After a decisive year as a Film Craft juror at Cannes Lions and moderator at the APCP’s XIII Conference, Eva shares with us reflections on the profession, the sector, and the future to come.
To speak of Eva de Lera is to traverse two decades of a career built with effort, from the rigor of production to the sensitivity of someone who understands this profession as a way of looking at the world. Her trajectory has not only passed through some of the country’s most influential production companies: she has inhabited them, driven them, and, in many cases, transformed them. Her name is linked to campaigns that have traveled to the most prestigious festivals on the planet —Cannes Lions, where she won a Grand Prix, D&AD, Clio Awards, One Show, El Sol, or El Ojo de Iberoamérica— and to cinematographic pieces that have found recognition at the Goya Awards, the Málaga Festival, the BAFTAs, or the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
In 2025, her role as a Film Craft juror at Cannes Lions confirmed what the sector already knew: that Eva has a precise, honest, and deeply committed view of the profession. A perspective that continues to guide her work at the head of Lobo Kane, where she combines experience, intuition, and a very personal way of understanding craft and talent nurturing. The APCP approaches Eva today to learn more about this perspective, her year, and what it means to continue building the industry from passion.
On Cannes Lions and her role as a Juror
This year you were part of the Film Craft jury at Cannes Lions, one of the spaces where technical excellence is most valued. What surprised you the most about seeing the category “from the inside”?
I was very curious to see what was being done around the world at such a changing time as the one we are living through. I was pleasantly surprised to see that many brands continue to bet on good stories, beyond exercises in technical excellence with large budgets, which do exist, but there is also a continued commitment to small stories very well told.
Evaluating campaigns from all over the world must be an intense exercise. Is there any lesson or reflection you take with you after living that experience?
I felt that countries like Thailand or Mexico are doing braver things than in Europe, for example.
From your perspective as an executive producer, what do you think the current craft lacks or has too much of to continue growing?
Perhaps… confidence in our talent. We have to continue evoking emotions, laughter, joy, surprise… that is what distinguishes one brand from another. If we get carried away by trends, it will ultimately be impossible for a brand to have its own personality.
On her trajectory
Is there something, from your executive producer’s perspective, that you always observe first when analyzing a piece of craft?
Of course. Like many colleagues, I am a lover of cinema and reading; therefore, I particularly like narrative and acting. I don’t know if it was coincidence or deliberate, but I mostly had to judge the casting and editing categories, so I couldn’t feel more comfortable.
Would you say your way of looking at the work of others has changed after going through Cannes Lions?
I believe that seeing so many good and different things always contributes to you and inspires you. And, perhaps, it also makes you more demanding with your own work and with that of others.
On her participation in the XIII APCP Commercial Film Workshop
At the last APCP Conference, you moderated one of the panels. From the inside, what feeling did you take away from this edition?
I truly enjoyed everything a lot. Being able to share that wonderful documentary “The Last Copy of Ilon Specht” with more people in the sector, which I precisely discovered as a Cannes Juror, was particularly exciting for me. Furthermore, the fact that women like Lucía Angulo (McCann) and Patricia Muñoz Caballero (L’Oréal) signed up to tell how everything was conceived from within, and that they confirmed the great results the campaign obtained, should be inspiring at the very least.
What topics do you think should continue to be part of the debate within the sector in the coming years?
Good question. I think there should always be a panel to talk about international success stories like Ilon’s. In the end, looking outward opens our minds a little more.
How important do you think it is for spaces like the Conferences to continue focusing on production and craft?
Necessary, very necessary. I think you are doing it very well, with great enthusiasm, and that shows. You have managed to make the Production Conferences a benchmark forum for the entire sector.
Year review and looking to the future
If you had to define your professional 2025 with one word, what would it be and why?
Reflection. For me, it has been a year of observing the change we are experiencing and thinking about how I want to adapt to it.
What has been the most challenging and the most rewarding thing about the year for you as a producer?
Being aware of the moment and accepting it as an opportunity.
What do you think set the pace for the sector in 2025? What lessons does this year leave us with?
That life is change and we have to adapt.
On a personal level, is there any piece, project, or moment that you especially cherish from these last twelve months?
On a personal level, I have had time to write and start some more personal projects, such as a script about a female character. In advertising, I have a special fondness for a project we filmed for the Reina Sofía Foundation with Borja Larrondo.
You always talk about vocation, respect, and professionalism. How are these values translated into daily life when the sector is experiencing such demanding times?
Personally, I don’t know any other way to work than by taking those three values as a reference. Since we spend so much of our lives working, let’s do it with care and with the peace of mind of always being able to walk with our heads held high.
And looking ahead to 2026… is there any non-superstitious wish you dare to share?
I am really looking forward to you getting to know my new project.
