Locarno Academy

Industry Academy

In this year’s Locarno Industry Academy, Brazilian director Juliana Rojas and producer Sara Silveira take part in a discussion on the theme of work with alumni of the Locarno Industry Academy and the Industry Academy International.

The Industry Academy is an initiative of the Industry Office of the Locarno Film Festival, which takes place in the context of the Locarno Academy and Locarno Pro. Since its first edition, the Industry Academy has gathered young professionals from several countries (Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, USA and Spain), each year offering the ten participants an intensive six-day workshop during the Festival.

Keeping its strong European and international dimension, the Academy gives a unique chance to the young generation to have a better grasp of the industry world and its challenges, get connected with professionals such as distributors, heads of acquisitions, marketing specialists, senior programmers, sales agent, exhibitors, as well as producers and representatives of funds and film institutes.

This year the Industry Academy presents itself in a new form, through a masterclass with the Brazilian director Juliana Rojas and her producer Sara Silveira. Their Cidade ; Campo is part of the selection of Locarno 2020. This incredible professional duo will reflect together with former participants of the Industry Academy on the way the current health and political situation affects the industry and how films are made.

Locarno 2020 Projects

The 2020 participants come from past editions of the Industry Academy: Emmanuel Pissarra (France, Locarno Industry Academy 2015), Alice Miller (UK, Locarno Industry Academy 2019), Anahí Estudillo (Mexico, Santiago Industry Academy 2019), Jordan Mattos (USA, Locarno Industry Academy 2015), Lidia Damatto (Brazil, São Paulo Industry Academy 2017), Luciana Calcagno (Cile, Valparaiso Industry Academy, 2018).

Articles

Seven participants of past editions of the Industry Academy write on how the pandemic has impacted their daily work and their capacity to adapt to the drastic changes it has caused. To reflect the cosmopolitan flavor of the texts and ensure their global reach, we share them here in English.

By Emmanuel Pisarra

Life’s marathon

A few months ago, I found myself on board a plane to New York City, on my way to UniFrance’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. It was early March and COVID-19 was catching up with the West, still in a blur, somewhere between nonchalant disbelief and growing panic.

By Alice Miller

Anxious Film Programmer

I am spending my ongoing lockdown in my small terraced house in a suburb of Leeds, England. I am fortunate to have a home I can work from and green spaces I can walk to. I am not ready to resume "normal" life.

By Luciana Calcagno

Work as an anxiolytic

At the time of writing, Argentina has been under preventive and compulsory isolation for 125 days and I must admit that, during this phase, my work is what saved me.

By Jordan Mattos

From Protest to Screening Room

My work involves finding films to distribute. Functionally, I do the same work a sales agent does. I work with filmmakers and help them tailor a distribution strategy that makes sense for their film, then I go out and sell their films to distributors and pitch to festival programmers.

By Lidia Damatto

Ch-ch-changes

2020 started as any other year for sales agents, with a promisingly busy Berlinale. Being completely immersed in a film festival, one has little time for news about the world, reading only industry trades and paying attention only to the buzz around certain films.

By Laura Bermúdez

The illusion of reality

Nothing is more fragile than the human faculty to admit reality, to accept without reservation the imperious prerogative of the real.” Clément Rosset's phrase, in his book The Real and Its Double, shakes me to the core. After all, what is reality?

By Anahí Estudillo

#PorAmoralCine

How can we influence film communities from the outskirts? How can we create meeting points through cinema in our communities? These are vital questions for people like me, someone who is dedicated to working in cinema exhibition, research and programming in the city of Tepic, in Nayarit, Mexico.

Masterclass

Industry Academy : In conversation with Juliana Rojas and Sara Silveira

Critics Academy

This summer, a selection of former Critics Academy participants will write articles and essays on films by directors participating in The Films After Tomorrow.

Filmmakers Academy

An exceptional guest, four brilliant emerging filmmakers. We will explore Miguel Gomes’ cinematic world in the company the talents of the Filmmakers Academy, whose talent is blossoming in different corners of the globe.