Who's next in Locarno?
The Italian journalist Irene Bignardi having announced her intention to leave the Locarno International Film Festival after the 2005 edition (3-13 August), everybody wants to know who will be the next artistic director. Will the election committee value, as they did when they chose Irene Bignardi, the international fame of a foreign personality?
Marco Solari, President of the festival, denies this hypothesis, although the Swiss newspapers keeps mentioning Michel Demopoulos, former director of the Thessalonica Festival, Alberto Barbera, former director of the Venice Mostra, and Wieland Speck, head of the Panorama section in Berlin. Several Swiss personalities are also likely to be chosen, such as Jean Perret, the director of the Documentary Film Festival 'Visions du Réel', who declared he felt ready for this 'fantastic challenge'. Frédéric Maire is also a good candidate; this film critic who co-funded the children's cinema club 'La Lanterne Magique' and heads a committee of the Federal Cultural Office in charge of promoting the cinema is a good friend of Marco Müller, former director in Locarno before he moved to Venice. The other Swiss professional who could get the position is Marc Maeder, sales manager for Fox France since the beginning of the year and member of the artistic commission in Locarno.
The choice of a new artistic director for the greatest film festival in Switzerland obviously also has strategic implications. After the creation of three sections ('Human Rights', 'Open Doors', and 'In Progress') by Irene Bignardi, the heavy programme might need a diet. This will all depend on the new artistic director, whose name will be revealed at an undefined date.
(Translated from French)
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