19/05/2003

The 56th International Locarno Film Festival (6-16 August) is more Swiss than ever. Local artist Ugo Rondinone designed the poster, Ruth Waldbuerger will receive the award, set up last year, that honours the work of independent producers, and writer, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, is the subject of a special event organised with the Bologna Film Library that includes an exhibition of his paintings in the Casca Rusca museum.
Locarno is run by the talented trio of Marco Solari, president, Irene Bignardi, artistic director and Teresa Cavina, deputy director, who met the press today in the Swiss Pavilion to illustrate the forthcoming edition.
Locarno 56 will combine novelty with tradition. Some 50 titles, from the silent era to the present day, on loan from America and Japan, will screen in the “America & Jazz” retrospective; the traditional night screenings will continue in Piazza Grande, and “In Progress” will allow artists and filmmakers to meet and exchange ideas about their work and gain insight into the industry in general.
In order to strengthen industry ties worldwide, starting this year Locarno intends showcasing films by industries experiencing “crises” (this year: Cuba). The event is the result of a joint venture between the festival, DESA – the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and partner, ACE – Ateliers du Cinéma Européen and includes a round-table for European producers interested in projects and filmmakers from other countries. Locarno will end on a high note when the UK’s Ken Loach will receive an honorary Golden Leopard. He will appreciate the organisers’ having set aside an entire day to “Human Rights”, with the screening of numerous films on this sad but timely issue.