Top (left to right): 'The First Flower' – 'The Blessing' – 'Obscura.' Bottom (left to right): 'Concrete Moves' – 'Katanga la danse des scorpions' – 'Barni.' Courtesy of Locarno Films by established auteurs and emerging talents, including the likes of Ben Rivers (Mare’s Nest, Bogancloch), Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (A Useful Ghost), Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel (Eat the Night, Jessica Forever), Antonin Peretjatko (Journey to the Brink of War), Timoteus Anggawan Kusno, Filmsaaz (Wolfgang), Bani Khoshnoudi (Fireflies), Hao Zhou, Deepak Rauniyar (White Sun) and The Kite Runner actor Elham Ehsas, are part of the 2026 edition of the Locarno Film Festival‘s Pardi di Domani program, its short and medium-length selection, unveiled on Wednesday.
The Locarno fest, taking place in the picturesque town in Switzerland, calls this section dedicated to the “Leopards of Tomorrow,” a reference to its Leopard awards, “a vital space for expressive experimentation and innovative forms of cinematic poetry” and “a cornerstone” of its mission “to foster dialogue between generations and traditions and to support the filmmakers who will define the future of cinematic expression.”
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On Wednesday, the fest said: “The energy of Pardi di Domani vividly embodies the mission of the Locarno Film Festival: bridging generations and cinematic traditions through dialogue, while championing the filmmakers whose work will help shape cinema’s future.” This year’s edition presents 40 world premieres across three competitions and 29 countries. The Concorso Internazionale and Concorso Nazionale programs feature emerging talents, international and Swiss, respectively, gaining their first international exposure in Locarno. The Concorso Corti d’Autore, meanwhile, showcases short films by established directors.
“The war of the worlds in a selection of 40 fearless titles that reflect both on the public conflicts shattering our present and the private battles defining our humanity,” said Eddie Bertozzi, head of the Pardi di Domani selection committee. “At its core, always, is cinema’s ultimate quest: its need to reinvent itself, our faith in the power of the image.”
Meanwhile, Locarno also unveiled the lineup of its 2026 Open Doors Screenings program. The Open Doors program’s mission is to support filmmakers from underrepresented regions and countries where cinema as a form of expression is at risk. Given its current focus, this year’s short and feature films come from across the African continent and include the world premiere of Aymar Esse’s La kora de mon père and the Swiss premiere of The Prophet by Ique Langa.
Said Delphine Jeanneret and Ibee Ndaw, the programmers of the Open Doors Screenings: “Open Doors Screenings bring together 13 films from 12 African countries, reflecting a rich diversity of languages, beliefs and imaginations. The selection weaves together fiction, documentaries and hybrid works into a constellation of perspectives. It is an invitation to step into these films as if they were open spaces: places for listening, for exchange, and for encounter.”
The 79th edition of Locarno takes place Aug. 5-15.
Check out the lineup of films in Locarno’s 2026 Open Doors Screenings and Pardi di Domani section below.
Open Doors Screenings Features BARNI by Mohammed Sheikh – Somalia – 2025 Swiss Premiere CATCHER (WRESTLERS) by Derhwa Kasunzu – Burkina Faso, France – Metropolitan, Democratic Republic of Congo – 2025 Swiss Premiere COTTON QUEEN by Suzannah Mirghani – Germany, France, Palestine, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan – 2025 CROCODILE by The Critics, Pietra Brettkelly – New Zealand, Nigeria – 2026 Swiss Premiere DIYA by Achille Ronaimou – Chad, Germany, France, Ivory Coast – 2025 Swiss Premiere KATANGA LA DANSE DES SCORPIONS by Dani Kouyaté – Burkina Faso – 2025 LA KORA DE MON PÈRE (MY FATHER’S KORA) by Ayeman Aymar Esse – Benin, Switzerland, Germany – 2026 World Premiere O PROFETA (THE PROPHET) by Ique Langa – Mozambique, Qatar, South Africa – 2026 Swiss Premiere Short and Medium Films CONCRETE MOVES by Fagamou Fama Ndiaye – Senegal – 2025 Swiss Premiere GOAT by Judy Kibinge – Kenya – 2025 Swiss Premiere sKINs_ADDIS ABEBA by Rediet Haddis Yalew – Ethiopia – 2026 Swiss Premiere SUBMERGIDO by Ariel Añez – Mozambique – 2025 Swiss Premiere TIME TO CHANGE by Pocas Pascoal – Portugal, Angola – 2024 Swiss Premier
