead of us.”