Locarno77: Official selection announced

The official selection for the 77th Locarno Film Festival was unveiled at a press conference, featuring highly awaited competition titles alongside non-competitive sections. In addition, the Excellence Award Davide Campari, given to film personalities with extraordinary careers, will this year go to beloved French stars Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet.

From 7-17 August, the love for cinema will shine over Locarno, turning the Swiss city into the world capital of auteur cinema. The 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival is set to be as bold, innovative, and vibrant as ever, with a program that will see cinema engaged in conversations with its present, history, and future, and well as with other art forms.

Excellence Award Davide Campari goes to Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet 

Alongside the official selection, celebrated French actor-directors Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet join the long list of high-profile recipients of the Excellence Award Davide Campari, a major prize at the Locarno Film Festival dedicated to performers with extraordinary careers. The Award will be given on the opening night of the Festival, August 7.

Laurent and Canet join a long list of prestigious prize winners already announced for the 77th edition: Shah Rukh Khan for the Pardo alla Carriera Ascona-Locarno Tourism, Jane Campion for the Pardo d’Onore Manor, Ben Burtt for the Vision Award Ticinomoda, Claude Barras for the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare, Stacey Sher for the Raimondo Rezzonico Award, and Irène Jacob for the Leopard Club Award.

Locarno77 Official Selection 

Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival: “We are very excited and happy with our selection for Locarno’s 77th edition, which we believe represents the best of contemporary filmmaking. We have taken special care in highlighting those works that, while broadening the possibilities of cinema, are also consciously trying to spark a more meaningful conversation with the audience. The Festival thus continues to offer itself up as a platform for intersectional dialogue. The selection presents, as expected, celebrated auteurs, while also introducing new directors who we are certain will play a major role with their films in the future. We are especially proud of our opening film, Le Déluge,  the sophomore work by Gianluca Jodice, which features Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet  in two career defining performances, recreating the last days of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI.  Two superb star turns that we celebrate by honoring both with our coveted Excellence Award Davide Campari.”

Piazza Grande 

18 films, including 6 world premieres, will be screened in Piazza Grande, Locarno’s extraordinary open-air cinema that accommodates an audience of up to 8,000 people every night.

Concorso Internazionale 

Consisting of 17 world premieres, the Concorso Internazionale assembles major films from all over the globe to compete for the Pardo d’Oro. Showcasing both established auteurs and emerging talents, classical form and experimentation, the Concorso Internazionale is a forum for the very best of contemporary cinema.

Concorso Cineasti del Presente 

The Concorso Cineasti del Presente selection, dedicated to discovering the cinema of tomorrow, comprises 15 films: first and second features, all world premieres.

Pardi di Domani 

A territory for expressive experimentation and innovative forms of poetry, the Pardi di Domani section showcases short and medium length films, mapping out the possible pathways the cinema of the future might take. The section consists of three competitions: Concorso Internazionale, with works by emerging filmmakers from all over the world; Concorso Nazionale, for Swiss productions; and Concorso Corti d’Autore, with short works by established filmmakers. In total, this year will feature 40 films, all presented as world premieres.

Fuori Concorso 

The blackboard upon which the languages of cinema are etched and revised, a non-competitive section of the Festival program that doubles as a laboratory for the mixing of all conceivable genres and varied forms of storytelling. The section features 11 films, of which 10 are world premieres and one is an international premiere.

Histoire(s) du Cinéma 

Unprecedented perspectives on film history with 26 films, a diverse selection that includes newly restored classics and underknown films alike. An unmissable tribute will be paid to Stan Brakhage, revered master of experimental cinema organized with The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and curated by Erika Balsom.

Retrospective 

Few international festivals can claim the cultural significance of the Locarno Film Festival’s famous retrospectives, which have long had a major impact on the worldwide conversation around the cinema of the past. With the 44-film “The Lady with the Torch”, this year the Festival celebrates the legendary studio Columbia Pictures during its heyday from the sound era to the late 1950s, thus marking its centenary in 2024. Accompanied by an English-language book edited by Ehsan Khoshbakht and published by Les éditions de l’Œil that features all new essays by world leading scholars, critics, and historians.

Locarno Kids Screenings 

A rite of passage that gifts a love of cinema to young kids, with a varied selection of films for children and teenagers, featuring exclusive premieres, classics from the past, and deep dives into the world of animation, especially the films of Claude Barras, the recipient of this year’s Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare.

Open Doors Screenings 

In the final of three years dedicated to the cinema of Latin America and the Caribbean, Open Doors will offer an overview of the most interesting independent productions from its current focus region. This year will feature 17 long, medium, and short films, of which two are world premieres.

Independent Sections 

Semaine de la Critique 

Locarno’s Critics’ Week features 7 full-length documentaries as world or international premieres, selected by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists.

Panorama Suisse 

A selection of 10 titles representing the state of the art in Swiss cinema, chosen by representatives from SWISS FILMS, the Solothurner Filmtage, and the Swiss Film Academy.