Locarno 2025 Industry: Canadian Projects, African Voices, and European Co-Productions Take Key Awards

The 2025 edition of Locarno Pro, the Locarno Film Festival’s industry platform, concluded with a strong slate of award-winning projects that reaffirm the festival’s commitment to championing diverse voices, cross-border collaboration, and the next generation of international cinema.

In the First Look section, which this year focused on Canadian cinema through a partnership with Telefilm Canada, Geneviève Dulude-De Celles’ Nina Roza emerged as the standout project. The drama, a five-country co-production, received both the Urban Post First Look Award, providing up to CHF 50,000 in post-production services, and the Jannuzzi Smith Award, worth €10,000 for international poster design. It was praised by the jury for its evocative use of music, intimate performances, and emotionally resonant themes of identity and belonging.

Two additional Canadian projects were also awarded: Bryce Hodgson’s Thanks to the Hard Work of the Elephants secured the Music Library & SFX/Acorde Award (€45,000 in music supervision services), while Nick Butler’s Lunar Sway received both the Cineground Award (CHF 15,000 in image finishing) and the Le Film Français Award (€5,600 in media promotion).

The inaugural Spanish Previews spotlight saw Adrià Guxens’ Lóngquán: The Dragon Spring win the Antaviana Award, offering €10,000 in post-production services. The project blends folklore and ecological awareness, reflecting the section’s ambition to elevate fresh, boundary-pushing Spanish works.

Within Alliance 4 Development (A4D), a European co-development initiative supporting collaborative projects across Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, the Swiss production Chocolat amer (Dark Chocolate) by Valentin Merz was honored with the Masé Studio Award (CHF 3,000 cash prize), while Goran Rebić’s Im Verborgenen (In the Hidden) received the Masé Studio Post-Production Award (CHF 25,000). Jenna Hasse’s Neige (Snow) was granted a Special Post-Production Award.

A breakout of the A4D strand was Simon Maria Kubiena’s Das Blühen einer Chimäre (The Flowering of a Chimera) (Austria), which received both the Alphapanda Market Breakout Award and the MIDPOINT Consulting Award. The project was lauded for its unflinching exploration of violence and emotional healing, signaling Kubiena as a director to watch.

Among other notable recognitions, Anne Zinn-Justin’s Najma et Salomé (France) received the DreamAgo Script Consultancy Residency, while Solastalgia by Yosr Gasmi and Mauro Mazzocchi (Italy/Tunisia) earned the Ticino Film Commission Residence Award, reflecting the growing intersection between ecological awareness and intimate storytelling in contemporary development projects.

The Locarno Heritage Restoration Contest awarded its third edition prize to Letter From My Village (1975) by pioneering Senegalese director Safi Faye, represented by Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst. The restoration, conducted by Cinegrell, ensures that Faye’s landmark debut will return to screens in 2026, marking the 50th anniversary of its release.

Meanwhile, Open Doors, Locarno’s long-running initiative supporting underrepresented filmmakers from the Global South, awarded its CHF 50,000 Open Doors Grant to three powerful projects from Africa: Black Snake (Zimbabwe), Kachifo (Till the Morning Comes) (Nigeria), and Journal intime d'une femme chèvre (Ivory Coast/Burkina Faso). Kachifo by Dika Ofoma emerged as a multi-award winner, collecting the ARTEKino International Award and the Sørfond Award, while Les Bilokos (DR Congo/France) received the CNC Development Grant for its compelling documentary vision.

The Open Doors Producers program also saw significant support for Rwandan producer Yannick Mizero Kabano, who took home the Tabakalera-San Sebastian Residency, the Open Doors–OIF–ACP–EU Award, and recognition for his company, Imitana Productions. Angolan producer Kamy Lara was likewise honored with both the Rotterdam Lab Award and the World Cinema Fund Audience Strategy Award, underlining Open Doors’ mission to nurture not just projects but sustainable creative ecosystems.

Locarno Pro 2025 Industry Awards

First Look – Canada Focus

Urban Post First Look Award: Nina Roza by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles (Canada/Italy/Belgium/Bulgaria)

Jannuzzi Smith Award: Nina Roza

Music Library & SFX/Acorde Award: Thanks to the Hard Work of the Elephants by Bryce Hodgson (Canada)

Cineground Award & Le Film Français Award: Lunar Sway by Nick Butler (Canada)

Spanish Previews: Antaviana Spanish Previews Award: Lóngquán: The Dragon Spring by Adrià Guxens (Spain)

Alliance 4 Development

Masé Studio Award: Chocolat amer by Valentin Merz (Switzerland)

Masé Studio Post-Production Award: Im Verborgenen by Goran Rebić (Austria/Luxembourg)

Special Post-Production Award: Neige by Jenna Hasse (Switzerland)

Alphapanda Market Breakout Award & MIDPOINT Consulting Award: Das Blühen einer Chimäre by Simon Maria Kubiena (Austria)

DreamAgo Script Consultancy Residency: Najma et Salomé by Anne Zinn-Justin (France)

Ticino Film Commission Residence Award: Solastalgia by Yosr Gasmi & Mauro Mazzocchi (Italy/Tunisia)

Locarno Heritage Restoration Contest: Letter From My Village by Safi Faye (Senegal, 1975)

Open Doors

Open Doors Grant: Black Snake by Naishe Nyamubaya (Zimbabwe) – CHF 25,000

Kachifo (Till the Morning Comes) by Dika Ofoma (Nigeria) – CHF 20,000

Journal intime d'une femme chèvre by Azata Soro (Ivory Coast/Burkina Faso) – CHF 5,000

ARTEKino International Award: Kachifo – €6,000

Sørfond Award: Kachifo

CNC Development Grant: Les Bilokos by Erickey Bahati (DR Congo/France)

Open Doors Producers

Tabakalera–San Sebastian Residency: Yannick Mizero Kabano (Rwanda)

Open Doors–OIF–ACP–EU Award: Yannick Mizero Kabano

MECAS Award: June Wairegi (Kenya)

Rotterdam Lab Award & World Cinema Fund Audience Strategy Award: Kamy Lara (Angola)