ISLAMABAD
There will be high-profile film industry veterans, such as Poor Things, Pillion, and My Father’s Shadow producer Ed Guiney of Element Pictures, Yorgos Lanthimos’ longtime producer, Berlin Film Festival director Tricia Tuttle, and AGC Studios chairman and CEO Stuart Ford. A conversation between free-spirited Romanian auteur Radu Jude and Guiney about the relationship between director and producer will take people behind the scenes of the magic of movies to reveal the grind and the challenges. Comedian and disability advocate Maysoon Zayid (You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, General Hospital) will speak out to inspire dialogue in a session dubbed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Making Movies That Save Lives.” And there will be a lot of socializing.
Oh yes, don’t forget the Locarno Pro awards ceremony on Aug. 10 and the Aug. 12 awards event for Open Doors, the co-production platform and talent development program for filmmakers from regions where artistic expression is at risk. This is the first year with a focus on Africa, with the spotlight being on six projects in development and six producers.
Plus, in collaboration with Telefilm Canada, Locarno Pro’s First Look initiative for works-in-progress will showcase six Canadian films currently in post-production.
Markus Duffner, director of Locarno Pro, is clearly a busy man. But ahead of this year’s Locarno Film Festival, running Aug. 6-16, he took time to talk to THR about the newly launched Locarno Investment Community, mixing business and fun, and why his team focuses on sustainability.
