Two Africans Selected for Inaugural Open Doors Connect Programme 

Two Africans are among the selected participants for the inaugural Open Doors Connect Programme, a new initiative by Open Doors, the talent development wing of the Locarno Film Festival. Open Doors recently unveiled the participants and mentors for the programme, which is designed to equip producers, particularly independent filmmakers, with insights into international film markets. Through customized mentoring, structured networking opportunities, and exclusive market access, the initiative aims to strengthen participants’ capacity to navigate the global film industry.

Through a collaboration between the Locarno Film Festival and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation,  Open Doors Connect aims to strengthen independent filmmaking and cinema in areas where production is fraught with challenges. To improve access to resources for participants, the Open Doors Connect allows foundations, film institutions, and organizations to step in as financial sponsors. Each participating sponsor will support one filmmaker participating in the program. 

For this inaugural edition, four participants and sponsors have been selected, among them two African Beneficiaries; Candy Radifera, from Madagascar and Frédy Agblo from Benin. The other two beneficiaries are Talita Arruda who represents Brazil (South America), and Nomintuya Baasankhuu who represents Mongolia (Asia). 

Candy Radifera, who will be supported by the Wyss Academy for Nature, is the recipient of a CHF 20,000 production fund for her documentary, The Crab Diagonal. Radifera is an indie Mdagascan film professional with interests in finance distribution for independent cinema. For her forthcoming documentary project, The Crab Diagonal, she received a financial grant upon being selected for Locarno’s Open Doors Connect. It is backed by a CHF 20,000 (~$22,500 USD) production fund provided directly by the Wyss Academy for Nature, an organization concerned with how human well-being, environmental preservation, and nature conservation can coexist sustainably. 

Frédy Agblo from Benin, is an emerging film producer and director. A trainee of international workshops such as Durban Film Mart, Durban Business Lab, Ouaga film Lab, Rencontres Francophones de Coproduction de Genève, among others. He is enthusiastic about providing leverage for young African authors. Sponsored in this inaugural cohort by the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), his executive production slate features highly anticipated works, such as Félicien M. Assogba’s fiction film Agoodjie, Gabonese director Amédée Pacôme Nkoulou’s La Fresque des Oubliés, and Ivorian director Olivia Yao’s documentary Entre trois Eaux. 

The other two non Africans, Talita Arruda, from Brazil and Nomintuya Baasankhuu from Mongolia, are supported by Projeto Paradiso and Film Nomad, respectively. The programme will begin with virtual trainings between June and July and then transition to the onsite sessions in August  in order to pitch projects and build international co-production networks.