Press Releases  ·  29 | 03 | 2016

Locarno Industry Academy International, New York

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The Locarno Industry Academy is a dedicated initiative organized by the Festival del film Locarno as part of the Locarno Summer Academy. The goal of the Industry Academy, which was first held in 2015, is to offer young film industry professionals in the sales, marketing and distribution fields an opportunity to broaden their networks of contacts in Europe and worldwide. Following its successful launch last year, and thanks to the support of major international partners, the event now includes an initial pilot phase of the Locarno Industry Academy International, which to date has featured three events, held in Mexico in October 2015 during the Morelia Festival, in Brazil in collaboration with Cinema do Brasil in December 2015 and in New York last week, with the Film Society of Lincoln Center, during the New Directors New Films Festival.

Fresh from the success of the latest venture of the Locarno Industry Academy International in New York, the result of a lengthy and rewarding effort of cooperation between Festival del film Locarno and its various partners, the initiative is now more committed than ever to its objective of involving the next generation of the independent film industry, with the opening of the four Academies to participants from Switzerland, Europe, North and South America.

The Industry Academies’ mission is best conveyed by their ongoing dedication towards helping participants achieving better understanding of the industry’s challenges, while also enjoying networking opportunities and building bridges across different markets. For a more effective cooperation with our international partners and to reinforce the international networking dimension of the Academies, we will be open to submissions from Latin American, North American, European and Swiss participants.

The experience of our first year has shown us that all countries have a common problem: distribution for auteur cinema. With the advent of digital there has been a boom in production, but at the same time a drastic decline in theatrical audiences. Digital distribution has not yet found an audience big enough to compensate for the loss of admissions in theaters. By building bridges internationally we want to create a community of future key players in the industry, who will come up with and develop new concepts, with the objective of promoting independent filmmaking”, commented Nadia Dresti, Delegate to the Artistic Director and Head of International.

Submissions for the 2016 Locarno Industry Academy, an initiative of the Locarno Summer Academy, are now open.

The initiative, developed and headed by project manager Marion Klotz, is supported by the Federal Office of Culture – MEDIA Compensatory Measures and the cooperation of three pan-European organisations (Europa Cinemas, Europa Distribution and Europa International).

 

More about Locarno Industry Academy and the Locarno Industry Academy International:

August 2016
Festival del film Locarno
www.pardolive.ch

Submissions:
www.pardolive.ch/satellites/summer-academy/industry-academy.html

 

October 2016
Festival de Cine International de Morelia (FICM)
www.moreliafilmfest.com

 

December 2016
Boutique Cinema do Brasil
www.cinemadobrasil.org.br

 

March 2017
Film Society of Lincoln Center, New Directors New Films Festival
www.newdirectors.org

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