Locarno Pro is home to the Swiss festival’s industry programmes aimed at arthouse film professionals.
It is designed to encourage rising talents and established filmmakers network, learn and brush up on the key trends shaping the international film business.
Running from August 6-11, Locarno Pro encompasses initiatives including the StepIn industry conference, work-in-progress strand First Look, networking platform Match Me!, co-development programme Alliance 4 Development and financing strand Locarno Investment Community.
It also includes the wide-ranging co-production platform Open Doors and classic film focus Locarno Heritage, as well as programmes aimed at young professionals such as the U30 think-tank and workshop, Industry Academy.
The head of Locarno Pro, Markus Duffner, now in his sixth year running the industry platform, reckons around 2,000 accredited industry guests will attend this year. Some 75% are EU professionals, the remainder international.
In total, he is expecting about 800 producers, 350 buyers, 100 sales agents and 300 festival programmes, plus executives from film promotional organisations, institutions, training facilities and technical services.
Duffner explains there are three main pillars for Locarno Pro: talent discovery and training of younger generations; anticipating and analysing market dynamics, risks and opportunities; and innovation in terms of the platforms and topics it tackles. For example the launch of the Locarno Investment Community, which will bring together around 45 private investors and the launch of a Locarno Pro podcast.
“Locarno Pro’s role is to help anticipate the future of the film industry, and also to be an incubator for new talents,” says Duffner.
Talking points
Sitting at the heart of Locarno Pro is the StepIn conference, which, alongside the Locarno Pro Talks, aims to anticipate the trends and challenges that will shape the film industry in the next few years.
Unsurprisingly, AI will be one of the key talking points, particularly the increasing use of algorithms, data and AI in decision-making by streaming platforms and distributors.
StepIn will also explore how to make independent cinema more attractive and sustainable for financiers, bringing together private investors and sales agents to explore creative, commercial and distribution possibilities.
The social relevance of cinema will also be discussed: how films can reconnect with audiences, contribute to public debate, and how festivals can evolve from niche cultural spaces to engage more widely, particularly at a time when US studios are holding back their films from festivals. Another focus is gender representation and equality in the film industry.
Among the speakers are Lucky Red founder Andrea Occhipinti; Doris Ruth Eikhof, professor of cultural economy & policy at the University of Glasgow, an expert on diversity and inclusion in the cultural economy; and mk2’s head of production Yasmine Talli. This year’s annual ‘Out of the Box’ introduction to StepIn will be provided by film industry data analyst Stephen Follows.
Elsewhere, one of Locarno Pro’s key focuses, explains Duffner, is supporting emerging producers and filmmakers through its Alliance 4 Development, Match Me!, First Look, Open Doors, U30 and the Industry Academy programmes.
Around 85 people a year take part in these talent development programmes. The Open Doors programme, for example, is dedicated to 42 countries in Africa, and brings to Locarno producers and filmmakers from across the continent for a programme of talks, workshops, industry networking and screenings.
Locarno Pro’s works-in-progress initiative First Look will present six Uruguayan feature films currently in post-production.
Meanwhile, projects by directors Bruce LaBruce, Hilal Baydarov and Claudia Rorarius are among those selected for the Alliance 4 Development initiative, aimed at feature-length projects from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. It offers one-on-one meetings, pitching sessions, workshops and networking, connecting them with international co-production partners and industry professionals.
Classic film platform Locarno Heritage includes screenings of new restorations and panel discussions. Its Restoration Contest, a competition that offers the opportunity to restore a film from the past in collaboration with Zurich-based Restoration Lab, Cinegrell, will see 1975’s Letter From My Village, directed by pioneering Senegalese filmmaker Safi Faye, play at the festival this year. Locarno Pro has also worked with Cinegrell on a groundbreaking 4K restoration of the extended version of Kevin Costner’s 1990s classic Dances With Wolves.
Many of the participants in Locarno Pro’s programmes go on to achieve great things. For example, Match Me! alumni include Latvian producer and writer Matiss Kaza, who won an Oscar in 2024 for animation Flow, while France’s Thomas Hakim has gone on to produce Payal Kapadia’s Cannes 2024 Grand Prix winner, All We Imagine As Light.
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