Cabo Verde Looks Beyond the World Cup, Ivory Coast Gets Animated, Zimbabwe Has Ambition: A Chat With Locarno Open Doors Film Producers

Locarno’s Open Doors, the Locarno Film Festival’s co-production and talent development platform, is preparing its 2026 edition and highlighting African cinema for a second year. The Producers program will bring six participants to the Swiss city for hands-on training, mentoring, networking, and public screenings during Locarno and Locarno Pro. The group includes Zimbabwe’s Tapiwa Chipfupa, Ivory Coast’s Adja Mariam Mahre Soro, Cabo Verde’s Natasha Craveiro, Burkina Faso’s Mamounata Nikiema, Nigeria’s David Ikeata, and Sudan’s Rua Osman. French-Senegalese creative Yanis Gaye leads studies at Open Doors, emphasizing African producers’ entrepreneurial approach and multi-vertical work.