Locarno’s Open Doors programme for 2026 announces its major winners, with Ugandan filmmaker Talemwa Pius’s magic realist fable “A Vineyard for a Lobster” and Somali filmmaker Mohammed Sheikh’s “Accept My Plea for a Burial” taking the top prizes. Several outlets also list other standout titles among the awards.
The awards are presented as part of Locarno Pro and the festival’s Africa Industry Focus, which centers on the co-production platform and talent development activities. Variety highlights Pius’s story, including a drought-affected Ugandan village featuring a miraculous snowfall, alongside Sheikh’s critique of an old custom in Somalia. The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline describe the wider set of winners across the Africa focus and related initiatives, framing the results as part of the programme’s second year.
While all sources agree on the two top-winning titles and the Africa focus, they differ in emphasis: Variety foregrounds thematic descriptions of the winning films, while Hollywood Reporter and Deadline focus more on the structure of the programme and the full list of awardees.
