17 films, including 9 world premieres, were screened at the Piazza Grande, Locarno's open-air theater that accommodates a nightly audience of up to 8,000 people:[1][6]
The Concorso internazionale explores new territories in moviemaking. This year's selection of 17 titles, all world premieres and one as an international premiere, will be competing for the Pardo d’oro:[1][6]
The Fuori concorso section features 12 films, of which 11 are world premieres, from outstanding directors’ intent on exploring new possibilities in filmic narration:[1][6]
Filmmakers of the Present Competition (Concorso Cineasti del presente)
The Concorso Cineasti del presente selection, dedicated to discovering the cinema of tomorrow, comprises 15 films: first and second features, all world premieres:[1][6]
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, France, Norway, Qatar
Family Portrait
Lucy Kerr
United States
Negu hurbilak
Colectivo Negu
Spain
Of Living Without Illusion
Und dass man ohne Täuschung zu leben vermag
Katharina Lüdin
Germany, Switzerland
On the Go
María Gisèle Royo, Julia de Castro
Spain
Rapture
Rimdogittanga
Dominic Sangma
India, China, Switzerland, Netherlands, Qatar
Rivière
Hugues Hariche
Switzerland, France
Touched
Claudia Rorarius
Germany
West Border
西渡
Yan Luo
China
Whispers of Fire & Water
Lubdhak Chatterjee
India
Leopard of Tomorrow (Pardi di Domani)
The Pardi di domani section, dedicated to short films by emerging Swiss and international directors, combines with auteur shorts competition Concorso Corti d’autore to screen a total of 40 films, all presented as world premieres. The selection is completed by the collection of short films made during the Spring Academy, led this year by director Radu Jude:[1][6]
Concorso Internazionale
English Title
Original Title
Director(s)
Production Country
A Bird Called Memory
Pássaro Memória
Leonardo Martinelli
Brazil, United Kingdom
As if Mother Cried That Night
Engar madaram geriste bud aan shab
Hoda Taheri
Germany
A Study of Empathy
En undersøgelse af empati
Hilke Rönnfeldt
Denmark, Germany
A Tortoise's Year of Fate
Yi zhi wu gui de ben ming nian
Yi Xiong
China
The Currency - Sensing 1 Agbogbloshie
Elom 20ce, Musquiqui Chihying, Gregor Kasper
Germany, Taiwan, Togo
De Imperio
Alessandro Novelli
Portugal, Spain
Du bist so wunderbar
Leandro Goddinho, Paulo Menezes
Germany, Brazil
Full Night
Pleine Nuit
Manon Coubia
Belgium, France
The Guard
Negahban
Amirhossein Shojaei
Iran
i look into the mirror and repeat to myself
Giselle Lin
Singapore
Kinderfilm
Total Refusal, Adrian Jonas Haim, Michael Stumpf, Robin Klengel
Coline Confort, Slava Doytcheva, Federico Frefel, Alessandro Garbuio, Andrea Gatopoulos, Ambra Guidotti, Jumana Issa, Zhenia Kazankina, Bohao Liu, Diego Andres Murillo, Chiara Toffoletto
Switzerland
Open Doors: Screenings
In the second of three years dedicated to cinemas in Latin America and the Caribbean, Open Doors will offer an overview of the most interesting independent productions from its current focus region. For the Open Doors Screenings, this year's focus will be on film from South American continent, with 18 long, medium and short films, of which one is a world premiere:[1][6]
Unprecedented perspectives on movie history with 18 films, including prestigious restored titles, valuable rediscoveries and works that have become part of the collective imagination:[1][6]
“Espectáculo a diario – Las distintas temporadas del cine popular mexicano” (“Spectacle Every Day – The Many Seasons of Mexican Popular Cinema”) will offer an intensive investigation of Mexican filmmaking from the 1940s to the end of the 1960s, covering decades hallmarked by astonishing creativity and peppered with stars of the silver screen and one-of-a-kind directors who were an inspiration for generations. This year's Retrospective is curated by Olaf Möller, in collaboration with Roberto Turigliatto. A collection of essays in Spanish and English to accompany the event, curated by Jorge Javier Negrete Camacho and Alonso Díaz de la Vega, will be published by Les éditions de l’Œil:[1][6]
A rite of passage into the movies, with 8 titles for children and teenagers, featuring exclusive premieres, golden oldies, and forays into the world of animation:[1][6]
International Critics' Week (Semaine de la Critique)
Founded in 1990, the Semaine de la Critique is an independent section within the Locarno Film Festival organized by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists. This year's Locarno's Critics’ Week features 7 full-length documentaries as world or international premieres:[1][6]
A selection of titles representing the state of the art in Swiss cinema, chosen by representatives from SWISS FILMS, the Solothurner Filmtage and the Swiss Film Academy, Panorama Suisse presents 10 current Swiss films such as festival successes, audience favorites and films that have not yet been released in theaters. Film lovers from all over the world have the opportunity to discover current Swiss filmmaking in its own dedicated section at the Locarno Festival.:[1][6]