photo: © Samuel Golay / Locarno Film Festival

The Open Doors Grant, totalling CHF 50,000, co-financed by the Swiss film production fund Visions Sud Est – with the backing of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) – and the City of Bellinzona, goes to Autobiography by Makbul Mubarak (Indonesia/Singapore).

the prizewinners of the international coproduction platform Open Doors Hub and the producers training workshop Open Doors Lab of the 72nd edition of the Locarno Film Festival.

Open Doors, the Locarno Pro initiative, has seen the beginning of a new three-year cycle (2019-2021) focusing on South-East Asia (Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines) and Mongolia, using the international platform of Locarno to present nine proactive producers from the region in focus (Lab), alongside eight full-length features seeking international partners (Hub). Today, during the awards ceremony at Spazio Cinema, the prizewinners were announced.

Open Doors Hub

The Open Doors jury awarded the following prizes to Open Doors Hub projects, with the aim of fostering their further development and production:

• Open Doors Grant: this Open Doors award is financed by the Swiss production support fund Visions Sud Est (backed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, SDC) and by the City of Bellinzona.
  • Production support (CHF 50,000) to: AUTOBIOGRAPHY by Makbul Mubarak, Indonesia/Singapore
     
• Development grant CNC – Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (€ 8,000) to:
  • GLORIOUS ASHES (Tro Tan Ruc Ro) by Chuyen Bui Thac, Vietnam/France
     
• ARTE Kino International Prize (€ 6,000) to:
  • CU LI NEVER CRIES by Pham Ngoc Lan, Vietnam/Philippines/France
     
• Open Doors – Sørfond Award: the Norwegian film fund Sørfond awarded one Hub project the opportunity to attend its forthcoming Pitching from the South event:
  • CU LI NEVER CRIES by Pham Ngoc Lan, Vietnam/Philippines/France

Open Doors Lab

• Open Doors – Rotterdam Lab Award: a participant in the Open Doors Lab will have the opportunity to take part in the Rotterdam Lab 2020 training workshop, together with a delegation of producers engaged on the international scene, in collaboration with IFFR Pro:
  • Quynh Anh Le, Hanoi Doclab, Vietnam
     
• Open Doors – Moulin d’Andé-CECI Award: a screenwriting residency for an emerging director of full-length films who has participated in Open Doors 2019 (Hub, Lab or Screenings), enabling further writing and development of their project:
  • Duong Thi Dieu Linh, filmmaker, Vietnam

Working in collaboration since its inception with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Open Doors aims to support and showcase directors and independent filmmaking in countries in the Global South and East. In addition, Open Doors contributes to the diversity of the international cinema scene by providing a forum for multiform perspectives and debates.

Open Doors is organized by the Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro initiative and enjoys support and active collaboration from numerous European and international organizations: ACE Producers, EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs), EURODOC, Festival Scope, LIM/Groupe Ouest, Produire au Sud/Festival des Trois Continents, TorinoFilmLab, SEAFIC (South-East Asia Fiction Film Lab), AFiS Busan Asian Film School, ACM (Arts Council of Mongolia) and Ulaanbaatar International Film Festival, Autumn Meeting (Vietnam), the Cambodia Film Commission and Bophana Center, Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival (Indonesia), MEMORY! International Film Heritage Festival (Myanmar), QCinema and Film Development Council of the Philippines, PAUSE (Laos).

The Open Doors Hub and Lab were held during the Locarno Film Festival from August 8-13. The Open Doors Screenings continue throughout the Festival.