Locarno makes its voice heard with a 74th edition to be held in person

by Giorgia Del Don

20/07/2021 - The new films from Bertrand Mandico, Axelle Ropert and Abel Ferrara are vying for the Golden Leopard in the first edition under the artistic direction of Giona A Nazzaro

Locarno makes its voice heard with a 74th edition to be held in person

After Blue by Bertrand Mandico

UPDATE (20 July 2021): Charlotte Colbert's She Will [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Charlotte Colbert
film profile] has been added to the Out of Competition section.

After two very difficult years and a 2020 edition completely rethought because of the sanitary restrictions due to the pandemic, the new artistic director Giona A Nazzaro and his staff are not hiding their joy in announcing a 74th edition of the Locarno Film Festival which finally finds its audience (with the necessary precautions).

From 4 to 14 August, the festival will feature no less than 203 films, of which nearly half (97 to be precise) will be world premieres. The films can again be enjoyed on the Piazza Grande and in the twelve cinemas of the city. Meetings and conversations with guests, which have always been the heart of the festival, are also back (to be held at the Rotonda by la Mobiliare and at the new house of the Forum). Among the expected guests this year are French actress Laetitia Casta, who will receive the Excellence Award, and American director, actor, screenwriter and producer John Landis (Leopard of Honor 2021). Other awarded guests this year are Italian director of photography Dante Spinotti, known among other things for his collaboration with Michael Mann, who will receive the Pardo alla carriera, and his compatriot Gale Anne Hurd, producer and screenwriter, who will be honored with the Raimondo Rezzonico Award.

Selected with the desire to "broaden the horizon as much as possible," to use Nazzaro's words, the 17 films of the International Competition include world premieres by well-known directors such as Abel Ferrara with his film Zeros and Ones [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Bertrand Mandico, who will be present with the explosive After Blue [+see also:
film review
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film profile], as well as first works by directors to be followed with interest. Among these is Cop Secret [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hannes Þór Halldórsson
interview: Hannes Þór Halldòrsson
film profile] of the Icelandic director and football player Hannes Þór Halldórsson. The undisputed European presence in the international competition is to be noted, with 14 films and 3 co-productions. France will also be present with Secret Name [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aurélia Georges
film profile] by Aurélia Georges, which takes place during the Second World War and stages the desperate attempt of its protagonist to get out of the misery of her life, and Petite Solange [+see also:
film review
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interview: Axelle Ropert
film profile] by Axelle Ropert, which follows the vicissitudes of a thirteen year old with a heart of gold. France is also featured in three co-productions: Lebanese director Ghassan Salhab's The River [+see also:
film review
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film profile], A New Old Play [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (co-produced with Hong Kong) by Chinese artist and director Qiu Jiongjiong, and the three-part anthology Juju Stories [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (a co-production with Nigeria) of the collective of directors CJ “Fiery” Obasi, Abba T. Makama and Michael Omonua. Are also present Switzerland, with Soul of a Beast [+see also:
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interview: Lorenz Merz
film profile], the second feature film by Lorenz Merz where reality and fiction duet relentlessly, Austria with Luzifer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Peter Brunner
film profile], the new feature film by the brave director Peter Brunner, and Spain with two films, The Odd-Job Men [+see also:
film review
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interview: Neus Ballús
film profile] by Neus Ballús, which follows the daily lives of three Barcelona plumbers and electricians for six decisive days, and Chema García Ibarra's The Sacred Spirit [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Chema García Ibarra
film profile], an immersion in the universe of ufologists. Russia will also be present with two feature films: Gerda by Natalya Kudryashova, a portrait of a young woman who receives a visit from a mysterious presence at night, and Alexander Zeldovich's Medea. Eastern Europe will be featured with Srdjan Dragojević's dark family comedy about post-communist Yugoslavia Heavens Above [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Srđan Dragojević
film profile]. Germany will also be featured in another co-production: Edwin's violent critique of the erectile injunction Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. Last but not least, Italy will be in competition thanks to The Giants [+see also:
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interview: Bonifacio Angius
film profile], a neowestern-drama (as defined by the director himself) by Bonifacio Angius.

There are also numerous European productions and co-productions in the parallel Out of Competition section that invites the public to venture into the folds of a free and captivating cinematography breaking down the boundaries of genre. Among these, we find the Italian Il mostro della cripta [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Daniele Misischia, a compelling story set in the 80s that mixes horror, comedy, action and mystery, the Pathos Ethos Logos [+see also:
trailer
film profile] trilogy (641 minutes in total!) by Portuguese filmmakers Joaquim Pinto and Nuno Leonel which stages the lives of three women of different generations and origins, the Serbian Rampart [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Marko Grba Singh, and the co-production between Italy, Belgium and France From the Planet of the Humans [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giovanni Cioni
film profile] by the Italian director Giovanni Cioni, a fantastic fairy tale based on real facts that shows the limits of what we commonly call "humanity."