Carte Blanche to focus on Israel

Locarno has announced that the fifth edition of Carte Blanche will focus on Israel.

The festival’s initiative dedicated to films in post-production will select five-seven projects from the territory, in partnership with the Israeli Film Fund, whose producers will be invited to attend the festival to present their work to industry professionals in order to facilitate their completion and distribution.

Previous editions have focused on Colombia, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.

Nadia Dresti, delegate to the artistic direction and head of international at Locarno, commented: “From the success Eran Riklis had on the Piazza Grande with The Syrian Bride, The Human Resources Manager and Dancing Arabs, to the revelation of Nadav Lapid’s talent with the short film Kvish (2006) and then Hashoter selected for the 2010 Concorso internazionale, the relationship forged between the Festival del film Locarno and Israeli cinema has proved increasingly productive.

“With the next edition, and the collaboration with the Israel Film Fund, this connection will be further strengthened through Carte Blanche, which highlights current production and all that it indicates for the future.”

The Israeli Film Fund will accept applications from films in post-production until May 1, with the films selected by the festival to be announced in July.