Locarno's Open Doors awards presentation highlights Nigerian director Dika Ofoma's film 'Till The Morning Comes' as the top pick.
The 23rd edition of Locarno Film Festival's Open Doors talent development programme, with a focus on African cinema, has concluded, and the winners have been announced. This year, six projects from the continent were selected, among which three received the main Open Doors Grant totalling CHF 50,000.
The winners and awarded projects are:
- Black Snake (Zimbabwe), directed by Naishe Nyamubaya and produced by Sue-Ellen Chitunya, received CHF 25,000. This gripping project promises to be a thrilling addition to the African cinematic landscape.
- Kachifo (Till the Morning Comes) (Nigeria), directed by Dika Ofoma and produced by Blessing Uzzi, received CHF 20,000 along with two additional awards: the ARTEKino International Award and the Sørfond Award, which includes participation in a pitching event with travel/accommodation support.
- Diary of a Goat Woman by Azata Soro was awarded CHF 5,000. This thought-provoking documentary is sure to offer a unique and insightful look into a lesser-explored aspect of African culture.
Notable mentions include:
- Rwandan filmmaker Yannick Mizero Kabano won two prizes: the Tabakalera–San Sebastian Film Festival Residency Award and the Open Doors–OIF–ACP–EU Award (€2,500 development grant) for his project Mado, an action thriller.
- Kenyan producer June Wairegi won the MECAS Award, giving her access to the International Market for Almost-finished Films in Gran Canaria in 2026, for her project Manjano, a romance-action heist film.
- Erickey Bahati’s The Bilokos received the CNC Development Grant (€8,000).
This edition marks the beginning of a four-year focus on African cinema encompassing 42 countries, celebrating a new generation of African filmmakers who are building pan-regional and genre-specific projects aiming at reducing dependency on European funding.
The first year of Open Doors' four-year focus on the African continent has six projects in development selected for the Projects Hub. The four-year focus on Africa will run until 2028.
Six creative producers participated in the Producers Lab, and five directors showed films in the Open Doors Screenings.
In addition, Blessing Lizzi's Lagos-based Bluhouse Studios received an Open Doors Grant worth CHF20,000 (€21,000) for Till The Morning Comes. This project also received the Sørfond Award and the Prix Arte Kino International for development.
The launch of a Pan-African film distribution platform, Screen Connect, by One Fine Day PIx and GIZ's Moving Picture program this June, further underscores the growing importance and recognition of African cinema on the global stage.
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