The Spring Academy 2026 with the Zürcher brothers

After the success of the workshops held in recent years by Béla Tarr, Michelangelo Frammartino, Radu Jude, Alice Diop, Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, in 2026 the Spring Academy of the Locarno Film Festival will turn its attention to contemporary Swiss cinema, with a nine-day workshop (March 1–9, 2026) led by the multi-award-winning Swiss directors Ramon and Silvan Zürcher (in Locarno in 2024 with The Sparrow in the Chimney, winner of two Swiss Film Awards). Entitled CHAOS/ORDER: Framing the Tension, the workshop will explore some of the central themes of the Zürcher brothers’ poetics through the creation of short films focused on the confrontation between two actors, between chaos and order, stasis and movement - tensions that profoundly define their cinema. It will be a unique opportunity for international filmmakers to work with young actors specially selected for the occasion, under the invaluable guidance of two established authors. The six short films produced during the workshop will subsequently be presented exclusively during the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival (August 5–15, 2026).

Further details on how to apply for the workshop, which is open to young filmmakers under the age of 35, can be found on the Locarno Film Festival website. Applications are open until January 13 at 2:00 p.m.

Silvan Zürcher studied philosophy, film, and German studies in Bern, Zurich, and Berlin, and in 2017 founded Zürcher Film GmbH; Ramon Zürcher studied visual arts and film directing in Bern and Berlin. Their debut, The Strange Little Cat (Das merkwürdige Kätzchen; 2013), premiered in the Forum section of the Berlinale. The Girl and the Spider (2021) won the Best Director Award and the FIPRESCI Prize in the Berlinale Encounters section. The trilogy, consistently characterised by the presence of an animal in the film title, concluded with The Sparrow in the Chimney (Der Spatz im Kamin; 2024), which was screened in competition at Locarno77 and went on to win two Swiss Film Awards and numerous international honours.

The Spring Academy is organised by the Locarno Film Festival and CISA (Conservatorio Internazionale di Scienze Audiovisive), with the support of RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera and in collaboration with the Ticino Film Commission.