Projects

First Look

Locarno’s work in progress section, aiming to showcase films in any post-production stage from a different territory, every year. The focus country for the 2023 edition was UK.

First Look is the work in progress section of Locarno Film Festival, taking place during the Locarno Pro Days and selecting 6 feature films in post-production stage from a different focus country every year.  Since 2012, First Look was launchpad for new productions from Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Israel, Poland, Baltic Countries, Portugal, Serbia, Switzerland and Germany.

For its 12th edition (4-6 August, 2023), the Locarno Film Festival’s First Look initiative focused on UK Film, thanks to a partnership with British Film Institute (BFI), using funds from the National Lottery. Work in Progress were presented to an audience of sales agents, buyers, programmers and representatives from post-production support funds, with a view to aiding their completion and enhancing both their sales prospects and international festival runs.

The international First Look jury, made up of Ava Cahen (Artistic Director, La Semaine de la Critique Cannes), Gaia Furrer (Artistic Director, Giornate degli Autori), Eugene Hernandez (Festival Director, Sundance) Institute awarded several prizes: Mother Vera directed by Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson and produced by Laura Shacham, received the Creativity Media First Look Award, providing post-production services valued at €50,000.

Sarah Lewis's No Ifs Or Buts was recognized with both the Jannuzzi Smith Award, which includes a prize of €8,500 for the design of an international poster, and a prize from industry magazine Le Film Français, consisting of advertising page valued at €5,600.

Go to First Look Program

The 2023 First Look selection:

7 Keys

by Joy Wilkinson

produced by Cassandra Sigsgaard and Dylan Rees (Jeva Films)

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All At Sea

by Michael Tommy Hodges

produced by Sol Papadopoulos and Roy Boulter (Hurricane Films)

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Mother Vera

by Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinso

produced by Laura Shacham (SheMakes Productions)

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No Ifs Or Buts

by Sarah Lewis

produced by Sarah Lewis and Nic Tuft (Felt Culture)

coproduced with DoBeDo

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The Lonely Musketeer

by Nicolai Schumann

produced by Adnan Raja, Marc Schneider (Addy Films Limited)

coproduced with Alice’s Pig Ltd, Apiro Entertainment, Rights Film Productions

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VANILLA

by Joseph A. Adesunloye

produced by Joseph A. Adesunloye (DreamCoat Films)

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Partner First Look 2023

Success stories

Several films selected at First Look have become international successes, such as Sand Storm  by Elite Zexer (Israel, 2015); The Second Mother  by Anna Muylaert (Brazil, 2014); To Kill a Man  by Alejandro Fernandez Almendras (Chile, 2013), Landscapes of Resistance  by Marta Popidova (Serbia, 2019), Semret by Caterina Mona (Switzerland, 2021) and De Noche Los Gatos son Pardos (Switzerland, 2021).

2022 – Germany

First Look 2022 on German Cinema

Arthur & Diana by Sara Summa, produced by Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Drei Leben Lang (Three Lives Long) by Felicitas Korn, produced by Maze Pictures, co-produced by U5 Filmproduktion

Elaha by Milena Aboyan, produced by Kinescope Film, co-produced by Essence Film

Leere Netze (Empty Nets) by Behrooz Karamizade, produced by BASIS BERLIN Filmproduktion, co-produced by Living Pictures Production, Rainy Pictures (Iran), ZDF / Das kleine Fernsehspiel in collaboration with ARTE

Letzter Abend (One Last Evening) by Lukas Nathrath, produced by Klinkerfilm, co-produced by Doppelbauer & Nathrath Filmproduktion

Life Is Not a Competition, But I’m Winning by Julia Fuhr Mann, produced by Schuldenberg Films, co-produced by HFF Munich

First Look Awards Winners 2022

Cinegrell First Look Award – post-production service worth 50,000 Euros

Letzter Abend (One Last Evening) by Lukas Nathrath, produced by Klinkerfilm, co-produced by Doppelbauer & Nathrath Filmproduktion

Le Film Français Award - advertising services worth 5,600 euro

Arthur & Diana by Sara Summa, produced by Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin

Kaiju Cinema Diffusion Prize - Designing of international poster worth 5,000 euro

