Projects

U30

A think tank giving voice to the new generation of film professionals

Now in its second year, U30 is Locarno Pro’s industry event dedicated to a new generation of film professionals. Its goal, in a period of seismic changes for our industry - and our society - is to hear the voices of those who are called to shape them in the near future.

U30 fits perfectly at the crossroad between two other established Locarno Pro programs: the Industry Academy and StepIn. From the former it inherits the purpose to offer networking and learning opportunities to young film professionals; from the latter, it adopts its think-tank approach and structure, where the participants are not mere listeners, but actively involved in a series of sessions and conversations about the future of the film industry, so that they can exchange different points of view and find new strategies to tackle the challenges, but also the opportunities, that lie ahead.

Even in a Covid era that makes traveling complicated, we are proud to have been able to keep the international DNA of this program, although more focused on Europe. Our 2021 participants come from Beirut, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and have been selected among various profiles following 3 criteria:

They were born after 1991 (included)
They had previously attended one of the Locarno Industry Academies located around the world
They have already proven their skills in various branches of the film industry, whether working as sales agents, distributors, exhibitors, producers or film festivals programmers.

The U30 participants will be involved in a 3-day program divided in different sessions and extra activities that will take place during the Locarno Pro days, and will be asked to dive into the multi-faceted aspects of the film industry and enhance their networking opportunities and synergies with other industry attendees in Locarno.

Dates: 6-8 August

Project Manager: Marcello Paolillo 

U30 Selected Participants 2021

Nuno Pimentel

Indipendent professional#Portugal

Learn more

Katerina Dvorakova

Mezipatra QFF#Czech Republic

Learn more

Jean-Benoit Henry

Les Films du Losange#France

Learn more

Bernardo Lessa

Vitrine Filmes#Brazil

Learn more

Louise Malherbe

Metropolis Cinema#Germany

Learn more

Emma Caviezel

INDY Cinema Group Festival#Sweden, Germany

Learn more

Manuel Fioroni

JFC Group#Switzerland

Learn more

Clara Léonet

Kinograph#Belgium

Learn more

With the support of

U30 is possible thanks to the support of

U30 Past editions

U30 – Pilot Edition 2019

Kevin Chan, Senior Acquisitions Manager at MUBI, UK

Sarah Corrigan, Senior Assistant- Co-President at IFC Films, USA

Tomas Cortes-Rosselot, Founder and Producer at ANIMAL (Cine Animal, S.A.), Chile/Panama

Shapath Das, Festival Director at Arthouse Asia Film Festival, India

Sofia Eleftheriades, International Sales Assistant at Lionsgate UK, Greece

Edward Frost, Theatrical Marketing Executive at Curzon, UK

Reinel García, Managing Director at Doc & Rio Festivals, Brazil / Cuba

Ajandok Gyenis, Theatrical Distributor at Mozinet, Hungary

Mitchell Harper, Independent Professional, South Africa

Tianyi Jia, Programming Assistant Manager at Broadway Cinematheque (Beijing), China

Andrés Jiménez Suárez, Programmer at Cinemateca Distrital de Bogotá and Interior XIII, Colombia

Elisa May, Home Entertainment Distribution, Deliveries and Digital Business Development at Mindjazz Pictures, Germany

Gabriel Milagres, Independent Professional, Brazil

Jazmin Monzon, Programmer at Cinetren, Argentina

Meriame Deghedi, Distribution and Sales Manager at MAD Solutions, Egypt

Océane Portal, Head of international operations at Under the Milky Way, France

Catalina Ramirez Chaves, Global Sales Manager at Gunpowder & Sky, USA

Julia Schubiger, Short Film Programmer at Fribourg International Film Festival, Switzerland

Ahmed Sobky, Head of Sales, Acquisitions & Theatrical Distribution, Egypt

Olivia Tay, Programme Executive at Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF), Singapore

Alejandra Vargas-Carballo, Executive Producer & Founder at Noche Negra Producciones, Costa Rica/Panama

Alejandra Villalba García, Co-Founder, Co-Director at Mexico Morelia

Tanja Weibel, Project Manager Cinetour & Solothurn Film Festival, Switzerland

Bohdan Zhuk, Programme Coordinator at Kyiv International Film Festival, Ukraine

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).

Discover

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.

Discover

Director

Film Sections

U30

A think tank giving voice to the new generation of film professionals