The Locarno Film Festival has named Markus Duffner the new head of its industry section Locarno Pro, effective as of January 1, 2021.
Duffner, who has worked with Locarno Pro since 2014 on its First Look and Match Me! projects, has been at the forefront of digital innovation at the festival.
This year, as project manager, he launched Heritage Online, Locarno's VOD platform for the art-house industry, which allowsrights holders to upload their back catalogs and negotiate deals with VOD platforms worldwide.
Duffner is also a co-founder of Spamflix, a cult-film streaming platform that launched in 2018. Locarno, like many film festivals this year, was forced to cancel in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.