The film festival in Locarno attracts every year with cinema magic under the starry sky. From August 3rd to 13th the festival celebrates its 75th anniversary.
Locarno/Bern – Anniversary in Locarno: the 75th International Film Festival will take place in the well-known holiday resort on the Swiss shore of Lake Maggiore from August 3rd to 13th. German cinema is also celebrating the anniversary with a lot.
Two directors living in Germany are in the main competition for the Golden Leopard: In “Human Flowers of Flesh”, Helena Wittmann follows a contemporary’s clinch with old macho clichés. In “Piaffe” Ann Oren accompanies a young woman into the world of equestrian sports. A total of 17 films from all over the world compete for the coveted main prize in the competition.
In the program of the nightly open-air performances for up to 8000 spectators outside of the main competition on the picturesque Piazza Grande in Locano, the documentarian André Schäfer shows “Everything about Martin Suter. Except the truth”, an experimental film about the writer Martin Suter. The director Kilian Riedhof, known for the cinema hit “His Last Race” (2013) with Dieter Hallervorden, shows the anti-terrorist drama “You won’t get my hatred” under the starry sky.
Much celebrity expected
The highlight for lovers of classic cinema fare: the retrospective honors a legendary German filmmaker, director Detlef Sierck, who became world-famous in Hollywood as Douglas Sirk. With melodramas like “As Long as There are People” (1959) he has gone down in film history as a master of artful storytelling. Numerous well-known film artists, such as the Frenchman François Ozon (“Frantz”), refer to him.
Some celebrities are expected at the anniversary festival. Hollywood star Matt Damon, his French colleague Sophie Marceau (“La Boum – The Fete”) and the Greek director Costa-Gavras (“The Deputy”) want to come. Stars like Pierre Deladonchamps from France and Sandra Bullock as well as Brad Pitt from the USA appear in films. The fans hope that they will personally accompany their films to the festival.
Part of the special flair in Locarno is that visitors can always meet one of the celebrities in person in one of the cafés or on the promenade on the shore of Lake Maggiore. Whereby the traditional motto applies: “Here, the films are the stars!” In its anniversary edition, too, the festival wants to celebrate young cinema in particular, and give a platform to filmmakers who are still unknown.
Giona A. Nazzaro, the artistic director, answered the question of what makes this anniversary festival special for him: “The 75th anniversary is a celebration that looks to the future.” Locarno is said to be a strong driving force for the cinema landscape look after Corona. Nazzaro wants to unite yesterday and today: “The challenge for the festival is to continue to live up to its important history while interacting with new languages, young people and technologies.”
The 75th Locarno Film Festival is showing more than 220 films in various competitions and sections. The festival will open on August 3 under the stars with the action film “Bullet Train” starring Brad Pitt. On the evening of August 13, the Golden Leopard and the other awards are to be presented at a festive open-air gala. dpa
