Open Doors has launched a suite of services offering year-round support to indie film professionals in recent focus territories. In its first iteration, these year-round services are being made available to cinema professionals hailing from the 16 territories covered by the current Open Doors three-year cycle, focused on Southeast Asia and Mongolia, as well as the previous South Asia focus. Few of these countries offer state funding for film, international-standard film schools or professional events.
She estimates the initiative will bring her into direct contact with at least filmmakers a year, some just to answer a quick question, and others for deeper consultation. The ToolBox platform went live in June and already provides information about common concerns such as festival strategies, recommendations of books about the film industry and a list of development workshops.
The platform also features expert talks from past Locarno editions, and bespoke masterclasses will be added in the coming months. Switzerland-based Open Doors community junior manager Clara Kiskanc is project managing the online platform. Professionals can email simple questions, which she and Kiskanc respond to on a day-to-day basis via email or a phone call. These replies can cover anything from providing a contact number, to advice on festivals, or giving script notes.
The full consultancy is a more in-depth service offered to around 25 projects a year. There will be three calls annually, with the next one scheduled for mid-September. An expert international selection committee picks projects on the basis of which ones they think will benefit most from the help. The consultants can hail from anywhere, but those based in the West must have experience in dealing with South Asia or Southeast Asia and be sensitive to the cultural values and inherent voices of the region.
The fourth branch of the initiative, the annual regional forum, was supposed to hold an inaugural edition somewhere in South Asia later this year but this is likely to be put on hold until due to the Covid pandemic.
