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The prize list was announced today for the international coproduction platform Open Doors Hub and the producer training workshop Open Doors Lab at the 74th Locarno Film Festival.
This year sees the Locarno Pro initiative Open Doors wrap up its three-year focus (2019-2021) on South-East Asia (Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines) and Mongolia. During the Open Doors days for professionals, on the Festival’s international platform were presented nine creative producers (Lab) and eight full-length features seeking international partners (Hub), all from territories in the focus region.
The winners’ names were announced at today’s awards ceremony. Tonight in Piazza Grande, the next three-year focus will be announced, revealing the world region to which Open Doors’ new cycle will be dedicated. Collaborations with the current region will continue until the end of this year.
The Open Doors jury awarded the following prizes to projects in the Open Doors Hub, with the aim of fostering their development and production:
Open Doors Grant: a prize offered by the Swiss production support fund visions sud est (backed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, SDC) together with the City of Bellinzona.
Production support (CHF 35,000) to:
A Useful Ghost
by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
produced by Cattleya Paosrijaroen and Soros Sukhum, 185 Films Co.
Thailand
Development support (CHF 15,000) to:
Sam
by E del Mundo
Produced by Pamela Reyes, Create Cinema
Philippines
Development support (CHF 10,000) to:
Our Son
by Luhki Herwanayogi
produced by Iqbal Hamdan, Catchlight Pictures
Indonesia
Development support (CHF 10,000) to:
The Beer Girl In Yangon
by Sein Lyan Tun
produced by John Badalu, PS Film Production
Myanmar/Philippines/Indonesia
Development grant CNC – Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (€ 8,000) to:
The Beer Girl In Yangon
by Sein Lyan Tun
produced by John Badalu, PS Film Production
Myanmar/Philippines/Indonesia
ARTE Kino International Prize (€ 6,000) to:
9 Temples To Heaven
by Sompot Chidgasornpongse
produced by Kissada Kamyoung, Kick the Machine Films
Thailand
Open Doors – Sørfond Award: a prize to participate in the Pitching from the South platform of the Norwegian fund Sørfond to:
Sam
by E del Mundo
Produced by Pamela Reyes, Create Cinema
Philippines
Open Doors – FAI Producers’ Grant
The Open Doors – FAI Producers’ Grant was launched in 2021 with the contribution of Fondation Assistance Internationale FAI and aims to be a concrete incentive to the development and promotion of the international career of one or more producers selected for the Open Doors Lab. The prize consists in a grant to participate in international programs and the guidance of a career coach.
First prize
11.500 CHF scholarship, 3.500 for personal career coaching
Xuan Trang Nguyen Thi
Lagi Limited,
Vietnam
Second prize
3.500 CHF scholarship, 1.500 for personal career coaching
Ines Sothea,
Freelance producer,
Cambodia
Open Doors - Rotterdam Lab Award: one of the Lab participants is offered the opportunity to take part in the training workshop Rotterdam Lab 2022, together with a delegation of emerging producers on the international scene, in collaboration with IFFR Pro:
Benji Lim,
Kinovisuals
Malaysia
Open Doors - Moulin d’Andé-CECI Prize – a writing residency offered to an emerging director of full-length features who took part in Open Doors 2019 (Hub, Lab o Screenings), enabling them to continue working on writing and development of their project:
Bat-Amgalan Lkhagvajav, for his feature film project Butcher, Mongolia
Organized from the outset jointly with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), the Open Doors sidebar is designed to assist and spotlight directors and their films from independent cinemas in the Global South and East. Open Doors also contributes to the diversity of the international filmmaking scene, offering space and visibility to diversified perspectives and debates.
Open Doors is organized by Locarno Pro as part of the Locarno Film Festival and enjoys support from and collaborations with numerous European and international organizations: ACE Producers, EAVE, Festival Scope Pro, Produire au Sud - Festival des Trois Continents, ACM (Arts Council of Mongolia) and Ulaanbaatar International Film Festival, Autumn Meeting (Vietnam), AFiS Busan Asian Film School, Cambodia Film Commission, Film Development Council of the Philippines, Kinosaurus Jakarta, LNWC Lao New Wave Cinema, MEMORY! International Film Heritage Festival, SEAFIC, Yangon Film School.
Open Doors Hub and Lab took place 2021 in a hybrid mode: online from the end of July and on-site during the Locarno Film Festival from 6 to 10 August. The Open Doors Screenings continue throughout the Festival.