Locarno Pro, the industry platform of the Locarno Film Festival, has announced this year’s winning projects.
In the work-in-progress section First Look, this year focusing on Canadian cinema, “Nina Roza” by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles has made quite an impression.
Produced by Colonelle Films (Canada), and co-produced by Umi Films (Italy), Echo Bravo (Belgium), Ginger Light (Bulgaria) and Premier Studio (Bulgaria), it won two awards: the Urban Post First Look Award and the Jannuzzi Smith Award.
As reported by Variety, the film was picked up by Best Friend Forever.
It takes on eight-year-old art prodigy from Bulgaria, spotted by an art collector after her video goes viral. But meeting her also means going home – and he’s been avoiding it for 30 years. The director called his trip “an intimate, initiatory quest,” as he’ll have to “face his past through Nina.”
According to jurors, the project stood out for “beautiful integration of music and art, its performances and a captivating narrative that explores identity, exile and the idea of home and family.”
The Music Library & SFX/Acorde Award went to “Thanks To the Hard Work of the Elephants” by Bryce Hodgson, produced by Canada’s Coukuma and Harrington Studio (Canada). Finally, the Cineground Award and Le Film Français Award were given to “Lunar Sway” by Nick Butler, produced by Canadian company Cloudy Pictures.
The Antaviana Spanish Previews Award – at the very first Spanish Previews showcase – went to “Lóngquán: The Dragon Spring” by Adrià Guxens, produced by La Charito Films and co-produced by Anna Moragriega Farrés (Pausa Dramática Films).
‘Lóngquán: The Dragon Spring’
courtesy of Locarno Pro
Co-development program Alliance 4 Development, featuring projects from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, celebrated its first-ever Masé Studio Award, which went to Valentin Merz’ “Dark Chocolate.” It’s produced by Marie Lanne-Chesnot for Switzerland’s Andrea Film.
The second award, also brand new, was the Masé Studio Post-Production Award. It was snapped by “In the Hidden” by Goran Rebić, produced by Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu and Bady Minck (Amour Fou Vienna and Amour Fou Luxembourg). Masé Studio added the Post-Production Special Award to Jenna Hasse’s “Snow” produced by Olivier Zobrist (Langfilm, Switzerland).
“The Flowering of a Chimera” by Simon Maria Kubiena, produced by Elli Leeb and Fabian Leonhardt (Chimera Film, Austria) scored two awards: the Alphapanda Market Breakout Award and the Midpoint Consulting Award.
“This is a radical film that explores rarely addressed topics in order to dig deep into the human soul,” said Alphapanda’s team. “Thanks to a talented director with a clear artistic vision, we are convinced that this film will have a strong impact, both on audiences and on the industry. We look forward to seeing it on a big screen at a major festival very soon.”
Midpoint expressed its pride for supporting a project that dares to explore “the complex aftermath of violence without judgment, offering a path toward understanding and healing,” also praising its “courageous thematic approach, emotional depth and promise of a distinct new voice in cinema.”
Alphapanda also gave a Special Mention to “Primo Viaggio” by Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman, produced by Nanni Moretti and Benedetta Barroero (Sacher Film, Italy).
The Script Consultancy Residency at DreamAgo, offered by the Valais Film Commission, went to “Najma and Salomé” by Anne Zinn-Justin, produced by Clémentine Mourão-Ferreira (so-cle, France).
“A village with two communities that don’t really get along sees its future threatened by recurring illnesses. This is the starting point for an alliance between two women determined to shed light on these strange events,” noted Pascale Rey (DreamAgo) and Tristan Albrecht (Valais Film Commission), calling it a “story with the feel of a firmly rooted modern western that resonates in a universal way!”
“Solastalgia” by Yosr Gasmi and Mauro Mazzocchi – produced by Ivan Casagrande Conti and Tommaso Santambrogio (Chiotto Film, Italy) and Ismaël (Utopia Films, Tunisia) – took home the Ticino Film Commission Residence Award.
“Here in our very own region, in Ticino, we know only too well the lingering feeling that accompanies the changing of our landscape, the gradual loss of glaciers and the places we used to visit or inhabit,” revealed the jurors.
“For this reason, we’re happy to be able to support a duo of talented young filmmakers by helping them find the best locations to express their singular vision.”
But it wasn’t all about the future – 1975 “Letter From My Village” by Safi Faye won the third edition of the Locarno Heritage Restoration Contest. It’s represented by Arsenal-Institut für Film und Videokunst and will be shown at the fest next year.
Jurors Bernardo Rondeau, Nicole T. Allemann and Leon van Hee called it a “groundbreaking debut” by pioneering Senegalese filmmaker. “Thanks to this restoration, this powerful and poetic first feature will now be rediscovered by new generations. With this choice we celebrate not only the film’s enduring relevance, but also the legacy of a woman who paved the way for African cinema.”
‘Letter From My Village’
courtesy of Locarno Pro
You can find the full list of winners here:
FIRST LOOK
Urban Post First Look Award
Up to €50,000 ($58,250) in post-production services
“Nina Roza” by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles
Music Library & SFX/Acorde Award
€45,000 ($52,427) in music supervision services at Music Library & SFX ’s labs
“Thanks To the Hard Work Of the Elephants” by Bryce Hodgson
Cineground Award
CHF15,000 ($18,556) in image finishing services
“Lunar Sway” by Nick Butler
Jannuzzi Smith Award
The design of an international poster worth €10,000 ($11,700).
“Nina Roza”
Le Film Français Award
€5,600 ($6,524) of advertising space
“Lunar Sway”
SPANISH PREVIEWS
Antaviana Spanish Previews Award
A voucher worth €10,000 ($11,700), including editing rooms, color grading suites, sound mix rooms and final deliveries.
“Lóngquán: The Dragon Spring” by Adrià Guxens
ALLIANCE 4 DEVELOPMENT
Masé Studio Award
CHF3,000 ($3,711) cash voucher
“Dark Chocolate” by Valentin Merz
Masé Studio Post-Production Award
CHF25,000 ($30,927) in post-production services
“In the Hidden” by Goran Rebić
Masé Studio Post-Production Special Award
CHF10,000 ($11,700) in post-production services at the Masé studios, valid for five years
“Snow” by Jenna Hasse
Alphapanda Market Breakout Award
Consultancy services in the value of €3,500 ($4,077)
“The Flowering of a Chimera” by Simon Maria Kubiena
Special Mention
“Primo Viaggio” by Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman
Script Consultancy Residency at DreamAgo offered by the Valais Film Commission
Worth CHF5,000 ($6,185)
“Najma and Salomé” by Anne Zinn-Justin
Midpoint Consulting Award
An in-depth online script consultancy with one of the Midpoint Institute experts
“The Flowering of a Chimera” by Simon Maria Kubiena
Ticino Film Commission Residence Award
A two-day location scout (worth CHF4,000 -$4,948) and Letter of Intent (LOI) for financial support for the production company (worth up to CHF 12,000 – $14,845), if all or part of the film will be shot in Ticino
“Solastalgia” by Yosr Gasmi and Mauro Mazzocchi
LOCARNO HERITAGE RESTORATION CONTEST
“Letter From My Village” by Safi Faye
variety.com
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