Locarno Film Festival revealed the list of emerging filmmakers, executives and critics for its Locarno Academy program. This programme is aimed at developing the next generation in cinema.
The academy program, which will take place within the framework of the festival’s 75th edition running August 3-13, selects candidates who have already made in-roads in their chosen field.
Industry Academy participants will include Maya Barenstein, a sales executive at Paris-based sales company Coproduction Office, where she recently worked on Cannes 2022 Palme d’Or winner Triangle Of Sadness; Franziska Bioh, an acquisition coordinator at Mubi in London; and Malo Jacquemin, who is currently attached to the co-production department of Arte France Cinéma after stints at French sales company Charades and production house CG Cinema.
The group also includes Stephan Henz, who is head of programming at the Swiss Arthouse Commercio theatre in Zurich; Egle Maceinaite, programme coordinator at the Skalvija cinema in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius; and Sara Persson, who is an industry producer at Sweden’s Göteborg Film Festival.
From outside of Europe, other attendees will include Kate Gondwe, who recently founded her own Dedza Films distribution label, after her stints at Mubi and Neon; Olivia Priedite, film program coordinator at New York’s Museum of Modern Art; Argentine, Spain-based producer Julieta Juncadella and Taiwanese, Paris-based sales executive Ching-Lo Hsu, who is currently working for French film company Le Pacte.
Participants will be able to participate in masterclasses and workshops that are led by experienced sales, distribution, and production professionals.
Locarno Film Festival has many initiatives that support the next generation of cinema professionals, including the academy program.
BaseCamp, a select multidisciplinary programme, houses around 200 young artists in a former Army barracks in Losone, during the festival. There is also the Locarno Residency that supports filmmakers making the transition from short to feature films. And there is the Youth Advisory Board, where local teenagers share their festival plans.
“The young generations never fail to constantly and spontaneously shuffle the pack, and so it is vital to give them a genuine opportunity to do it at the Festival,”Stefano Knuchel is the Filmmakers Academy’s project manager.