Previously deputy director of Locarno Pro, Sophie Bourdon joins Visions du Réel on July 1, 2022, where she will further strengthen and develop the Festival’s ever-growing professional platform. She succeeds Madeline Robert, who will remain affiliated with the Festival in other capacities.
Sophie Bourdon combines many years of experience and diverse expertise in the European and international film industry. Currently, the French national heads and develops the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors programs, which include a co-production platform, numerous talent development activities, and online formats for training and networking. In this capacity, Sophie Bourdon works with institutional and private partners in Switzerland, Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, South Asia or North Africa, among others. As a freelance consultant, Sophie Bourdon serves the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival market, and worked with FOCAL on European training programs, namely the Digital Production Challenge. In 2020, she was appointed Deputy Director of Locarno Pro.
Before joining the Locarno Film Festival and moving to Switzerland in 2011, Sophie Bourdon ran the Ateliers du Cinéma Européen (ACE) for 10 years and worked as an international salesperson for MK2, among others, representing the works of filmmakers such as Michael Haneke, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen and Samira Makhmalbaf or Jonathan Nossiter. Sophie Bourdon is a member of the European Film Academy and a founding member of Bridging the Dragon (Europe/China). She regularly participates in juries and selection committees, namely in the framework of project development or co-production platforms such as TorinoFilmLab, Cannes Market, Rencontres de Coproduction Francophones (RCF), Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC, Thailand) or the Asian Film School (AFIS, Busan, South Corea).