Elaha by Milena Aboyan, produced by Kinescope Film, co-produced by Essence Film

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2021 – Switzerland

De Noche los Gatos son Pardos by Valentin Merz, produced by Marie Lanne-Chesnot and Valentin Merz (Andrea Film)

Las Toreras Directed by Jackie Brutsche, Produced by Recycled Tv AG, Co-produced by Reck Filmproduktion, Producer: Madeleine Corbat

My Old Man by Steven Vit, Produced by Lomotion AG, Producer: David Fonjallaz, Louis Mataré

Réduit by Leon Schwitter, produced by Caroline Hepting, Rea Televantos, Leon Schwitter (EXIT Filmkollektiv), co-produced by Sabotage Filmkollektiv

Semret by Caterina Mona, produced by Michela Pini (Cinédokké), co-produced by Cineworx Produktion Basel and RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera

The Mies van der Rohes, by Sabine Gisiger, produced by Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion, producer: Karin Koch

First Look Awards Winners 2021

Cinegrell First Look Award – post-production service worth 50,000 Swiss francs
to De Noche los Gatos son Pardos by Valentin Merz, produced by Marie Lanne-Chesnot and Valentin Merz (Andrea Film)

Le Film Français Award - advertising services worth 5,600 euro
to Semret by Caterina Mona, produced by Michela Pini (Cinédokké), co-produced by Cineworx Produktion Basel and RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera

Kaiju Cinema Diffusion Prize - Designing of international poster worth 5,000 euro
to Réduit by Leon Schwitter, produced by Caroline Hepting, Rea Televantos, Leon Schwitter (EXIT Filmkollektiv), co-produced by Sabotage Filmkollektiv

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2019 – Serbia

Celts by Milica Tomović, produced by EED Productions

Resisting Landscapes by Marta Popivoda, produced by Theory at Work

Speak so I can see you by Marija Stojnić, produced by Bilboke

In Praise Of Love by Tamara Drakulić produced by Monkey Production

Prison Beauty Contest by Srdjan Sarenac, produced by NOVI FILM

Telenovela Greyscale in Color by Filip Martinovic, produced by GULU GULU Presenta

First Look Awards Winners 2019

Celts – Cinelab Bucharest Award

Telenovela Greyscale in Color – Le Film Français ward

Resisting Landscapes – Kaiju Diffusion Award

2018 – Portugal

Campo by Tiago Hespanha, produced by Terratreme

Viveiro by Pedro Filipe Marques, produced by O Som e a Furia

Terra (Earth) by Rossana Torres, Hiroatsu Suzuki, produced by Association Entre Imagem

Gabriel by Nuno Bernardo, produced by BeActive

Golpe de Sol (Sunburn) by Vicente Alves do Ô, produced by Ukbar Filmes

Halito Azul (Blue Breath) by Rodrigo Areias, produced by Bando à Parte

First Look Awards Winners 2018

Campo – Cinelab Bucharest Award

Viveiro – Le Film Fraçais Award

Viveiro – Kaiju Diffusion Award

2017 – Baltic Countries

Portugal by Lauri Lagle, produced by Allfilm OÜ

The Little Comrade by Moonika Siimets, produced by Amrion OÜ

The Mover by Davis Simanis Jr, produced by Mistrus Media

Paradise 89 by Madara Dišlere, produced by Tasse Film

El Padre Medico by Vytautas Puidokas, produced by Ironcat

Stasis by Mantas Kvedaravicius, produced by Studio Uljana Kim

First Look Awards Winners 2017

Portugal – Cinelab Bucharest Award

The Little Comrade – Le Film Français Award

2016 – Poland

13 Summers Under The Water by Witkoria Szymańska, produced by Luna W

Birds are singing in Kigali by Joanna Kos-Krauze & Krzysztof Krauze, produced by Kosfilm

