Locarno Open Doors 2024 Winners Announced, Focus Shifts to African Cinema

14 August 2024 | Source
The 2024 Locarno Film Festival's Open Doors program has announced its winners, with eight projects receiving awards. The initiative, aimed at supporting filmmakers from underrepresented communities, will shift its focus to the African continent for the next four years. Key awards include the CHF 50,000 Open Doors Grant shared among four projects, and other significant prizes highlighting the global reach of this Swiss program.

The 2024 edition of Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors program concluded with the announcement of its award winners, marking a pivotal moment for the initiative as it prepares to shift its focus to the African continent for the next four years. Open Doors, an essential part of Locarno Pro, is dedicated to supporting filmmakers from underrepresented communities across the globe.

This year, the program awarded eight projects in development through its Projects Hub, a co-production platform that serves as a launchpad for emerging film talents. The most prestigious of these, the Open Doors Grant, totaling CHF 50,000, was divided among four outstanding projects. “Salvación” by Ernesto Bautista and “El único tiempo” by Paz Encina both received CHF 20,000 each. Additionally, “La levedad de ella” by Rosa María Rodriguez and “Huaco retrato” by Fernando Luis Mendoza Salazar were awarded CHF 5,000 each.

“El único tiempo” by Paz Encina further garnered the ARTEKino International Award, worth € 6,000, in recognition of its delicate exploration of exile and the longing for the return of the disappeared. Another notable project, “Ovnis en el Trópico” by Rob Mendoza, received the CNC Development Grant of € 8,000.

Beyond these key awards, several other prizes were distributed among the participants, recognizing diverse talents and promising projects across the three program strands: the Projects Hub, Producers Lab, and Directors Club.

The jury for the Projects Hub, comprising international industry experts including Lasse Skagen from Films from the South and Rémi Burah from ARTE France Cinéma, praised the winning projects for their artistic innovation, thematic depth, and their potential to resonate globally.

The award ceremony, held on August 13, 2024, signified the conclusion of Open Doors' three-year focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. In a significant announcement, Patricia Danzi, Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), revealed that the program will now concentrate on the African continent until 2028. Danzi emphasized the importance of arts and culture as catalysts for social change, noting that the upcoming focus on Africa aligns with SDC’s broader goals of fostering international cooperation and societal progress.

Zsuzsi Bánkuti, Head of Open Doors, expressed excitement about the transition, highlighting the program’s ambition to build a connected network between Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. This strategic shift aims to deepen collaborations and ensure that the valuable connections established over the past years are maintained and expanded.

Further details regarding the new African focus are expected to be released later this autumn, as Open Doors prepares to embark on this next chapter.

The Open Doors Screenings, featuring films from this year’s focus region, will continue through August 17, with a special CHF 2,000 award from the Junior Jury for the Short Film that best captures the theme “Environment is quality of life.”

Winners Open Doors 2024:

Open Doors Grant (CHF 50,000 total):

  • "Salvación" / Ernesto Bautista / El Salvador, Mexico / CHF 20,000
  • "El único tiempo" / Paz Encina / Paraguay, Mexico, Germany / CHF 20,000
  • "La levedad de ella" / Rosa María Rodriguez / Cuba, Mexico, Colombia / CHF 5,000
  • "Huaco retrato" / Fernando Luis Mendoza Salazar / Peru / CHF 5,000

CNC Development Grant (€ 8,000):

  • "Ovnis en el Trópico" / Rob Mendoza / Ecuador

ARTEKino International Award (€ 6,000):

  • "El único tiempo" / Paz Encina / Paraguay, Mexico, Germany

Additional Partner Awards:

  • Sørfond Award: "El único tiempo" / Paz Encina
  • Tabakalera-San Sebastian Film Festival Residency Award: Luis Flores Alvarenga / Honduras
  • Open Doors – BR Lab Award: "Salvación" / Ernesto Bautista
  • Open Doors - Moulin d’Andé-CECI Award: Rob Mendoza
  • Rotterdam Lab Award: Yamila Marrero / Cuba
  • World Cinema Fund Audience Strategy Award: "Huaco retrato" / Fernando Luis Mendoza Salazar
  • OIF – ACP – EU Award: "Un funeral para Lola" / Iván de Lara / Dominican Republic

Launched in 2003, the Open Doors initiative has been instrumental in championing cinema from regions where filmmaking is often a challenge, offering a range of programs for training, networking, and public engagement, both during the Locarno Film Festival and throughout the year.

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