Five major European film festivals unite on industry network Launchpad

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Source: Locarno

An Open Doors screening in Locarno

Locarno, Thessaloniki, Tallinn Black Nights, Rotterdam and Karlovy Vary film festivals have joined forces on Launchpad, a new network for selected film professionals giving access to the industry programmes at each event.

Each festival, industry platform or market participating in the network will select a maximum of 10 emerging professionals per year through a public applications call. The 10 participants will have automatic access to all partner events at each festival for the following 12 months, and will receive free industry accreditation for either on-site or online.

Scroll down for the first Launchpad participants

Participants able to attend events in-person will receive a tailor-made programme and admission to all networking events. Each festival will also host an online introduction meetings and a yearly online get-together for the whole Launchpad community.

The network is aimed at emerging film professionals in the international sales, marketing, traditional and online distribution, exhibition and programming, funds and commissions sectors.

The first Launchpad participants have already been selected through the Locarno Industry Academy initiative. Further calls will be launched by each event in the coming weeks.

A statement from Markus Duffner, head of Locarno Pro, Angeliki Vergou, head of Thessaloniki’s Agora, Marge Liiske, head of Industry@Tallinn, Inke Van Loocke, head of IFFR Pro, and Hugo Rosak, head of Karlovy Vary’s Film Industry Office said,

“Film professionals in the first few years of their careers are tomorrow’s key industry players and at the same time one of the most fragile segments of our business. In our still very closed-off industry environment, they are those struggling the most to find their place or to get a proper introduction to the film business, fair treatment and healthy opportunities to grow as professionals. With Launchpad, we want to change that. We believe that the Launchpad network is a first step towards a more inclusive and accessible film industry. This will be possible in a more open and cohesive landscape, where festival and film industry events are able to collaborate and join forces for common goals.”

Locarno Film Festival, the first event on the Launchpad network to take place, will run from August 2-12 this year.