08 · 07 · 15

Great partnership between FICM and Festival del film Locarno

We are pleased to announced that FICM is joining forces with the Festival del film Locarno to launch the Industry Academy professional training program, focused on international sales, marketing, distribution, exhibition, curatorial expertise and programming, at the 13th FICM.

The Locarno Industry Academy is a new initiative of the prestigious Swiss film festival and its first official edition will take place from August 5 to 12, 2015, at the 68th Locarno Film Festival. This workshop will be open to eleven participants from Switzerland, countries of the European Union and Mexico. The representative of our country will be Leonardo Cordero, of ND Mantarraya, who will attend Locarno as part of the exchange between the two festivals. The project manager in Locarno will be Marion Klotz, who will also participate in the Industry Academy at FICM.

The objective of the Industry Academy is the training of young people who are interested in developing professionally in the aforementioned areas and who are preferably already working in established companies. Both in Locarno and Morelia, the Industry Academy will give the new generation a better perspective on the film industry and its challenges, in addition to the opportunity to connect with professionals in the industry and enjoy the experience of both festivals.

FICM adviser Andrea Stavenhagen said: “Since the festival’s beginnings, FICM has contributed to the development of Mexican cinema. Today, with the workshop that we have the honor to offer in collaboration with the prestigious Festival del film Locarno, our commitment towards the training of young actors of the national film scene is corroborated. We are fully confident that this new collaboration between festivals will be fruitful and will open dialogue opportunities as well as professional growth and interchange of experiences.”

At the same time, Marion Klotz, Industry Academy project manager, said: “From the very beginning we wanted to develop international synergies with the Industry Academy through partnership with key player international film festivals. We are proud and excited to start with Morelia, which is both in Mexico and on the international scene an emblematic event. For us the idea is not only to export a training program, but to adapt it to the needs of the Mexican new wave of professionals. Mexican cinema scene is incredibly rich and inspiring in many ways. We are proud and thrilled by this new perspective and the development of the Industry Academy outside of our borders.”

In this first edition, which will be a small pilot edition, FICM has invited young programmers and collaborators of some Mexican distribution companies to participate and contribute to its professional training and specialization. The list of participants will be announced in early October.

In addition to including various master conferences and talks with invited guests of the 13th FICM, the workshop will provide participants with a practical perspective on sales, marketing, distribution, exhibition, curatorial expertise and programming. This initiative is part of FICM’s ongoing commitment to creating development opportunities for the Mexican film industry.

For more information, we recommend this article by Variety: "Locarno, Morelia Launch Industry Academy in Mexico".