- Press
- Photos to download
Press releases
STEP IN: focus on European film distribution and exhibition in Eastern and Central European countries.
Given the problems related to the distribution of European cinema, the Festival del film Locarno’s Industry Office is launching a new industry initiative. Designed as an exchange platform where concrete proposals for the distribution, exhibition and sales of auteur cinema can be developed, the initiative STEP IN focuses in its first year on the access to European Cinema in the Eastern and Central European countries, where the situation seems to be particularly pressing.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul as Jury President for the Concorso internazionale
Thai director, screenwriter, producer and videomaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul will be Jury President for the Concorso internazionale (International competition) at the 65th Festival del film Locarno.
The 12 selected projects and the first confirmed invitations for Open Doors
12 projects from francophone Sub-Saharan Africa have been selected for Open Doors, the Festival del film Locarno’s co-production lab. Several leading figures in African cinema have already confirmed their attendance at the next edition of the Festival.
Assemblea generale ordinaria del Festival del film Locarno
L’Assemblea generale ordinaria del Festival del film Locarno si è svolta lunedì 2 aprile 2012 nella sala del Teatro di Locarno, sotto la Presidenza di Marco Solari e in presenza del Consiglio Direttivo e del Consiglio d’Amministrazione.
Carte Blanche 2012: Focus on Mexico
The Festival del film Locarno’s Carte Blanche is this year dedicated to Mexico. Started in 2011 with Colombia, this now annual initiative aims to offer a showcase for a number of films in post-production, from a different country in Asia, Africa, Latin America or South-East Europe. Carte Blanche is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA).
Concorso Cineasti del presente
This year, the Concorso Cineasti del presente, a competition that reveals new talent –presenting first and second films from emerging young directors from all over the world – is being upgraded to heighten its profile and increase its importance within the Festival.
Poster 2012
The poster for the 65th edition, created by design agency Jannuzzi Smith, is the second in a series of three posters on the theme “Beauty and the Beast”.
Locarno 2012: Otto Preminger Retrospective
The retrospective for the 65th edition of the Festival del film Locarno, in collaboration with the Swiss and French Cinémathèques, will be devoted to the Hollywood master from Europe, Otto Preminger (1905-1986).
Open Doors 2012: francophone Sub-saharan Africa
Following on from India in 2011, the next edition of Open Doors, the Festival del film Locarno’s co-production lab, will be devoted to francophone Sub-saharan Africa.
Initial assessement of the 64th edition of the Festival del film Locarno
Today, Tuesday August 16, an extraordinary AGM of the Festival del film Locarno was held, at which the Presidency and the Directorate made an initial assessment of the recent event.
Palmares 2011 Official Awards
Embargo: Saturday, August 13, 21.30
The complete awards list 2011 is available in PDF in the Download Area.
Open Doors Awards 2011
The awards for the 2011 Open Doors co-production lab, that is organised with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the support of the City of Bellinzona, were announced on Tuesday August 9.
Industry Office: acquisition of five films selected for Locarno
The Industry Office of the Festival del film Locarno is delighted to announce that five films selected for the 2011 edition, three of them in the Concorso internazionale, have been acquired by various international sales agents.
Inauguration of the 64th Festival del film Locarno
The 64th Festival del film Locarno opens on Wednesday August 3 with a screening of J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 on the Piazza Grande.
Gérard Depardieu will attend Locarno for the tribute to his work with Maurice Pialat
The 64th Festival del film Locarno pays tribute to the artistic partnership of director Maurice Pialat and actor Gérard Depardieu in showing the films born from their collaboration: Loulou (1980), Police (1985), Sous le Soleil de Satan (Under the Sun of Satan, 1987) and Le Garçu (1995).
Pre-Festival: Magali Noël sings Amarcord and the first 4K screening on the Piazza Grande
Doubling the opportunities for free access to screenings on the Piazza Grande for the Pre-Festival, thanks to support from CSS Assicurazione and Valora, this year there are two free film screenings for Locarno’s residents and tourists.
Industry Office: Carte Blanche Colombia
This year the Locarno Industry Office will see the launching of Carte Blanche, a new initiative presenting titles in post-production from a specific region.
Luca Guadagnino as jury member for the Concorso internazionale
Italian director, screenwriter and producer Luca Guadagnino has joined the jury for the Concorso internazionale of the 64th Festival del film Locarno.
