Francesca Palleschi: Last News

Marta Balaga All genres are welcome at Locarno’s co-development initiative Alliance 4 Development this year, from “dramas to dark comedies and thrillers,” says project manager Francesca Palleschi. But 11 projects from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland do share some recurring themes. “Identity, history’s enduring legacy, environmental concerns, family ties, the sense of belonging and displacement, societal dynamics.

Marta Balaga Alliance 4 Development – a co-development initiative for film projects from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland hosted by Locarno Pro – is ready to embrace a “variety of genres, themes and visions,” says project manager Francesca Palleschi. Among 11 titles selected for its 8th edition, emerging filmmakers will be featured alongside their more established colleagues.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent “Prince Aden,” a new drama by Italian directing duo Gianluca and Massimiliano De Serio, known internationally for their immigration-themed “Seven Acts of Mercy,” is among projects selected by Locarno’s Alliance for Development initiative. The platform, now in its 8th year, is geared towards fostering co-productions between France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Inspired by the book “Partigiani d’Oltremare,” by Italian historian Matteo Petracci, the De Serio twins’ new colonial-era film follows the vicissitudes of a 16-year-old Somali named Aden Sicré who in 1935 becomes a soldier in the Italian army that invaded Ethiopia on Mussolini’s orders. In an unexpected turn, he becomes hailed as a war hero by the Fascist regime. Then a few years later Aden and other African fighters play a pivotal role in the partisan struggle against fascism in Europe.

EXCLUSIVE: Italy’s key film and TV market MIA (Mercato Internazionale dell’Audiovisivo) is returning in 2022 with a new director in the shape of Gaia Tridente.

Will Thorne Staff WriterAt this year’s edition of Locarno’s Alliance 4 Development, both the future of the selected nine projects, and the co-production market as a whole, will be on the table.The Locarno Film Festival program, which facilitates international co-production for projects from France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, skipped a year due to COVID-19, but is back stronger than ever.“We received more than 70 submissions from the four countries,” says program manager Francesca Palleschi.