The Locarno Open Doors 2025 programme has revealed a list of projects and producers to take part in its online and in-person sessions in the coming months. The programme, which over the next three years, starting from the current year, will focus on countries from Africa, has chosen six projects and six producers from across the continent.
In a statement published on the programme’s website, the programme’s head Zsuzsi Bankuti said the selection is “a strong slate of predominantly first and second-time filmmakers whose inventive approaches and formal experimentation signal a bold evolution in global cinematic storytelling. The range of perspectives represented is striking—each project brings a distinct voice that challenges narrative conventions.”
Among the chosen projects are Naishe Nyamubaya’s Black Snake (from Zimbabwe), Dika Ofoma’s Kachifo (Till the Morning Comes) (from Nigeria), and Azato Soro’s Journal Intime d’une Femme-Chèvre (Diary of a Goat Woman) (from Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso). The selected producers include Moustapha Sawadogo of Burkina Faso, Kamy Lara of Angola, and June Wairegi of Kenya.
While the producers will take part in the Open Doors Producers, which is “focused on career development for creative producers”, the projects alongside their directors and producers will head to the Open Doors Projects. This section serves as a platform for the co-production of feature films.
In a note on the selection, Yanis Gaye, the programme’s head of studies, noted the international dimension to the proceedings. The Open Doors cohort, he said, “will acquire the frameworks to develop their production companies into sustainable creative enterprises, while exploring ways to foster more equitable international co-production partnerships”.
Over the next two months, the chosen 6 producers and the filmmakers behind the selected projects are expected to take part in online sessions. And then, from August 7 and 12, in-person sessions will take place in Switzerland, under the umbrella of the 2025 Locarno Film Festival.
The full list of Locarno Open Doors 2025 producers and projects are presented below.
Producers
- Yannick Mizero Kabano of Imitana Productions (Rwanda)
- Kamy Lara of Uika Filmes (Angola)
- Kudi Maradzika of Lincoln Green Media (Zimbabwe)
- Moustapha Sawadogo of Future Films (Burkina Faso)
- Leul Shoaferaw of WAG Entertainment (Ethiopia)
- June Wairegi of Giza Visuals (Kenya)
Projects
Black Snake (Zimbabwe)
Director: Naishe Nyamubaya
Producer: Sue-Ellen Chitunya, 263 Reels Productions
Firtuna (The Fortunate) (Ethiopia)
Director: Habtamu Gebrehiwot
Producer: Nahusenay Dereje, MTF Multimedia
Journal Intime d’une Femme-Chèvre (Diary of a Goat Woman) (Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso)
Director: Azata Soro
Producer: Nameïta Lica Toure, Les Studios Indigo
Kachifo (Till the Morning Comes) (Nigeria)
Director: Dika Ofoma
Producer: Blessing Uzzi, Bluhouse Studios
Lutteurs (Fighters) (Senegal, France)
Director: Alassane Sy
Producer: Jules Dieng, Thiely Films
Les Bilokos (DR Congo)
Director: Erickey Bahati
Producer: Giresse Kassonga, Gikas Films
