Wednesday, 02.08.2017 – Saturday, 12.08.2017
Cultural event; Public event
The 70th 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.
Location: Locarno
This year the 15th edition of Open Doors is taking place from 2 to 8 August. Open Doors focuses periodically on a different region in the world where opportunities for film-makers and culture promotion are particularly limited. In 2016–2018 eight South Asian countries are in the spotlight: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Locarno Film Festival has chosen eight projects from South Asia for the Open Doors Hub. The film-makers and producers will have 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 Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has invited a number of promising young producers and film-makers who want to work in an international environment. 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.
The Open Doors jury will make three awards to the Open Doors Hub film projects. 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 supported 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.
