Locarno70 : Winners announced for 2017 Open Doors Hub and Lab

 The names of prizewinners for the Open Doors Hub coproduction platform and the Open Doors Lab producer-training workshop were announced yesterday at Locarno 70.
The 2017 session was the second in the three-year cycle dedicated by Open Doors to exploring eight countries in Southern Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The prizes have been awarded to projects and participants in the international platform Open Doors Hub and the training workshop Open Doors Lab, with the aim of supporting their progress after the Festival.

Photo credit: Locarno Festival

Open Doors Hub 

The aim of the Open Doors Hub coproduction platform (2-8 August) is to allow director/producer teams from the eight countries involved to discuss their projects with potential partners, fostering international collaborations and funding.
The Open Doors Jury awarded the following prizes to Open Doors Hub projects in support of their future development or production:
Open Doors Grant (50,000 Swiss francs) An award financed by Open Doors in collaboration with the City of Bellinzona and the Swiss film production fund Visions Sud Est, with the backing of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC): 
 35,000 Swiss francs BADESZENEN, by Dawood Hilmandi (Afghanistan) 
 15,000 Swiss francs ONE SUMMER DAY, by We Ra Aung (Myanmar) 
 CNC grant (8,000 euros) ONE SUMMER DAY, by We Ra Aung (Myanmar)
 Prix ARTE International Open Doors (6,000 euros) MADE IN BANGLADESH, by Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh / France)

Open Doors Lab

Also bringing this year’s session to a close today is the Open Doors Lab: a five-day workshop dedicated to eight emerging producers from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Open Doors to development – Initiative Film Grant Rasitha Jinasena with his project MAHAMAYA (Sri Lanka) Special mention to Jawed Taiman with his project THE LAST NIGHT (Afghanistan) Open Doors – TFL Award Jami Mahmood (Pakistan).

“Residency Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur @ Villa Sträuli” 
The Winterthur International Short Film Festival, in collaboration with Villa Sträuli and the Locarno Festival, offer a two-month residency to applicants in the Open Doors, Leopards of Tomorrow and Filmmakers Academy programs who are from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe or Latin America.

PRADEEPAN RAVEENDRAN, Open Doors Screenings, Sri Lanka Special mention to RATI TSITELADZE, Filmmakers Academy, Georgia 

The program of Open Doors Screenings presents a selection of 22 films from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and continues until the end of the Festival.