First Look
Locarno’s Work in Progress section, aiming to showcase films in post-production stage from a different territory, every year. The focus country for the 2021 edition is Switzerland.
Locarno’s Work in Progress section, aiming to showcase films in post-production stage from a different territory, every year. The focus country for the 2021 edition is Switzerland.
First Look is the work in progress section of Locarno Film Festival, taking place during the Locarno Pro Days and selecting 6 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 and Serbia. By attending this section, you’ll have the opportunity to show your work in progress to international industry key players attending Locarno Pro, and to compete for three awards.
For its 10th edition, the Locarno Film Festival’s First Look initiative focuses on Swiss Cinema, thanks to a partnership with SWISS FILMS.
A jury made up of international festival directors and programmers will hand out several awards: The cinegrell First Look Award, consisting of services towards completion of films in post-production to the value of 50’000 Swiss Francs sponsored by cinegrell postproduction house and film laboratory with whom the Festival is happy to continue the collaboration thanks to the new support for the initiative First Look; a prize from Le Film Français, consisting in advertising services to a value of € 5,600, and finally the prize offered by Kaiju Cinema Diffusion, worth € 5,000, for the design of an international poster.
In past years, the First Look jury has been honored with the presence of Christian Jeune (Director of Film Dep. - Deputy General Delegate, Festival de Cannes), Janet Pierson (Director SXSW Film), Cameron Bailey (Artistic Director and co-head of TIFF), John Cooper (former Sundance Film Festival director) and Eva Sangiorgi (Viennale Director), among others.
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).
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
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
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
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
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
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
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."
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.”
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