Locarno Open Doors Awards African Projects, First Look Honors Uruguayan Films

Africa's projects take the top Open Doors prizes

The Locarno Film Festival's Open Doors industry strand, in its second year of a four-year cycle focused on 42 African countries, named Ugandan Talemwa Pius's absurdist political allegory "A Vineyard for a Lobster" and Somali filmmaker Mohammed Sheikh's social thriller "Accept My Plea for Burial" as co-winners of the strand's two main cash prizes. Each project received 20,000 Swiss Francs (approximately $24,000) from the Visions Sud Est–sponsored purse, with Aseye Fiagbe's Ghanaian music documentary "Too Much Music" taking the remaining 10,000 CHF (about $12,000) of the 50,000 CHF ($61,000) total. Some 25 participants attached to six projects convened at Locarno for six days of mentoring and networking.

Sponsor-backed awards reach further African titles

Mozambique's Ique Langa won the CNC Development Grant worth €8,000 (about $9,200) for fantasy romance "Chapa 100," while Tanzanian director Neema Ngelime's feminist drama "The Ones With the Tempered Flowers" collected two prizes: the ARTEKino International Award worth €6,000 (about $6,900) and a Sørfond Award that will see the project pitched in Oslo in November. Partners including IFFR Pro, Tabakalera, the San Sebastián Film Festival, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and Sørfond distributed additional awards, alongside new prizes sponsored by EAVE with the Film Fund Luxembourg and African Film Press.

First Look showcase backs Uruguayan work-in-progress

The First Look work-in-progress showcase, dedicated this year to Uruguayan films, awarded Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo's "Spring Story" (Historia de primavera) the Bright Side of the Moon First Look Award, which includes complete color-grading services, plus the Le Film Français Award worth €5,600 in advertising space. Lorenzo Tocco's "The Surubí," produced by Montelona and co-produced by Brazil's Kocria, swept three prizes: the La Mayor Cine Award for sound post-production, the Music Library & SFX/Acorde Award valued at €45,000 in music supervision services, and the Jannuzzi Smith Award covering international poster design worth €10,000.

Alliance 4 Development caps the Locarno Pro slate

In the Alliance 4 Development co-development track linking producers from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, Florian Hoffmann's "Yazz," produced by tellfilm Switzerland, NiKo Film (Germany) and Eaux Vives Productions (France), received the NEBEL Studios Award, estimated at CHF 30,500 for three days of studio use and five days of camera equipment. A further Alliance 4 Development honor, the Studio13/Valais prize, was also awarded, rounding out the Locarno Pro slate alongside separate First Look and Open Doors ceremonies.

Award structure ties financing to continued development

The Open Doors and Locarno Pro prizes mix cash, in-kind services, and pitch-forum access, a structure designed to move projects from development toward financing. The Sørfond Award secured for "The Ones With the Tempered Flowers," for example, guarantees entry into Sørfond's November pitching event in Oslo, while the music supervision and sound post-production packages attached to "The Surubí" and the color-grading award for "Spring Story" offset significant post-production costs for their Uruguayan producers.

What remains to be seen

Open Doors and First Look serve as industry feeders rather than competition strands, so the projects named here will now seek completion financing, co-production partners, and festival berths elsewhere. Ngelime's "The Ones With the Tempered Flowers" has a defined next step in Sørfond's Oslo pitching event in November, providing a near-term checkpoint for one of the awarded titles.