Five countries meet again in Locarno, giving fledgling film projects a leg up in their preparation for the world of festivals: Alliance 4 Development (A4D), Locarno Pro’s initiative for projects in the development stage from Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland, welcomes submissions for its eighth edition.
Taking place at the Festival during Locarno Pro (August 4-6, 2023), the co-development initiative Alliance 4 Development (A4D) gives delegates from each of the eleven selected projects – two from Austria, France, Germany and Italy, and three from Switzerland – an opportunity to participate in a full three-day program to enhance their project's co-production potential. They will take part in specialized one-to-one meetings, pitching sessions, networking events, lunches, workshops, and feedback sessions with the industry guests attending Locarno Pro. Forging fruitful co-production partnerships for such a diverse group of projects in the early stages of their development is the collective goal of A4D, decisively helping to establish a pathway for the films’ future.
The initiative has proven time and again that it bears real fruit: the Berlinale 2023 alone featured two major projects that passed through the A4D in 2019: Music by Angela Schanelec, which premiered in the Berlinale Competition, and L’Amour du Monde by Jana Hesse, in Generation. This goes together with other recent successes such as Continental Drift by Lionel Baier (A4D 2018), which had its premiere at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes last year, and Semret by Caterina Mona (A4D 2018), which debuted on the Piazza Grande at Locarno75.
Projects can be submitted via the websites of the respective A4D partner, starting from today, March 15 and until April 28
The eleven selected projects will also compete for several awards: the Alphapanda Market Breakout Award, consisting in consultancy services in the value of 3,000 €; a script consultancy residency at DreamAgo, offered by the Valais Film Commission, worth 5,000 CHF; the MIDPOINT Consulting Award for an in-depth online script consultancy with one of the MIDPOINT Institute experts; the Ticino Film Commission Residence Award, which consists of a 2-day location scout (worth 4,000 CHF) and Letter of Intent (LOI) for financial support for the production company (worth up to 12,000 CHF), if all or part of the film will be shot in Ticino.
Alliance 4 Development is possible thanks to partnerships with CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée), France; FFA (Filmförderungsanstalt), Germany; DGCA-MiC (Direzione Generale Cinema e Audiovisivo del Ministero della Cultura), Italy; OFI (Österreichisches Filminstitut), Austria; the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) / MEDIA Desk Suisse, Switzerland. A4D is also made possible by contributions from Eurimages, which promotes and sponsors one of the initiative's networking events, and from the European Producers Club, which offers consultancy on the various issues covered.
The A4D Project Manager is Francesca Palleschi. For more information, contact her at: industry@locarnofestival.ch
