The Locarno Festival for its 70th edition in Switzerland is the home of The Piazza Grande which is one of the world’s largest open-air screening venues seating 8,000 spectators.
Under the artistic direction of Carlo Chatrian and the primary Selection Committee which includes Mark Peranson, Head of Programming, Lorenzo Esposito, Sergio Fant, and Aurélie Godet, the festival beings tomorrow with a 10-day program packed with screenings and other activities.
Here is a sample listing of some screenings:
Immortality for All: A Film Trilogy on Russian Cosmism / Director Anton Vidokle Kazakhstan
Today the Russian philosophy known as Cosmism has been all but forgotten, but its utopian tenets inspired many key Soviet thinkers. In his three-part film project, artist Anton Vidokle returns to the foundations of Cosmist thought in the writings of philosophers and poets. His restless camera searches for traces of Cosmist influence in the remains of Soviet-era art and architecture, moving from the steppes of Kazakhstan to the museums of Moscow. Music by John Cale and Éliane Radigue accompanies these haunting images, conjuring up the yearning for connectedness, social equality, and immortality at the heart of Cosmist thought. [inrussia.com]
August 7, 2 pm / PalaVideo (non-competition / Art Basel)
Excellence Award Moët & Chandon to Mathieu Kassovitz:
Sparring / Director Samuel Jouy
August 8, 9:30 pm / Piazza Grande
Un Héros Très Discret / Director Jacques Audiard
August 4, 7 pm / La Sala
Cinema History Series: Hommage to Nastassja Kinski:
Paris, Texas / Director Wim Wenders
August 12, 2:00 pm / PalaVideo
Wonderstruck / Director Todd Haynes
August 9, 4:15 pm / PalaCinema Sala 1
Poison / Introduced by director Todd Haynes
August 10, 4:00 pm / GranRex
And just to round out the blockbuster everyone is talking about:
Atomic Blonde / Director David Leitch
Prefaced as featuring scenes that “could shock the sensitivity of some viewers”…
August 11, 9:30 pm / Piazza Grande
Other notable programs include:
Young Filmmakers Training in Switzerland and Italy, Part I & II
August 3, 10 am / PalaCinema Leopard Club
August 3, 2 pm / PalaCinema Sala 1
Leopard Club Award Conversation with Adrien Brody Moderated by Carlo Chatrian
August 5, 10:30 am / Spazio Cinema
Jacques Tourneur Retrospective Round Table With Serge Bozon, Jean Douchet, Chris Fujiwara, Fernando Ganzo, Miguel Marías, Marcos Uzal Moderated by Rinaldo Censi, Roberto Turigliatto
August 7, 10.00 am / Spazio Cinema
Additional offerings include Filmmakers Academy’s New Women Filmmakers screenings, Series 1, 2 and 3. Shorts by new talents that will mark tomorrow’s cinema.
August 7, 8, and 9, 7 pm, respectively / Rialto 2
The Locarno Festival / 70th Edition
August 2–12, 2017 / Locarno, Switzerland
Visit the festival website >
