In Latin America, São Paulo Locarno Industry Academy International has the support of Ibermedia, a media alliance with LatAm Cinema, and also local alliances, such as Morelia International Film Festival and IMCINE in Mexico, Australab in Chile, and International Film Festival Panama in Panama. This year brings the 4th edition of the Industry Academy in Brazil, and the 2nd year of its partnership with BrLab.

Over the last decade, with the development of Brazilian cinema and its frequent presence in international festivals, we have perceived a growing interest of the younger generation in the film industry, mainly as a means of reaching the international market.

With new technologies fighting for space with movie theaters and the new content formats that are being produced today, the independent film industry faces the need to constantly reinvent itself, which is why we believe that building a network of people of different origins and countries, and even continents, is a very rewarding experience, not only for the participants, but also for the tutors and ourselves.

We know that our programming has become a key event for young professionals in the industry. Therefore, this year we had to deeply adapt to the changes and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time, the Industry Academy in Latin America will be held in digital format. What at first seemed to be a restriction now appears to us as a beautiful opportunity. For instance, we have succeeded in bringing together 11 young professionals from all over the Latin American continent for the Academy in São Paulo. This year's group of participants reflects the growing demand for serious and adapted training in the film industry, and shows us that our independent industry has an opportunity to expand beyond the large capitals to medium-sized cities, where audiences hungry for independent cinema in all its diversity can also be found. We are convinced that this will be a very special year, and that despite the current health and social crisis, we will be able to offer our participants a high-quality workshop that reflects our enthusiasm and commitment.