Locarno 74: Back to Piazza Grande
by KM, Movie Lightbox
The 74th edition of Locarno Film Festival will return to its physical form this year with screenings both in theatres and the iconic Piazza Grande. For eleven days each August, Locarno is home to prestige and independent arthouse films from around the world, showcasing established auteurs and trends in contemporary cinema. The festival will screen more than 200 films in 11 venues throughout the city.
The Piazza Grande, one of the largest and finest open air cinema in the world with a capacity of up to 8, 000 people, will be welcoming back thousands of spectators under certain health guidelines. The festival will open with Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s latest thriller Beckett starring John David Washington, Alicia Vikander, Boyd Holbrook and Vicky Krieps.
“Our efforts were focused on broadening the horizon of the possible. Avoiding the temptation to follow the beaten paths, keeping our eyes open for films from hemispheres, latitudes and economies at opposite poles, tracking developments in young cinema and – above all – rethinking our relationship with the audience in Locarno and the audiences beyond the borders of our city and region.”, said Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of Locarno Film Festival.
Notable this year are some genre-friendly titles selected by Nazzaro for the Concorso internazionale, the festival’s main competition section. From Indonesian filmmaker, Edwin’s “Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” to Hannes Þór Halldórsson’s action comedy from Iceland, “Cop Secret”, this edition of Locarno will definitely be a surprising one. The jury will be presided by American film director Eliza Hittman.
Here’s the list of films selected for the Concorso internazionale (International Competition):
AFTER BLUE (Paradis Sale) by Bertrand Mandico France
AL NAHER (The River) by Ghassan Salhab Lebanon/France/Germany/Qatar
ESPÍRITU SAGRADO by Chema García Ibarra Spain/France/Turkey
GERDA by Natalya Kudryashova Russia
I GIGANTI by Bonifacio Angius Italy
JIAO MA TANG HUI (A New Old Play) by QIU Jiongjiong Hong Kong/France
JUJU STORIES by C.J. "Fiery" Obasi, Abba T. Makama, Michael Omonua Nigeria/France
LA PLACE D'UNE AUTRE by Aurélia Georges France
LEYNILÖGGA(Cop Secret) by Hannes Þór Halldórsson Iceland
LUZIFER by Peter Brunner Austria
MEDEA by Alexander Zeldovich Russia
NEBESA(Heavens Above) by Srdjan Dragojević
Serbia/Germany/North Macedonia/Slovenia/Croatia/Montenegro/Bosnia-Herzegovina
PETITE SOLANGE by Axelle Ropert France
SEPERTI DENDAM, RINDU HARUS DIBAYAR TUNTAS (Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash) by Edwin
Indonesia/Singapore/Germany
SIS DIES CORRENTS (The Odd-Job Men) by Neus Ballús Spain
SOUL OF A BEAST by Lorenz Merz Switzerland
ZEROS AND ONES by Abel Ferrara Germany/United Kingdom/USA
The 2021 Locarno Film Festival runs August 4 - 14. Full festival lineup here.
Image courtesy of Locarno Film Festival