Locarno Open Doors: Winners Of Industry Sidebar Announced, African Continent Set At 2025 Focus

deadline.com:

Open Doors, Locarno Pro’s co-production and talent development program for artists from underrepresented communities worldwide, has announced its 2024 winners. Scroll down for the full list.

Eight projects in development were selected and made eligible for the three main cash prizes. The initiative’s biggest award for the Projects Hub, the Open Doors Grant with a total value of CHF 50,000 sponsored by visions sud est and the City of Bellinzona, was divided among four projects: Salvación by Ernesto Bautista (CHF 20,000), El único tiempo by Paz Encina (CHF 20,000), which also won the ARTEKino International Award (€ 6,000), La levedad de ella by Rosa María Rodriguez (CHF 5,000), and Huaco retrato by Fernando Luis Mendoza Salazar (CHF 5,000).

Elsewhere, Ovnis en el Trópico by Rob Mendoza scooped the CNC Development Grant endowed with € 8,000. The Projects Hub jury featured Lasse Skagen, Head of Programming Films at the South Festival, Cinéma Rémi, President of the ARTEKino Foundation, Sophie Loyrette Project Manager for Co-Production and International Cooperation at CNC, Meret Ruggle, Co-Director of trigon-film and Madeline Robert, Project Manager of visions sud est.

This morning’s award ceremony marked the end of a three-year focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. While speaking on Locarno’s Piazza Grande the night before, Patricia Danzi, Director General of Open Doors’ main partner, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), announced the program will focus on the African continent for the next four editions. “The African continent is a focus region for international cooperation of SDC and for the next four years we will continue to develop synergies