Locarno Open Doors spotlights Cabo Verde, Ivory Coast animation and Zimbabwe film plans, producers say

Producers representing Cabo Verde, the Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe discussed the state of their film development work in connection with Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors program, with an emphasis on reaching beyond event-driven attention and building practical pathways to production and audiences. In interviews published by The Hollywood Reporter on August 4, Adja Mariam Mahre Soro of the Ivory Coast, Tapiwa Chipfupa of Zimbabwe and Natasha Craveiro of Cabo Verde described how their current projects are shaped by the realities of financing, packaging and finding distribution opportunities for African stories at international festivals.

Soro, associated with an Ivory Coast project described in the coverage as animated, said the work is aimed at building momentum through the festival ecosystem rather than treating a single global showcase as the destination. The conversation framed animation as a route to storytelling that can travel across languages and formats, while also requiring long development timelines and dependable support to move from early concept to completed work.

Chipfupa, described in the same report as a Zimbabwe-based producer with what the interview characterized as ambition, focused on the practical challenges of advancing projects through early stages. The discussion pointed to the need for sustained development support, including the kinds of partner meetings and industry access that can help filmmakers move past the hardest part of securing commitments for production and post-production.

Craveiro, representing Cabo Verde, spoke about looking beyond the World Cup as a cultural reference point, underscoring that film plans can extend past short bursts of attention and instead target longer-term audience building. The report’s framing suggested that the Cabo Verde team is seeking to position its project in a broader slate of festival-ready work, with Open Doors serving as a bridge between development and international visibility.

Across the interviews, the common theme was that international platforms matter, but they do not eliminate the gap between development and finished delivery. Producers described Open Doors-style access as a way to identify collaborators, clarify creative goals and translate early materials into concrete next steps. The discussions also reflected the broader industry constraint that even projects that generate early interest require time, funding structures and reliable production planning.

The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage situates these producer conversations within Locarno’s wider industry programming for African projects. Open Doors, as characterized in the interview material, functions as a curated entry point for creators who are building film careers and working to secure the resources and partner alignment needed to complete their work.

The report does not lay out specific production budgets, casting, release dates or named distribution partners. Instead, it presents the interviews as a snapshot of where the producers say their projects stand and what they see as the next milestones, with the festival’s industry setting providing the forum for those conversations among peers and industry participants.