Locarno’s 2023 Open Doors platform spotlights talent from Latin America and the Caribbean

Now in its 21st year, Locarno’s Open Doors development programme has long championed filmmaking from regions where independent cinema is especially challenged.

For the second year in a three-year cycle, Open Doors (August 3-8) continues its focus on filmmakers from underrepresented countries in Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua), the Caribbean islands (Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) and South America (Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela).

The programme began online in July, heading onsite in Switzerland during Locarno Pro Days (August 3-9).

At the heart of Open Doors lie four initiatives: the Projects’ Hub, a co-production platform for eight projects in development looking for international collaborations; the Producers’ Lab, a talent development programme for creative producers; the Open Doors Screenings, a selection of features and shorts from the region that have made a mark on the festival circuit; plus the Directors’ Club, a brand new talent development programme (see opposite).

Zsuzsi Bankuti, head of Open Doors, says this year’s programme is very much a continuation of the 2022 edition, which also focused on filmmakers from Latin America and the Caribbean and had ‘discovery’ as its theme. Many of this year’s participants are relatively experienced filmmakers whose projects are at quite an advanced stage. “We have selected people who can really bring their knowledge and experience back to their country and share with the next generation of filmmakers,” says Bankuti.

Open Doors — born as a joint project between Locarno Film Festival and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the government’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs — has always been about building bridges for collaboration across regions, countries and continents. It offers coaching, inspiration, group discussions, workshops, professional meetings and networking activities.

Bankuti stresses that Open Doors is not about trying to teach participants to make films in a European way. “We are trying to give them more options,” she says.

The overarching theme of this year’s programme is ‘identity’.

Participants — from the selected talents to the organisers and mentors — are being encouraged to explore their identities. It is about “how we feel in our skin, in this world and where we feel our identity comes from”, says Bankuti. She hopes the directors and producers taking part can express their identity freely in their work, reflecting how it has been shaped by their culture and their past. “It is about bringing interesting stories to the world,” she explains.

Open Doors is also focusing this year on mental health, in particular how to create healthy working environments during production, as well as inclusivity. For example, one of the participants in this year’s Producers’ Lab is hearing impaired and is being provided with support throughout the programme so she can participate in full.

Raising profile

Bankuti and deputy head of Open Doors Sarah Schiesser travelled to the region earlier this year to spread the word about the programme, holding events and workshops in collaboration with local organisations in Cuba, Jamaica, Bolivia, Guatemala and Peru.

Some 40 filmmakers are taking part in this year’s Open Doors programme. The Producers’ Lab hosts eight participants; in a region where the role of producing is often mainly equated with financing, the focus of the lab is on creative producing — how to work with a director to develop a script and create a supportive workplace.

The Projects’ Hub, meanwhile, has selected eight very different titles, including two animations, that are looking for financing from Europe. In each case, the director and producer have been invited to attend Locarno. Bankuti says identity is a notable theme for many of the projects. “A lot of them talk about colonisation and decolonisation, while others address female rights or LGBTQ+ rights.”

Another 18 filmmakers are taking part in the new Directors’ Club initiative.

The projects can also benefit from financial or in-kind awards, which are decided by a jury of industry professionals and announced on the last day of Open Doors (August 8). This includes the Open Doors grant, sponsored by visions sud est and the City of Bellinzona, which has a substantial prize of $56,000 (€51,000), the CNC prize worth $8,700 (€8,000), as well as the ARTE Kino International Prize worth $6,500 (€6,000).

Open Doors has also evolved to offer support across the year, through its digital initiatives. Online platform Open Doors ToolBox provides a year-round resource centre for filmmakers and producers from the current and previous regions of Open Doors. Registered partici­pants can also tap into information on development possibilities for their projects, for example, via international funds or development workshops.

For all of the participants, Open Doors is an immersive, educational experience, providing multiple opportunities to meet potential co-producers and experienced industry executives, and share experiences of filmmaking. “It’s a very intense programme,” says Bankuti. “And we give them homework.”