Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique Shines at the 2026 Locarno Open Doors Award

The Locarno Open Doors programme ended with notable successes for African filmmakers. A total of CHF 50,000 ($62,000), sponsored by Visions Sud Est (with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation), the City of Bellinzona, and the Open Doors initiative, was awarded to three African titles and filmmakers. 

The initiative’s main award for the Open Doors Projects, the Open Doors Grant, with a total value of CHF 50,000 sponsored by Visions Sud Est and the City of Bellinzona, was divided among three projects: Ugandan Talemwa Pius’ A Vineyard For A Lobster, produced by Emmanuel Gashumba (Gripmagic Uganda), received a grant of CHF 20,000($24,800), Mohammed Sheikh’s Accept My Plea for Burial, produced by Kadir Harbi (Aleel Films) from Somalia and Djibouti received CHF 20,000 ($24,800) grant, and Ghanaian Aseye Fiagbe’s Too Much Music, produced by Aseye Fiagbe (Aseye Fiagbe Creative Studio) received CHF10,000 ($12,400). 

Ique Langa’s Chapa 100, produced by Lara Sousa (Kulunga Filmes) from Mozambique, won the CNC Development Grant. The CNC development prize supports project development and is worth €8,000 ($9,200). Neema Ngelime’s The Ones with the Tempered Flowers, produced by Ivy Kiru (LBx Africa), won two awards: the ARTEKino International Award, worth €6,000, and the Sørfond Award, which grants the project participation in the Sørfond pitching event in Norway this November. 

Mamounata Nikiema (Pilumpiku Production), from Burkina Faso, won the EAVE Award. Together with the Film Fund Luxembourg, professional training organisation EAVE will offer a scholarship for the EAVE Marketing Workshop worth €4,000 ($4,600). Nigerian Ugochukwu Azuya’s I Live in V.I, produced by Olubunmi Ogunsola won the Tabakalera-San Sebastian Film Festival Residency Award. The prize consists of a residency in Tabakalera and participation in the industry activities of the San Sebastian Film Festival, in collaboration with the International Culture Center Tabakalera and San Sebastian Film Festival.

In collaboration with IFFR Pro, a participant from the Open Doors Producers programme will have the chance to take part in the Rotterdam Lab training workshop in January 2027, together with a delegation of more than 70 emerging international producers. Ivory Coast’s Adja Mariam Mahre Soro (Studio KÄ) is the winner. 

The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) consultancy prize is given to one selected feature film or series project directed by a national of an OIF Member State within the French-speaking Global South, and produced or co-produced by a production company based in one of those same Member States. Angola’s Pocas Pascoal’s Sarah is the winner. 

Mozambique’s Ariel Añez’s Submergido, produced by Joseph Mata and co-produced by Ariel Añez (Maochas Filmes), won the African Film Press (AFP) Critics Prize. Presented by African Film Press (AFP) LLC, a cross-regional publishing alliance covering the African film, television, and digital media markets. The AFP Critics Prize comprises a $500 cash award, a certificate, and ongoing editorial coverage of the recipient and their future work across AFP’s three founding publications: Akoroko, Sinema Focus, and What Kept Me Up. The AFP jury 2026 consisted of Kelvin Kariuki (Kenya), Vivian Nwajiaku (Nigeria), and Jeffrey Ini-Abasi (Nigeria). 

Open Doors, Locarno’s co-production platform and talent development program for filmmakers from equity-seeking communities and regions where artistic expression is at risk, has announced its 2026 winners. In 2026, Open Doors entered its second year of a four-edition cycle dedicated to 42 countries in Africa.