The 69th Locarno International Film Festival is taking place this August. The SDC is supporting the festival's Open Doors section which promotes film-makers from the South and East and helps with the production and distribution of independent feature films.
This year the 14th edition of Open Doors is taking place from 4 to 9 August. Open Doors focuses periodically on a different region in the world where opportunities for film-makers and culture promotion are particularly limited. Eight South Asian countries have been selected for the next three years: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Locarno Film Festival has chosen eight projects and eight film producers from South Asia for the Open Doors Hub, which will give the participants the opportunity this August to take part in professional workshops and showcase their work to European and international partners.
This year's Open Doors Lab highlighting Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal has invited a number of promising young producers and film-makers who are looking to work globally. They will have the opportunity to take part in a training programme to learn about the international market and what it has to offer, and to develop their professional skills.
Different awards
The Open Doors jury will make three awards to the Open Doors Hub film projects. Supported by the SDC, the CHF 50,000 Open Doors Grant will be awarded together with the City of Bellinzona and the Swiss fund Visions Sud Est, which is also co-funded by the SDC. The Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) will award a prize worth EUR 8,000. ARTE will also present an award worth EUR 6,000.
Visitors to the festival can watch a selection of films from the focus region during the Open Doors Screenings. These films exemplify film-making from the countries taking part in Open Doors.
