The 62nd Locarno Film Festival has revealed a strong programme of international arthouse films, including 24 world premieres across the Piazza Grande programme and International Competition selection.
This year’s festival, which runs August 5 – 15, will also focus on the impact of Manga on Western cinema with a section dedicated to Japanese animation, which also include a number of international premieres and special guests.
There are 13 films in this year’s Piazza Grande line-up, with 10 world premieres. While it will feature a Manga night to support this year’s focus, there is a distinctly European flavour. The section’s opening night film, Sundance favourite 500 Days Of Summer, is one of only two US films featured across the festival.
The outdoor screenings will also include world premieres of Amos Gitai’s Jewish war film La Guerre Des Fils De La Lumiere Contre Les Fils Des Tenebres; Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu’s Les Dernier Jours Du Monde, which tells the story of a man’s search for love during a worldwide disaster; and Byambasuren Davaa’s Chingisiyn Hoyor Zagal, an exploration of Mongolian culture, will close the section.
The International Competition will feature 18 films from 15 countries, including seven first works. It will include She, A Chinese, from British-based Chinese writer and director Xiaolu Guo, whose credits include the novel A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers. The film, which will have its world premiere at the festival, received funding from a number of UK and German funds, including UK Film Council, Warp X and Film4, and Filmforderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein.
Oliver Hermanus’ South African drama Shirley Adams, which tells the desperate tale of a single mother and her invalid son, is among the first films featured and is also an international premiere. Debuts will also include Laurent Perreau’s family conflict film L’Insurgee and Urzsula Antoniak’s Nothing Personal, starring Stephen Rea.
The International Competition Jury includes Jean-Marie Blanchand, the director of the Grande Theatre de Geneve, German actress Nina Hoss and Sang-soo Hong, the South Korean film-maker.
The festival’s Film-makers of the Present Competition section, which includes 17 films, also has a strong first film line-up and nine world premieres. The latter includes Andrew Kötting’s third feature, Ivul, and Kǽrlighedens Krigere, a contemporary version of Romeo & Juliet, by Denmark’s Simon Staho.
The festival will also honour American director William Friedkin with the Leopard of Honour, which celebrates it 20th anniversary this year, and Italian actor Toni Servillo with the Excellence Award, for his long career as a theatre and film actor. Paolo Sorrentino’s Le Conseguenze Dell’Amore, starring Servillo, to complement the awards ceremony. As previously reported on ScreenDaily, Martine Marignac will be awarded the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize for best independent producer award.
Piazza Grande – full line-up:
500 Days Of Summer, Dir: Marc Webb (US)
Blue Sofa, Dir: Giuseppe Baresi (Italy)
Chingisiyn Hoyor Zagal, Dir: Byambasuren Davaa (Germany)
Giulias Verschwinden, Dir: Christoph Schaub (Swizerland)
La Guerre Des Fils De La Lumiere Contre Les Fils De Tenebres, Dir: Amos Gitai (France)
La Valle Delle Ombre, Dir: Mihály Györik (Switzerland/Italy/Hungary)
Les Derniers Jours De Monde, Dir: Arnaud Larrieu and Jean-Marie Larrieu – (France/Spain/Taiwan)
Les Yeux De Simone (short film), Dir: Jean Louise Porchet (Swizerland/France)
My Sisters Keeper, Dir: Nick Cassavetes (United States)
Petit Indi, Dir:Marc Recha (Spain/France)
Pom Poko, Dir: Isao Takahata (Japan)
Redline, Dir:Takeshi Koike (Japan)
Same Same But Different, Dir: Detlev Buck (Germany)
Sounds And Silence, Dir: Norbert Wiedmer and Peter Guyer (Switzerland)
Unter Bauern – Retter in Der Nacht, Dir: Ludi Boeken (Germany/France)
Manga Night
Mobile Suit Gundam, Dir Ryoji Fujiwara and Yoshiyuki Tomino
La Maison en Petits Cubes, Dir: Kunio Kato
First Squad: The Moment Of Truth, Dir: Yoshiharu Asino, Misha Shprits, Aljoscha Klimov (Canada/Russia/Germany)
International Competition
A Religiosa Portuguesa, Dir: Eugene Green (Portugal/France)
Akadimia Platonos, Dir: Filippos Tsitos (Greece/Germany)
Au Voleur, Dir: Sarah Leonor (France)
Buben Baraban, Dir: Aleksei Mizgiryov (Russia)
Complices, Dir: Frédéric Mermoud (France/Switzerland)
Frontier Blues, Dir: Babak Jalali (Iran/Great Britain/Italy)
La Cantante De Tango, Dir: Diego Martinez Vignatti (Belgium/Argentina)
La Donation, Dir: Bernard Émond (Canada)
La Invencion De La Carne, Dir: Sangtiago Loza (Argentina)
L’Insurgee, Dir: Laurent Perreau (France)
Nothing Personal, Dir: Urszula Antoniak (Netherlands/Ireland)
Os Famosos E Os Duendes Da Morte, Dir: Esmir Filho (Brazil/France)
At The End Of Daybreak, Dir: Ho Yuhang (Malaysia-Hong Kong-South Korea)
She, A Chinese. Dir: Xiaolu Guo (Great Britain/France/Germany)
Shirley Adams, Dir: Oliver Hermanus (South Africa/United States)
Summer Wars, Dir: Mamoru Hosoda (Japan)
The Search, Dir: Pema Tseden (China)
Wakarana, Dir: Masahiro Kobayashi (Japan)
Out of Competition:
La Paura, Dir: Pippo Delbono (France)
Film-makers of the Present Competition
Castro, Dir: Alejo Moguillansky (Argentina)
Halsningar Fran Skogen, Dir: Mikel Cee Karlsson (Sweden)
Ivul, Dir: Andrew Kotting (France/Switzerland)
Kærlighedens Krigere, Dir: Simon Staho (Denmark)
Koprudekiler, Dir: Asli Ozge (Germany/Turkey/Netherlands)
La Reine Des Pommes, Dir: Valérie Donzelli (France)
Mirna, Dir: Corso Salani (Italy)
Musashi: The Dream Of The Last Samurai, Dir: Mizuho Nishikubo (Japan)
Nikotoko Tou, Dir: Takuya Dairiki and Takashi Miura (Japan)
October Country, Dir: Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher (United States)
Piombo Fuso, Dir Stefano Savona (Italy)
SognoIl Mondo Il Venerdì, Dir: Pasquale Marrazzo (Italy)
The Anchorage, Dir: C.W. Winter and Anders Edstrom (United States/Sweden)
The Marsdreamers, Dir: Richard Dindo (Switzerland/France)
Todos Mienten, Dir: Matias Pineiro (Argentina)
Un Transport En Commun, Dir: Dyana Gaye (France)
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