The Critics Company’s documentary Crocodile has been selected for the Open Doors Screenings section of the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, continuing the festival run for the Nigerian film collective’s project.
This year’s selection presents a total of thirteen projects, eight features and five shorts and medium titles from 12 African countries, including the world premiere of Aymar Esse’s La kora de mon père. This year marks the second year in the Open Door’s four-year focus on the African continent.
Co-directed by The Critics Company and New Zealand filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly, Crocodile follows members of the Kaduna-based collective over a ten-year period as they navigate filmmaking, friendship and adulthood while documenting the realities of creating cinema in northern Nigeria.
The documentary premiered earlier this year in the Forum section of the Berlinale before making its North American premiere at the Tribeca Festival. At Tribeca, the film won the Viewpoints Award for Best Film.
Alongside the feature selection, Open Doors Screenings unveiled five short and medium-length films eligible for the AFP Critics Prize, which will be presented outside the African continent for the first time. The directors of the selected short and medium-length titles are also invited to participate in the Open Doors Directors’ programme.
The films competing for the AFP Critics Prize are:
Concrete Moves, dir. Fagamou Fama Ndiaye (Senegal)
GOAT, dir. Judy Kibinge (Kenya)
sKINs_Addis Abeba, dir. Rediet Haddis Yalew (Ethiopia)
Submergido, dir. Ariel Añez (Mozambique)
Time to Change, dir. Pocas Pascoal (Portugal/Angola)
A month ago, the participants in the networking and workshop sections of the Open Doors were announced, including in-devlopment projects in the co-production platform like Nigeria’s I Live in V.I, and Ghana’s Too Much Music.
Official Locarno Film Festival selections will be announced on July 9 ahead of the 79th Locarno Film Festival from August 5-15, 2026.
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