The African Film Press (AFP) has joined forces with the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors program. Serving as a new award partner for the upcoming 2026 edition, the alliance will debut the AFP Critics Prize, an award designed to champion and elevate emerging talent from the continent.
The AFP, a powerhouse coalition of founding publications Akoroko, Sinema Focus, and What Kept Me Up, will present the winning project with a USD 500 cash prize, an official certificate, and a commitment to ongoing editorial coverage across all AFP networks as the filmmaker advances their career.
While new to Locarno, the AFP Critics Prize already carries a prestigious track record. The alliance first presented the accolade on December 5, 2025, at the 5th edition of the S16 Film Festival in Lagos. The inaugural award went to Nigerian filmmaker Dika Ofoma for his acclaimed short film Obi Is a Boy.
In a full-circle moment, Ofoma himself is an alumnus of the Open Doors program. His feature project, Kachifo (Till the Morning Comes), was selected for the 2025 Open Doors Projects line-up, where it went on to secure three major awards.
The 2026 edition marks the second year of Open Doors’ ambitious four-edition cycle focused entirely on 42 African countries, with eligibility strictly guided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
Scheduled to run from August 5 to 10 during the Locarno Film Festival and its industry arm, Locarno Pro, the intensive program offers:
- Professional training and talent mentoring
- High-level international networking opportunities
- Public screenings of selected works
AFP is one of two new partners joining the awards roster this year. The festival also welcomes a new scholarship worth EUR 4,000, backed by EAVE and the Luxembourg Film Fund, which will allow one participant to attend the prestigious EAVE Marketing Workshop.
The 2026 awards lineup
An international jury will announce the winners on August 10. The AFP Critics Prize joins an impressive, established lineup of financial and developmental awards aimed at bringing independent stories to life:
| Award | Value / Sponsor |
| Open Doors Grant | CHF 50,000 (visions sud est & City of Bellinzona) |
| CNC Development Prize | EUR 8,000 (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée) |
| Arte Kino International Prize | EUR 6,000 |
| EAVE & Luxembourg Film Fund Scholarship | EUR 4,000 (Marketing Workshop) |
| AFP Critics Prize | USD 500 + Editorial Coverage (Akoroko, Sinema Focus, What Kept Me Up) |
Additional specialized institutional prizes will be granted by major global film bodies, including IFFR Pro, the International Culture Center Tabakalera, San Sebastián Film Festival, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and Sørfond.