Why Telling Everyone's Stories Can Make Movies Better

Kamala Avila-Salmon is on a mission. She believes that movies should tell stories that include everyone, not just a few. She thinks this isn't just good for society, but also good for business. Avila-Salmon has spent years working in different parts of the entertainment industry. She has seen how stories are made, sold, and shared with audiences. Her journey started in the music industry. She learned how culture and influence work together. She saw how talent is found, developed, and shared with the world. When the music industry changed with digital technology, she became interested in how businesses adapt. This led her to business school, where she reconnected with her love for storytelling. After business school, she moved to Los Angeles to work in Hollywood. She worked in marketing and publicity, which gave her a unique perspective on how the industry decides what stories are universal. She noticed that movies about certain groups are often seen as only for those groups. But she believes this is not true by nature, but by habit. Avila-Salmon later worked in television marketing and tech, which expanded her understanding of how distribution affects power. She believes that changing who makes decisions about what we see can change the stories we get to watch. She worked at Lionsgate as Head of Inclusive Content, where she made sure every script and project was considered through the lens of inclusion. She argues that inclusion is not just a moral issue, but also a creative and financial one. She points out that a large percentage of frequent moviegoers are from diverse backgrounds. After Lionsgate, she started her own production company. She focuses on stories that intersect culture and commerce, aiming for reach, scale, and broad entertainment value. Her first produced thriller, "The Gates, " is expected in 2026. She believes that commercial genres like horror, thriller, and rom-com can be the invitation to inclusion. She acknowledges that some people see values-led storytelling as a bad thing, but she believes stories are always how humans learn to be more human. Avila-Salmon's career shows that inclusion is not competing with blockbuster ambition. It is fueling it. She invites us to imagine a more accurate and expansive definition of universality. One that reflects who audiences are and have always been. Inclusive stories are not a niche lane. They are the future of blockbusters.