Open Doors, an initiative of the Locarno Film Festival, launches Open Doors Connect, a new program strengthening international producer collaboration. The Wyss Academy for Nature is the first partner to open a call for applications.

Open Doors, Locarno Film Festival’s long-standing platform for filmmakers from equity-seeking communities, has introduced Open Doors Connect, a hybrid program designed to reinforce cross-border sustained collaboration among producers. Combining online exchanges with participation in Open Doors and Locarno Pro, the program supports new professional partnerships, with a focus on South–South exchange across the African continent. 

The Wyss Academy for Nature is the first partner to launch a call within Open Doors Connect. A producer from our focus countries, Kenya or Madagascar, will be selected to participate in the 2026 edition and receive support from a newly established CHF 20,000 production fund. Applications are open until 13 March 2026. 

“With Open Doors Connect, we are expanding the scope of Open Doors to actively support SouthSouth collaborations—within Africa and between Africa and other continents—while thinking more broadly about the future of the film industry,” says Zsuzsi Bánkuti, Head of Open Doors. “We are especially pleased to launch this initiative with the Wyss Academy for Nature, an important partner whose values strongly align with our own.” 

Through this collaboration, the Wyss Academy seeks to open avenues for creative exchange with local storytelling communities and encourage film projects that highlight innovative approaches to biodiversity conservation, community well-being, and climate resilience. In practice, this means supporting narratives grounded in lived experience, stories that show how livelihoods and environmental change are navigated in real contexts, and how governance and stewardship evolve over time. 

“This partnership underscores our conviction that cultural expression and storytelling are powerful drivers of societal transformation—capable of inspiring action, empowering communities, and advancing inclusive, just, and sustainable development,” says Seta Thakur, Head of Communications at the Wyss Academy. “By participating in Open Doors Connect, the Wyss Academy invites filmmakers to explore transformative pathways—stories that show how nature and people can thrive together, as well as how livelihoods and environmental change are navigated in lived contexts. This reflects our long-term commitment to drive systemic change by translating scientific knowledge into action and fostering a balanced relationship between humans and nature.” 

By supporting collaborative film production in Kenya and Madagascar, the Wyss Academy contributes to a broader ecosystem where science, practice, and storytelling intersect—expanding the ways knowledge can inform action and strengthen resilience.   

The selected producer will join Open Doors Connect during Locarno Pro from 6–11 August 2026, with online components before and after the festival. 

Further details about Open Doors Connect are available in the official press communication from the Locarno Film Festival.