Pardi di Domani – Concorso Corti d’Autore ÃSHEGHETAM by Filmsaaz – France, Switzerland, Iran – 2026 World premiere ELEGY FOR THE FORGOTTEN, ON AN ENDLESS WAR by Bani Khoshnoudi – Iran, France – 2026 World premiere ET SI THUY N’EXISTAIT PAS (AND IF THUY DIDN’T EXIST) by Carlo Francisco Manatad – Philippines, France, Indonesia – 2026 World premiere PRIVATE PROPERTY by Deepak Rauniyar – USA, Nepal, France – 2026 World premiere QUELQUE PART DANS UN PAYS LIBRE (SOMEWHERE IN A FREE COUNTRY) by Antonin Peretjatko – France – 2026 World premiere SHI HOU (ALREADY HAPPENED) by Hao Zhou – USA, China – 2026 World premiere THE BLESSING by Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel – France, Switzerland – 2026 World premiere THE BOVINE COMEDY by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke – France – 2026 World premiere THE GOD THAT DESTROYS by Jyoti Mistry – Austria, Sweden – 2026 World premiere THE WIND, ONE BRILLIANT DAY by Ben Rivers – China, United Kingdom – 2026 World premiere Pardi di Domani – Concorso Internazionale ANOTHER DAY IN THE METAL BOX by Gleb Feldman – Ukraine – 2026 World premiere AS A CURE by Dorothea Sing Zhang – China, United Kingdom – 2026 World premiere AURORA BOREALIS by Valeriya Kim – Hungary, Belgium, Portugal, Kazakhstan – 2026 World premiere DANS LES RÊVES QUAND ON DORT PAS LA NUIT (IN DREAMS WHEN YOU CAN’T SLEEP AT NIGHT) by Rachel Gutgarts – France – 2026 World premiere DRIFT by Jérémie Danon, Kiddy Smile – France – 2026 World premiere HERSHEWE FAZANAWERD (FORGOTTEN SPACEMAN) by Elham Ehsas – Afghanistan, United Kingdom – 2026 World premiere IN THE SILENCE AFTER by Sebastian Delascasas – Qatar, USA, Colombia – 2026 World premiere KHUFU by Mahmoud Assi – Egypt, France, Sweden, Canada – 2026 World premiere LAS DAMAS by Camille Zéhenne – France – 2026 World premiere LOS ANDARES (THE WANDERERS) by Isa Luengo, Sofia Esteve – Spain – 2026 World premiere MELK by Filip Anthonissen – Belgium – 2026 World premiere MUTRION by Marco Cavazzin – Italy – 2026 World premiere NADUPA by Daniel Samwel – Tanzania – 2026 World premiere NO TENGO BOCA, AUN ASÍ DEBO GRITAR (I HAVE NO MOUTH, YET I MUST SCREAM) by Diego Andrés Murillo, Eduardo Andrés Díaz – Venezuela, USA – 2026 World premiere OBSCURA by Timoteus Anggawan Kusno – Indonesia, Netherlands – 2026 World premiere PILUK by Elisapie Isaac, Marc Séguin – Canada – 2026 World premiere PREMIER FEU (FIRST FIRE) by Blanca Camell Galí – France, Spain – 2026 World premiere THE ARCHITECT WHO BUILT HIS OWN COLLAPSE by Chun Tien Chen – Taiwan – 2026 World premiere TOGETHER by NEOZOON – Germany – 2026 World premiere YEK ROOZ-E SHIRIN (A SWEET DAY) by Omid Abdollahi – Iran – 2026 World premiere Pardi di Domani – Concorso Nazionale ALLES GUTE (TAKE CARE) by Patricia Strübin – Switzerland – 2026 World premiere GHERKING by Claudius Gentinetta – Switzerland – 2026 World premiere LÄÄNE/VOSTOK (WEST/EAST) by Elia Canevascini – Switzerland – 2026 World premiere MAIDS OF PETROLEUM by Hans Baumann – USA – 2026 World premiere RESPIRER UNE FOIS SUR TROIS by Charlyne Genoud – Switzerland – 2026 World premiere SINGULARITY by Marjolaine Perreten – Switzerland – 2026 World premiere STREET OF RESISTANCE by Jan Ciallella – Switzerland – 2026 World premiere THE FIRST FLOWER by Astrit Ismaili – Kosovo, Switzerland, Netherlands – 2026 World premiere TYPHOON MAMBO by Domenico Singha Pedroli – Switzerland, France, Thailand – 2026 World premiere ZRUGG by Lars Mulle – Switzerland – 2026 World premiere
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