The Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors initiative, run by Locarno Pro, has announced its new African-focused cycle, unveiling six in-development film projects and six rising producers for its 23rd edition. After a three-year focus on Latin America and the Caribbean, Open Doors now spotlights emerging African talent, offering training, mentorship, and networking opportunities during Locarno Pro from 7–12 August 2025 in Switzerland.
The selected projects for the co-production programme include:
- Les Bilokos (Bilokos) – a documentary from the DRC by director Erickey Bahati and producer Giresse Kassonga (Gikas Films).
- Journal Intime d’une Femme-Chèvre (Diary of a Goat Woman) – a documentary-animation hybrid from Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso by Azata Soro and Nameita Lica Toure (TSK Films).
- The Fortunate – a dark comedy from Ethiopia by Habtamu Gebrehiwot and Nahusenay Dereje (MTF Multimedia).
- Kachifo (Till The Morning Comes) – a romantic reincarnation tale from Nigeria by Dika Ofoma and Blessing Uzzi (Bluhouse Studios).
- Lutteurs (Fighters) – a Senegalese family drama set in traditional wrestling by Alassane Sy and Jules Dieng (Thiely Films).
- Black Snake – a Zimbabwean supernatural mystery by Naishe Nyamubaya and Sue-Ellen Chitunya (263 Reels Productions).
Kamy Lara (Angola), Moustapha Sawadogo (Burkina Faso), Leul Shoaferaw (Ethiopia), June Wairegi (Kenya), Yannick Mizero Kabano (Rwanda), and Kudakwashe Miss Maradzika (Zimbabwe) were also selected for the Open Doors Producers programme, which supports early-career creative producers.
Yanis Gaye, the new Head of Studies, said the initiative “empowers talents to shape the tools, strategies, and community they need.” Head of Open Doors, Zsuzsi Bánkuti, added, “This new cycle reaffirms our commitment to supporting filmmakers facing challenges to artistic freedom.”
The programme concludes on 12 August with awards for selected projects granted by an international jury.