Excellence Award Moët & Chandon to Isabelle Huppert
The Festival del film Locarno will present the Excellence Award Moët & Chandon 2011 to the French actress Isabelle Huppert. The award ceremony will take place on Sunday August 7 on the Piazza Grande. On the same day the Festival audience will have an opportunity to attend a conversation with the actress moderated by Jean-Marc Lalanne and Olivier Père.
In conjunction with this award Locarno will screen The Lacemaker by Claude Goretta, Loulou by Maurice Pialat, Merci pour le Chocolat by Claude Chabrol, The Piano Teacher by Michael Haneke, White Material by Claire Denis and Villa Amalia by Benoît Jacquot.
Line-up announced
The Festival del film Locarno once again makes its presence felt as the essential rendez-vous for auteurs, observers and key players in world cinema.
The Festival, faithful to its origins and resolutely looking forward, continues its adventurous course, always attentive to changes in cinematography and the emergence of new talent. It continues to strive to limit the number of films selected, in order to guarantee maximum visibility of those selected while offering a range of appealing and tempting views of world cinema, film production in all its forms and landmarks in film history.
Those expected to attend this 64th edition include Claudia Cardinale, Harrison Ford, Leslie Caron, Ingrid Caven, Kabir Bedi, Guy Bedos, Abel Ferrara, Mike Medavoy, Bruno Ganz, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Olivia Wilde, Claude Goretta, Hitoshi Matsumoto, Kati Outinen, Nicolas Winding Refn, Daniel Craig, Pierre Richard, Maribel Verdú, Anri Sala and Daniel Brühl…
Olivier Père, Artistic director
Two free screenings on the Piazza Grande
Once again it is time for the Prefestival on the Piazza Grande, this year offering local residents and tourists holidaying in Locarno two evenings of free screenings, hallmarked as masterpieces in the history of cinema.
The Official Juries of the 64th Festival
The line-up for the 64th Festival del film Locarno Juries has been finalized.
Concorso internazionale 2011: initial announcements
The first two titles for the 64th edition’s Concorso internazionale have already been confirmed.
Tribute to Hitoshi Matsumoto
The 64th Festival del film Locarno will host the international premiere in Piazza Grande of Scabbard Samurai (Saya-zamurai), the latest feature from Japanese filmmaker Hitoshi Matsumoto.
Arnon Milchan to receive the Best Producer Award
At the 65th edition of the Festival del film Locarno, the Premio Raimondo Rezzonico (Best Producer Award) will be presented to Arnon Milchan, one of the most prolific and successful American independent film producer of the past 25 years, with over 100 feature films to his credit.
Pardo d’onore Swisscom goes to Abel Ferrara
At the forthcoming edition of the Festival del film Locarno, American director Abel Ferrara will receive the Pardo d’onore Swisscom, the prize for career achievement awarded every year to a contemporary director for an outstanding body of work.
12 Indian projects selected for Open Doors co-production lab
From over 200 projects submitted, in 18 different languages, from 30 regions in India, these are the 12 finalists which will participate in Open Doors, the Festival del film Locarno’s co-production lab.
General Assembly of the Festival del film Locarno
The General Assembly of the Festival del film Locarno took place on April 11th.
Premio Raimondo Rezzonico to go to Mike Medavoy
This year’s Raimondo Rezzonico Prize is to be awarded to U.S. producer Mike Medavoy. Over a forty year industry career, Medavoy has been involved in more than 300 feature films. As one of the most far-sighted figures in the business, he discovered and placed his trust in several waves of New Hollywood directors from the late 1960s to the present day.
Vincente Minnelli Retrospective
The 64th Festival del film Locarno will dedicate a complete career retrospective to the work of American director Vincente Minnelli.
Open Doors 2011: Spotlight on India
For its next edition, the Locarno Festival’s co-production lab Open Doors will focus on India. The announcement was made on November 24 by Festival’s Artistic Director Olivier Père, and Nadia Dresti, Head of Locarno’s Industry Office, at a press conference during the 41st edition of the International Film Festival of India in Goa.
Olivier Père’s first edition concluded
The 63rd edition of the Festival del film Locarno, the first under the French new Artistic Director Olivier Père, concluded on Saturday August 14. Rain meant that the closing ceremony had to be transferred indoor to the Auditorium Fevi, rather than its traditional home on the Piazza Grande.
Success for the first edition of Industry Days
August 9th was the final day of the highly successful and well-attended first edition of the Festival del film Locarno’s Industry Days.
Open Doors Awards 2010
The awards for the 2010 Open Doors Factory, the Festival’s co-production lab that is organised with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), were announced on Tuesday August 10.
