Locarno Film Festival Open Doors

Overview

Open Doors is the talent development and co-production platform of the Locarno Film Festival, launched in 2003 in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). The program supports filmmakers from regions where independent cinema is especially challenging, building bridges for collaboration across regions, countries, and continents.

For the 2025-2028 cycle, Open Doors is focused on 42 countries across the African continent. This four-year commitment follows a previous three-year cycle dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2026 edition (August 5-10, 2026) is the second year of the Africa focus.

Open Doors runs three main programs:

• Open Doors Projects: A co-production platform selecting 6 feature film projects in development, with preparatory coaching and meetings with potential international partners
• Open Doors Producers: A career workshop for 6 creative producers from the focus region, emphasizing collaborative networks and collective production models
• Open Doors Directors: A program for 5 directors whose short films are selected for the Open Doors Screenings, offering talks, workshops, and industry networking

The program takes place in two phases: online preparation between June and July, then onsite during the Locarno Film Festival and its industry arm, Locarno Pro, in August. At the end of the onsite program, a jury of industry professionals awards financial and in-kind prizes to the winning projects.

What It Covers

Open Doors provides a combination of cash grants, in-kind awards, training, and industry access:

Cash Awards

In-Kind Awards

Additional in-kind prizes are offered by partner organizations including:

• International Culture Center Tabakalera and San Sebastian Film Festival
• Sørfond (Norwegian South Film Fund)
• World Cinema Fund (Berlinale)
• Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)
• IFFR Pro (International Film Festival Rotterdam)
• Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur

Program Benefits

Beyond the competitive awards, all selected participants receive:

• Preparatory coaching: Script consultancy and pitch training before the festival
• Co-production meetings: Scheduled one-on-one meetings with European co-producers, distributors, and fund representatives
• Locarno Pro accreditation: Access to the festival's industry program, including screenings, talks, and networking events
• Travel and accommodation: Covered for selected filmmakers during the onsite program in Locarno
• Year-round support: Access to Open Doors Consultancy (online professional advice), Open Doors ToolBox (year-round networking platform), and Open Doors Regional Forum

Eligibility

Open Doors 2025-2028 is open to film professionals from 42 eligible countries across the African continent:

Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Program-Specific Requirements

Open Doors Projects (co-production platform):

• Filmmakers must be from one of the 42 eligible African countries
• Projects must be feature-length fiction or creative documentary films
• Projects must be in development or early production stage
• Filmmakers should have at least one prior completed work (a short film or feature)
• 6 projects are selected annually
• Applications require a project description, screenplay or treatment, director's statement, budget, and filmmaker CV

Open Doors Producers (career workshop):

• Open to creative producers from the 42 eligible countries
• Focus on building sustainable careers and cross-border networks
• 6 participants selected annually
• Emphasis on collaborative production models within the region

Open Doors Directors (networking program):

• Open to directors whose short films are selected for the Open Doors Screenings (part of the festival's official selection)
• 5 directors selected annually
• Provides access to talks, workshops, and industry networking

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through the Locarno Film Festival professional portal. The call for entries typically opens in early spring with a deadline in March or April for the August edition.

Application Requirements for Open Doors Projects

• Project description
• Screenplay or treatment
• Director's statement
• Production budget
• Filmmaker CV and filmography
• Proof of nationality or residency in an eligible country

Selection Timeline

Selected filmmakers are notified in advance of the public announcement. The online preparation phase begins in June or July, with coaching sessions and project development support before the onsite program in August.

What the Funding Actually Covers

The Open Doors Grant of CHF 50,000 (approximately $56,000 USD as of 2025) is one of the larger development grants available to filmmakers from developing regions. For context:

The CHF 50,000 grant can cover a meaningful portion of a feature film's development or early production budget. Independent feature films from African countries typically have budgets ranging from $50,000 to $500,000, depending on scope, locations, and production scale. The Open Doors Grant could cover 10 to 100 percent of a low-budget African feature's budget.

The additional prizes (CNC EUR 8,000, Arte Kino EUR 6,000, EAVE EUR 4,000) can stack with the main grant, meaning a single project could receive over CHF 70,000 in cash awards plus in-kind support from multiple partner organizations.

The industry access component may be equally valuable. The co-production meetings with European producers, distributors, and fund representatives can lead to co-production financing that exceeds the cash grant amounts. Many Open Doors alumni have gone on to secure European co-production deals, premiere at major festivals, and receive additional funding through connections made at Locarno.

Who Should Apply

Open Doors targets filmmakers from the 42 eligible African countries who have feature-length projects in development and are seeking European co-production partners and financing. The program is designed for filmmakers with some experience who are ready to take their projects to the international market.

The program is particularly valuable for:

• African directors and producers with a feature fiction or creative documentary project in development
• Filmmakers who have completed at least one short film or feature and are moving toward their next project
• Producers building cross-border networks and seeking co-production opportunities with European partners
• Filmmakers whose work spans fiction, documentary, and animation, as the program accepts projects across all three forms

Filmmakers from regions outside the current Africa focus should check the Open Doors website for information about past and future focus regions. The program's geographic focus changes every 3-4 years.

Program History

Open Doors was launched by the Locarno Film Festival in 2003, in partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). For over 20 years, the program has supported artists from underrepresented communities and regions where independent cinema faces structural challenges.

Previous focus regions have included:

• Southeast Asia
• Central Asia
• South Asia
• Middle East and North Africa
• Sub-Saharan Africa (previous cycles)
• Latin America and the Caribbean (2022-2024 cycle)

The 2025-2028 Africa focus represents the program's second engagement with the African continent. The first edition of the Africa focus (2025, the 23rd edition of Open Doors overall) selected 6 projects from countries including DR Congo, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Zimbabwe.

The 2026 edition (24th edition) selected 6 projects from countries including Ghana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Open Doors Producers program selected 6 participants from 6 different countries, and the Open Doors Directors program selected 5 directors whose short films screen as part of the festival's official selection.

Common Confusions

Open Doors is not a general film fund. The program is specifically a co-production lab and talent development initiative tied to the Locarno Film Festival. It is not an open-call grant that filmmakers can apply to and receive funding without attending the festival. Selected filmmakers must participate in the online preparation phase and the onsite program in Locarno in August.

The geographic focus changes every 3-4 years. For 2025-2028, the focus is on 42 African countries. Filmmakers from Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, or other previous focus regions are not eligible during the current cycle. The program will announce its next focus region before the current cycle ends.

The Open Doors Grant is awarded to projects, not filmmakers. The CHF 50,000 grant goes to the selected project, not to the filmmaker as an unrestricted award. The grant is intended for development and production expenses related to the project.

Travel and accommodation are covered for selected filmmakers. Unlike some festival programs that expect participants to cover their own costs, Open Doors covers travel and accommodation for selected filmmakers during the onsite program in Locarno.

The three Open Doors programs have separate application processes. Open Doors Projects (for projects in development), Open Doors Producers (for career development), and Open Doors Directors (for directors with short films in the festival's official selection) are distinct programs with different eligibility criteria and application requirements.

See Also

For understanding international co-production, see International Film Markets. To plan your feature film budget, use the Production Budget Calculator. For other international funding opportunities, browse the full Film Scholarships Directory.