African Film Press (AFP), the pan-African alliance of publications Akoroko, Sinema Focus and What Kept Me Up, is joining Locarno Open Doors as one of the awards partners for the second edition of its Africa-focused cycle.
AFP will present the AFP Critics Prize, which comprises a USD 500 cash award, a certificate, and ongoing editorial coverage of the recipient and their future work across AFP’s three publications.
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Founded in 2025 by Tambay Obenson (Akoroko), Jennifer Ochieng (Sinema Focus) and Ikeade Oriade (What Kept Me Up), the AFP Critics Prize was launched at the S16 Film Festival in Lagos, Nigeria in December 2025. In its inaugural edition, the prize was awarded to Nigerian filmmaker Dika Ofoma for his short film Obi Is a Boy, which was also nominated for the Grand Prix at the 2026 Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.
Ofoma was also among the participants in the first edition of Locarno Open Doors’ Africa-focused cycle in 2025, where his queer feature project Kachifo (Till the Morning Comes) won three awards: the Open Doors Grant of CHF 20,000 (€21,000), the ARTEKino International Award worth €6,000 and the Sørfond Award.
The 2026 edition of Open Doors brings together African filmmakers from more than ten countries across its Projects, Producers and Directors programmes. Running from 5 to 10 August, the initiative will offer hands-on training, mentoring and networking alongside public screenings and events during the 79th Locarno Film Festival and its industry arm, Locarno Pro.
On Monday 10 August, a jury of industry professionals will award financial and in-kind prizes to selected winning projects. The awards include the Open Doors Grant of CHF 50,000, sponsored by visions sud est and the City of Bellinzona; the CNC Development Prize of EUR 8,000; and the ARTEKino International Prize of EUR 6,000. Additional awards are offered by IFFR Pro, the International Culture Center Tabakalera and the San Sebastian Film Festival, Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), and Sørfond.
As one of the new awards partners in the 2026 edition, AFP joins EAVE and the Luxembourg Film Fund, which will offer a EUR 4,000 scholarship for the EAVE Marketing Workshop.
EDITOR’S NOTE:
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©️ 2026 Sinema Focus / African Film Press. All rights reserved.
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