From 8-13 August, Locarno Pro will once again welcome film professionals from all over the world during the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (7-17 August). This year, the Swiss gathering is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its industry sidebar.

“We're ready to address the most pressing issues of an industry with rapid and profound transformations at its doorstep,” says Markus Duffner, Head of Locarno Pro, in the official press release.

(El artículo continúa más abajo - Inf. publicitaria)

This year's talks and discussions “are designed to inspire, inform, and engage.” Key events include a masterclass by Romania’s Radu Jude; “an engaging exploration of AI’s transformative role in the film industry” with media and entertainment lawyer Kelsey Farish; the StepIn Opening Keynote courtesy of Katie Ellen (HanWay Films), Ada Solomon (Hi Film Productions & microFILM), and Alex Walton (WME Independent), a panel to discover new private and alternative financing models for independent films in Europe; a deep-dive into MUBI’s success story led by CEO Efe Cakarel; and a session dedicated to Eurimages’ brand-new support scheme for Marketing & Audience Development Support.

As always, Locarno will host the StepIn and U30 think tanks, which will be open to select participants. Through several roundtables and discussions, the professionals in attendance “will take a deep dive into topics such as artificial intelligence, the current challenges of independent film financing, production and distribution, as well as gender equality and diversity representation.”

Locarno Pro will host its match-making and networking programmes: MatchMe!, an informal networking platform for emerging producers; Alliance 4 Development, a co-development platform for film projects from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland; and the Open Doors Projects Hub and Producers Lab for projects and producers from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, the Locarno Industry Academy (7-14 August) will celebrate its 10th anniversary. The initiative helps 10 select professionals “along their production way, from development to distribution, making sure the films of tomorrow get a boost.” To find out more, click here.

The festival will host dedicated industry and press screenings along with Open Door Screenings, First Look screening and Swiss Films previews.

First Look is a work-in-progress section showcasing six features in the post-production stage. The Open Doors Screenings champion features and shorts from the focus region, currently Latin America and the Caribbean, bringing a wide delegation of talents to Locarno. The directors of these films will take part in the talent development programme Open Doors Directors Club. Finally, Swiss Films will present five promising domestic features to international film professionals. Each project will be presented with a pitch and a Q&A session.

On 12 August, Locarno Pro will dedicate its Heritage Monday to the classics. For the second year in a row, a panel discussion on the state of heritage film distribution, case studies and presentations of brand-new restored films, as well as industry screenings of classics will be the core of this day. Among them are the screenings of newly restored titles such as Alberto Cavalcanti’s 1954 Mulher de Verdade and Idrissa Ouédraogo’s 1992 Silver Bear winner Samba Traoré.