Accompanied by rain, the 76th International Film Festival in Locarno opened in the open air on the Piazza Grande in the evening.
The short film “Dammi” from France, which was shown out of competition, offered excitement first. Englishman Riz Ahmed (“Sound of Metal”) plays the main role of a man in search of his roots. He was awarded the “Excellence Award Davide Campari” at the gala – but because of the strike in Hollywood he did not accept the award personally. The Franco-Belgian crime comedy “L’Étoile Filante” (“The Falling Star”) then ran, also out of competition.
214 feature, documentary, short and experimental films will be shown in Locarno until August 12th. German cinema has a powerful presence at the festival. Three female directors working in Germany are represented in the “Cineasti del presente” (“Filmmakers of the Present”) competition with stylistically original films about unique women: Katharina Lüdin with “And that one can live without deception”, Claudia Rorarius with “Touched” and Katharina Huber with “A Beautiful Place”.
17 films compete in the international competition
In the international competition (“Concorso internazionale”), 17 films from all over the world compete for the Golden Leopard, the main prize of the most important European film festival alongside Berlin, Cannes and Venice. There are two films that were made with strong financial support from German producers: “Stepne” (Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Slovakia) by the Ukrainian director Maryna Vroda and “Critical Zone” (Iran, Germany) by the Iranian director Ali Ahmadzadeh.
Traditionally, the motto “Here the films are the stars!” applies in Locarno. Celebrity appearances are rather rare. This year there will be even fewer than usual. As a result of the writers’ and players’ strike in Hollywood, other celebrities besides Riz Ahmend have canceled their trip to the Swiss shores of Lake Maggiore. The Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård (“Mamma Mia!”) even refused to accept a special award because of the strike.
Evening outdoor performances
The highlight of the festival this year will again be the evening open-air screenings of out-of-competition films on the picturesque Piazza Grande of the holiday resort. Often more than 8,000 film fans can expect a mixture of sophistication and entertainment here. One of the highlights is likely to be the screening of this year’s winning film at the Cannes Festival, the drama “Anatomie d’une chute” (“Anatomy of a Case”) starring German actress Sandra Hüller (“Toni Erdmann”).
The festival ends on August 12th with the awarding of the Golden Leopard and other prizes. Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) has also announced that she will produce the drama “Shayda” by Iranian-Australian filmmaker Noora Niasari. The world star should give the final gala under the stars a special shine. It is still unclear whether she will also have to cancel her appearance because of the strike in Hollywood.