The Festival del film Locarno receives the "myclimate Neutral event" label
The "myclimate Neutral event" label was officially presented to the Festival del film Locarno on Saturday August 7 in Locarno.
Inauguration of the 63rd Festival del film Locarno
The 63rd Festival del film Locarno – the first showcase signed by new artistic director, Olivier Père – will be launched on Wednesday, 4 August.
Pardo for Francesco Rosi’s lifetime achievement
As part of the 63rd edition of the Festival del film Locarno that opens on Wednesday August 4, a career achievement Pardo will be awarded to the Italian director Francesco Rosi.
Preserata: free film on the Piazza Grande with "La nostra vita"
Thanks to the support of CSS Assurance, the Festival del film Locarno is once again happy to offer the audience a free screening on the Piazza Grande the night before the event’s official opening.
Excellence Award Moët & Chandon to Chiara Mastroianni
The Festival del film Locarno will confer the Excellence Award Möet & Chandon to the French actress Chiara Mastroianni. The presentation ceremony will be on Friday 6 August in the Piazza Grande, the following day the public will have an opportunity to attend a discussion with the actress.
Initial announcements for the Concorso internazionale 2010
With three weeks still to go before the press conference, the first two titles for the Concorso internazionale (International Competition) 2010 have already been confirmed.
John C. Reilly and Philippe Parreno to attend the Festival
The Festival del film Locarno is proud to announce some of the initial titles and events in this year’s Piazza Grande line-up.
Pardo d’onore Swisscom to JIA Zhang-ke
The Chinese director JIA Zhang-ke will be one of the guests of honour at the next edition of the Festival del film Locarno, where he will receive a Pardo d’onore Swisscom (Leopard of Honour). The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, August 5 at 9.30 p.m. on the Piazza Grande. Alongside the Swiss filmmaker Alain Tanner, JIA Zhang-ke will be the second recipient of the Pardo d’onore Swisscom this year.
Locarno launches Industry Days: 7 – 9 August 2010
This year the Festival del film Locarno will launch its first Industry Days, three days entirely devoted to film professionals, 7 - 9 August 2010, with a programme of screenings and sessions specially designed to meet the needs of delegates.
Open Doors Factory 2010: The selected projects
12 film projects from Central Asia, from a total of 114 applications, were selected for participation in the co-production lab of the Festival del film Locarno. The Open Doors Factory will take place 7 -10 August 2010, during the 63rd edition of the Festival.
General Assembly of the Festival del film Locarno.
The General Assembly of the Locarno Festival took place on April 26th. Among the attendees were the Member of the Swiss-italian Governement Gabriele Gendotti and the City Mayor, Carla Speziali.
Official Juries for the 63rd edition
The jury for the Concorso internazionale (International Competition) for the 63rd edition of the Locarno Film Festival is now finalised. The line-up for the juries judging the Concorso Cineasti del presente (Filmmakers of the Present) and the Pardi di domani (Leopards of Tomorrow) is now almost complete.
The poster for the 63rd edition
The poster for the 63rd edition, created by Jannuzzi Smith, concludes the major exercise of re-branding the Festival that began in 2007. This project, spread over a three-year period, aimed to renew the event’s visual identity by bringing the leopard back into the heart of its marketing strategy. The new design was conceived in such a manner as to enable its use in traditional formats, on the Festival’s screens as well as in ‘new media’ applications – through images of the moving leopard.
Swisscom Leopard of Honour to Alain Tanner
At the 63rd edition of the Locarno International Film Festival, a Swisscom Leopard of Honour will be awarded to the Swiss director Alain Tanner, who will hold a public Masterclass.
Open Doors 2010: Central Asia
Following Greater China in 2009, the Locarno International Film Festival’s co-production lab Open Doors 2010 will focus on countries in central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Locarno 2010: Retrospective Ernst Lubitsch
For the 63rd edition of the Locarno International Film Festival (4-14 August 2010), the work of German born American director Ernst Lubitsch will be the subject of an exhaustive retrospective, in collaboration with the Cinémathèque française.
Olivier Père future Artistic Director
The Board of the Locarno International Film Festival, at an extraordinary meeting on September 25th, appointed Olivier Père, currently in charge of the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, as the new Artistic Director for the Locarno Festival, who will start at the end of next year’s festival (5-15 August 2009). He will succeed Frédéric Maire, who, as was announced last June, will become head of the Swiss Cinémathèque on 1st November, 2009.