Locarno Pro

Source: Samuel Golay © Locarno Film Festival | Ti-Press

Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development

Projects by directors Bruce LaBruce, Hilal Baydarov and Claudia Rorarius are among those selected for Locarno Pro’s Alliance 4 Development initiative, which runs from August 7-9.

The development programme is 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.

This year’s 11projects span three debut features, four sophomore features, and four works from more established directors.

Scroll down for full line-up

They include the latest work by cult filmmaker and Queercore pioneer LaBruce, whose credits include 2024 Berlinale Panorama title The Visitor and 2020 Venice title Saint-Narcisse. He will attend with Third Take, produced with France’s Local Films.

Azerbaijani director Baydarov, whose To The Void world premiered out of competition at Venice last year, has been selected with Stone Over Stone, about a young couple living and working on a decaying construction site who struggle to secure a hopeful future for their unborn child.

German director Claudia Rorarius, whose Locarno selection Touched won the Pardo for best performance for its two lead actors in the Cineasti del Presente competition in 2023, will present Humanoid, a science fiction feature set in the near future.

The line-up also includes Italian director duo Silvia Luzi and Luca Bellino, whose Luce played in Locarno’s international competition in 2024. They will present their latest project together, Yumi.

The selection was made with the support of an international pre-selection committee, composed of Eve Gabereau, founder and chair of Modern Films and director of distribution at Vue Lumière; Tatjana Kozar, producer and head of international coproductions at Versus Production, and Thorsten Ritter, producer at Weydemann Bros.

Alliance 4 Development 2026

  • Cuore Matto, dir. Tamer Ruggli, prod. Francine Lusser, Gérard Monier (Tipimages Productions, Switz).
  • Dyspnoe, dir. Henning Beckhoff, prod. Frauke Kolbmüller (Oma Inge Film, Ger).
  • Humanoid, dir. Claudia Rorarius, prod. Claudia Rorarius (Soquiet Filmproduktion, Ger).
  • Le Règne des Silures, dir. Jessica Puppo, prod. Alexis Perrin (Rumble Fish Productions, Fr)
  • Les Orages Magnétiques, dir. Wendy Pillonel, prod. Flavia Zanon (Close Up Films, Switz).
  • Sparare Alle Angurie, dir. Antonio Donato, prod. Santiago Fondevila Sancet (Cinedora, It).
  • Stone Over Stone, dir. Hilal Baydarov, prod. Georg Tiller (Subobscura Films, Austria), Marta Krzeptowska (Asterfilm, Pol)
  • Third Take, dir. Bruce LaBruce, prod. Nicolas Brevière (Local Films, Fr).
  • Wrecking Ball, dir. Clara Stern, prod. Michael Kitzberger (Nikolaus Geyrhalter Filmproduktion, Austria).
  • Yazz, dir. Florian Hoffmann, prod. Katrin Renz (tellfilm, Switze), Nicole Gerhards (NiKo Film, Ger), Xénia Maingot (Eaux Vives Productions, Fr).
  • Yumi, dir. Silvia Luzi & Luca Bellino, prod. Donatella Palermo (Stemal Entertainment), Bokeh Film (It).

  • Spain’s Jaime Tarrazón elected president of international cinema body UNIC

 

 

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