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Following a three-year cycle dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean, the program now turns its attention to Africa* for the upcoming four editions, offering a platform for emerging voices through its Projects, Producers, and Directors programs. Open Doors provides comprehensive training, mentoring, and networking opportunities, alongside public screenings and events during Locarno Pro (August 7 to 12, 2025).
Six projects in development have been selected to participate in the co-production platform, Open Doors Projects. They are the Congolese veteran documentary Les Bilokos (Bilokos) directed by Erickey Bahati and produced by Giresse Kassonga for Gikas Films; documentary-animation hybrid Journal Intime d’une Femme-Chèvre (Diary of a Goat Woman), a co-production between Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso, represented by director Azata Soro and producer Nameita Lica Toure (Les Studios Indigo); Ethiopian The Fortunate, a dark comedy by director Habtamu Gebrehiwot and producer Nahusenay Dereje (MTF Multimedia); Nigerian reincarnation romance Kachifo (Till The Morning Comes) by Dika Ofoma (director) and Blessing Uzzi (producer, Bluhouse Studios); Lutteurs (Fighters), a Senegalese wrestling family drama by director Alassane Sy and producer Jules Dieng (Thiely Films); and Zimbabwean supernatural mystery Black Snake by director Naishe Nyamubaya and producer Sue-Ellen Chitunya (263 Reels Productions).
The Open Doors Producers program, a career-building initiative for creative producers, places a strong emphasis on fostering collaborative networks and reinforcing collective production models within the region. This year, six participants representing six different countries have been selected: Kamy Lara (Angola), Moustapha Sawadogo (Burkina Faso), Leul Shoaferaw (Ethiopia), June Wairegi (Kenya), Yannick Mizero Kabano (Rwanda), and Kudakwashe Miss Maradzika (Zimbabwe).
An overview of all Open Doors Projects and Open Doors Producers can be found here.
Yanis Gaye, the new Head of Studies at Open Doors states: “The inception of the new cycle of Open Doors is an exciting marker of the role African film industries will play within the global independent film landscape in years to come. The platform designed by our passionate artistic team is a space where talents will be empowered to continue to shape the instruments, strategies, and community these filmmakers need to see their projects and careers blossom. With our program, we aim to strengthen both the creative vision and business acumen necessary to navigate selective markets while maintaining distinctive narrative voices. Participants will acquire the frameworks to develop their production companies into sustainable creative enterprises, while exploring ways to foster more equitable international co-production partnerships.”
Zsuzsi Bánkuti, Head of Open Doors, adds: “As we enter a new cycle focused on the African continent, Open Doors reaffirms its commitment to supporting filmmakers working in contexts where artistic freedom is often challenged. We are excited to welcome a strong slate of predominantly first and second-time filmmakers whose inventive approaches and formal experimentation signal a bold evolution in global cinematic storytelling. The range of perspectives represented is striking — each project brings a distinct voice that challenges narrative conventions. We aim to contribute to a stronger regional and international film ecosystem by supporting a generation of filmmakers whose diverse ideas and ways of working foster a more sustainable and collaborative film community.”
Awards
On Tuesday, August 12, a panel of professional jury members will grant financial and in-kind awards to the selected winning projects. They include the Open Doors Grant of CHF 50,000 sponsored by visions sud est and the City of Bellinzona; the CNC Development Prize worth EUR 8,000; and the Arte Kino International Prize of EUR 6,000. Additional in-kind prizes are offered by the International Culture Center Tabakalera and San Sebastian Film Festival, Sørfond, World Cinema Fund, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), IFFR Pro, and the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur.
Open Doors Directors
The directors of the short films selected for the Open Doors Screenings as part of the Festival’s official selection will gather in Open Doors Directors, giving them access to a range of talks, workshops and networking opportunities. The Open Doors Screenings will be announced together with the official selection of the Locarno Film Festival on 8 July 2025.
* Following the guidelines of Open Doors’ main partner, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), film professionals from 42 countries were eligible to apply.
The Open Doors initiative was launched by the Locarno Film Festival in 2003, in subsequent collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). For more than 20 years, Open Doors’ mission has been to support artists from underrepresented communities around the world, and from countries in which cinema and art as a form of expression are at risk. Its aim is to help foster sustainable industry practices and film environments in the regions in question.
Offering a multi-faceted space for nurturing film talents, it has developed an array of programs for training, learning and networking for film professionals, as well as public screenings and events - during the Locarno Film Festival and online.