The Butler by Filip Bajon, produced by FilmIcon

Day of Chocolate by Jacek Piotr Bławut, produced by Aura Films

I'm a Killer by Maciej Pieprzyca, produced by Re Studio

Zgoda by Maciej Sobieszczański, produced by STUDIO FILMOWE KALEJDOSKOP

First Look Awards Winners 2016

Birds are Singing in Kigali - Cinelab Bucharest award

Zgoda – Le Film Français Award

2015 – Israel

A Quiet Heart by Eitan Anner, produced byGreenProductions

Amal by Miya Hatav, produced by Daroma Productions

Ewa by Haim Tabakman, produced by Metro Communications

Our Father by Meni Yaesh, produced by Transfax Films Production

Sand Storm by Elite Texer, produced by 2-Team Productions

The 90 Minute War by Eyal Halfon, produced byNorma Production

First Look Awards Winners 2015

Sand Storm –Cinelab Bucharest Award

A Quiet Heart – Le Film Français Award

2014 – Brazil

Nise da Silveira by Roberto Berliner, produced by TvZero

O Touro (The Bull) by Larissa Figueredo, produced by Tu i Tam Filmes

Xucro (Wild Love Prayer) by Chico Faganello, produced byCineramabc

Beco (Alley) by Camilo Cavalcante, produced by Aurora Cinema

Aspirantes (Hopefuls) by Ives Rosenfeld, produced by Bubbles Project (First Look Winner)

Ponto Zero (Point Zero) by José Pedro Goulart, produced by Okna Produções

Que horas ela Volta (The Second Mother) by Anna Muylaert, produced by Gullane

Carte Blanche Award 2013

Thanks to a partnership with CinemaChile and the Valdivia Festival’s AustraLab and support from the Swiss Foreign Ministry’s Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Carte Blanche presented seven Chilean films in post-production.

The jury for Carte Blanche 2013, comprising Frédéric Boyer, artistic director of the TriBeCa Film Festival (USA), Gerwin Tamsma, programmer for the Rotterdam International Film Festival (Netherlands) and producer Agustina Chiarino (Uruguay), decided to give this award of 10,000 CHF, offered by the DSC and intended to enable the film’s completion, to the film:

To kill a man by Alejandro Fernandez Almendras

"For gripping and haunting way the film confronts the viewer with questions of fate, choice and tragedy in contemporary society showing the maturing voice of an important Chilean filmmaker."

Carte Blanche Award 2012

Thanks to IMCINE, the Mexican Film Institute, and with the support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), the Festival del film Locarno's Carte Blanche has shown seven films to the various international sales agents and festival programmers who participated in the Industry Days.

The 2012 Carte Blanche Jury, composed of:

Erick Gonzalez (Chili), General Delegate of Australab (Valdivia, Chile) and
Head of Programming of the Latinamerican Film Festival (Toulouse, France)

Alejandra Paulin (Mexico), Head of Industry & Market, Guadalajara Film Festival

Edouard Waintrop (France), General Delegate of Directors’ Fortnight Cannes

Has decided to award a grant of 10'000 CHF, financed by the SDC and aiming to complete the project, to the first feature:

Las Lagrimas (The Tears) by Pablo Delgado Sanchez, produced by Guillermo Ortiz Picharo.

The jury declares that: “the film has been chosen for its freshness, its optimism, change of sensibility tone and risky personal proposal.”

Carte Blanche Colombia 2011

The Full Slate of films selected for Carte Blanche 2011 was:

El Diare de Ana by Diego Guerra, Colombia

Edificio Royal by Ivan Wild, produced by Cristina Gallego, Colombia

Chocò by Jhonny Hendrix, produced by Maritza Rincón, Colombia

Corta by Felipe Guerrero, Colombia

Jardin de Amapolas by Juan Carlos Melo Guevara, produced by Maja Zimmermann, Colombia

La Playa DC by Juan Andrés Arango, produced by Diana Bustamante, Colombia

La Sergento Matacho by William González Zafra, produced by Alina Hleap, Colombia

Sin Palabras by Ana Sofía Osorio and Diego Bustamante, produced by Simón Beltràn Echeverri, Colombia

Locarno Pro Projects

Open Doors

Open Doors explores cinema in Southeast Asia and Mongolia via a co-production platform, a producers’ Lab and a non-competitive screening section taking place in August, plus year-round activities including Consultancy services and a knowledge-sharing platform (ToolBox).

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StepIn

An interdisciplinary online think tank in three sessions dedicated to film professionals, each session focused on a branch of the industry, to discuss the current landscape and how we can implement new behaviors, practices and business strategies. In partnership with Variety.

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Director

Film Sections

First Look