Locarno reestablishes itself as forward-thinking filmmaker hub

 

Now in its 75th edition, the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland has long been known as the global indie film hall of fame and a forward-thinking hub for a wider range of films, including titles from studios and streamers that appeal to a wider audience. We are looking to the future while rebuilding our position. .

 

“We believe that entertainment should be both serious and fun. We don’t see the opposite scenario where entertainment is just cheap and seriousness is just extremely elevated,” said the festival’s artistic director. One Giona A. Nazzaro says:

 

In his second edition at the helm of the Fest, Italian critics have marked Locarno with a line-up that includes more and more comedy and genre films, in addition to simple author films of various kinds. The eclectic nature of the Fest is reflected in David Leitch’s Sony’s bubbly action thriller “Bullet Train,” where Aaron Taylor-Johnson hits his August 3rd at his 8,000-seat Piazza Grande. indicated by the selection of openers in Closing August 13 was Martin All About His Suter, directed by André Schäfer, dedicated to Suter, who is considered the greatest living Swiss writer.

 

“The philosophy is to offer a wide range of movies that are all very entertaining without shying away from the bigger issues,” Nazarro adds.

 

He cites films such as Where Crowdad Sings by US director Olivia Newman. French director Brandine Lenoir’s ‘Angry Annie’ is a harkening back to the days when abortion was illegal in France, and is particularly timely in the wake of her Roe v. Wade overthrow in the United States. German director Kilian Liedhoff’s French-language drama You Will Not Have My Hate, which deals with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks at the Bataclan club in Paris in 2015, is “but not political or ideological, it feels microscopic. In a way ‘depicted’. Among other photographs Nazzaro points out are Italian director Michele Vannucci’s environmental thriller “Delta”, Swiss comedy “Last Dance”, French François Berleans “(Les Choristes)”, and Italian Francesco Laghi’s Bold Era The play “Il Patafio” is adapted. From the work of Italian author Luigi Malerba. The book was also the basis for two “Armata Brancaleone” comedies by Mario Monicelli, the great master of the late Commedia All-Italiana.

 

Meanwhile, on the industry side, Locarno is expanding its range in what is expected to be the year of the banner now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted.

 

“Locarno is not just about cinema, it’s a place to discover talent,” says Marcus Dufner, who heads Locarno Pro, the industry side of the festival. He mentions many programs including Industry Academy training his workshop, Match Me! As the starting point for the network forum, StepIN think tank and Open Doors project, now focused on a small region of Latin America, Locarno is “not just a place where film professionals make deals, but networking and It’s become a major event where we spend quality time interacting with new players.” As for buyers, top US indie distributors such as A24, Bleeker Street, Film Movement, Kino Lorber, Oscilloscope, Cinetic, etc. A number of European distributors will also participate, including French Pyramide, Le Pact, Memento, Wild Bunch and German Beta Cinema. , TrustNordisk of Denmark and True Colors of Italy.

 

 

 

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Post-Locarno has reestablished itself as a hub for visionary filmmakers, first appearing in Media Pub News.

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