​Locarno 2023 line-up guide: Piazza Grande and International Competition titles

Piazza Grande

Anatomy Of A Fall (Fr)
Dir. Justine Triet
Winner of this year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes (and Palm Dog, for canine star Messi), Anatomy Of A Fall stars Sandra Hüller as a successful author who finds herself under suspicion following the supposedly accidental death of her writer husband. Triet previously played in Cannes’ Competition with Sybil (2019).
Contact: mk2 Films

Antarctica Calling (Fr)
Dir. Luc Jacquet
Having won an Academy Award in 2006 with documentary March Of The Penguins, filmmaker Jacquet continues his fascination with the icy region, this time shooting between Patagonia and the South Pole. Described as a “final journey to a vanishing continent”, Memento Films will distribute the documentary in France.
Contact: Playtime

The Beautiful Summer (It)
Dir. Laura Luchetti
Luchetti’s second feature — following 2018’s Twin Flower, which premiered at Toronto — is based on the 1949 novel by Cesare Pavese and stars newcomer Deva Cassel (daughter of Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel) as an uninhibited model in 1938 Turin who introduces her naive young friend to a bohemian world. The Beautiful Summer (La Bella Estate) shot in Turin, and is supported by Italy’s Ministry of Culture, Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the EU’s Creative Media programme.
Contact: True Colours

The Falling Star (Fr-Bel)
Dirs. Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel
Mystery thriller Falling Star (L’Étoile Filante) is the opening film of this year’s festival and tells of a former activist who has been a fugitive for 35 years when an armed stranger arrives, looking for revenge. Gordon and Abel’s Lost In Paris debuted at Telluride in 2016 and was nominated for a Lumiere award. This latest work is a co-production between their own Brussels-based Courage Mon Amour and France’s Moteur S’il Vous Plait.
Contact: mk2 Films

Falling Stars (US)
Dir. Richard Karpala, Gabriel Bienczycki
The debut feature of Polish-American directorial duo Karpala and Bienczycki follows three brothers who journey into the Californian desert in search of a legendary witch’s grave. The pair also produce through their outfits Lanark Studio and Zebra Visual, and US sales are handled by XYZ Films.
Contact: Raven Banner Entertainment sales@ravenbanner.ca

First Case (Fr)
Dir. Victoria Musiedlak
The feature debut of French short filmmaker Musiedlak, First Case (Première Affaire) is the story of an inexperienced young criminal defence lawyer who takes the case of a teenage boy accused of murder. It stars Noée Abita, who won a Lumiere award and was César-nominated for her role in Charlene Favier’s 2020 feature Slalom. France’s Ligne 2 produces along with France 2 Cinema, recently involved with Palme d’Or winner (and fellow Piazza Grande title) Anatomy Of A Fall.
Contact: Be for Films

Guardians Of The Formula (Serb-Slov-Mont-N Mac)
Dir. Dragan Bjelogrlic
Serbian actor Bjelogrlic made the move behind the camera in 2010 with sports drama Montevideo: Taste Of A Dream, and has since directed two further features and TV series. His latest, Guardians Of The Formula, is inspired by true events, and follows the aftermath of a Cold War nuclear accident at the Vinca Scientific Institute near Belgrade. It is backed by the Slovenian Film Centre.
Contact: Cobra Film

I Am Not What I Am — The Tragedy Of Othello By W. Shakespeare (It)
Dir. Edoardo Leo
The latest from Italian actor-turned-filmmaker Leo is a modern rereading of Shakespeare’s classic play about passion, jealousy and revenge, set in the early 2000s (Leo wrote the screenplay and stars). The film is produced by Vision Distribution, which also handles international sales, Groenlandia and Italian International Film, in collaboration with Sky and Prime Video.
Contact: Vision Distribution 

The Old Oak (UK-Fr-Bel)
Dir. Ken Loach
The Old Oak, which debuted in Cannes’ Competition, could prove the last work from veteran UK filmmaker Loach. It follows the struggle of a landlord to hold onto the last pub in a once-thriving mining community — something that is complicated by the arrival to the village of Syrian refugees. The feature is produced by the UK’s Sixteen Films and France’s Why Not Productions in co-production with Paris-based Les Films du Fleuve, and is backed by the BFI and BBC Film. Studio­canal has UK/Ireland rights.
Contact: Flavien Eripret, Goodfellas 

The Path Of Excellence (Fr-Switz)
Dir. Frédéric Mermoud
Swiss director Mermoud premieres his third film on home turf, as he did with his 2009 feature debut Accomplices and follow-up Moka in 2016. The Path Of Excellence, which shot in Lyon in 2022, follows a brilliant young student who finds herself challenged when she attends a top science academy. The film has backing from Canal+, Cine+ and RTS, with Pyramide Films handling French distribution and international sales. Frenetic Films will distribute in Switzerland.
Contact: Pyramide International 

Shayda (Australia)
Dir. Noora Niasari
Locarno’s closing film is the feature debut of Tehran-born Australia-raised filmmaker Niasari. Shayda is about a young Iranian mother, played by Zar Amir Ebrahimi, and her six-year-old daughter seeking refuge in a women’s shelter in Australia. The film debuted earlier this year at Sundance, winning the festival’s world cinema — dramatic audience award, and is executive produced by Cate Blanchett through her Dirty Films. Sony Pictures Classics has rights in multiple territories including North America, Benelux and the Middle East. Amir Ebrahimi won the best actress award at Cannes in 2022 for her role in Ali Abbasi’s Holy Spider.
Contact: HanWay Films 

Smugglers (S.Kor)
Dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
An exploration of the world of Korean haenyeo — ‘sea women’ who deep-sea dive without breathing equipment — Ryoo’s latest film is an actioner that follows two haenyeo who are caught up in the smuggling business in the 1970s. Ryoo played in Venice’s midnight section in 2006 with The City Of Violence, and Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2005 with Crying Fist. Smugglers is produced by Filmmaker R&K, which was also behind Ryoo’s award-winning 2021 thriller Escape From Mogadishu.
Contact: Contents Panda

Theater Camp (US)
Dirs. Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman
Adapted from Lieberman’s 2020 short film, which was co-written with and starred the feature’s co-director Gordon (who also stars here), this is the story of a rundown theatre camp in upstate New York, whose eccentric staff must pull out all the stops to save it from closure. The film premiered at Sundance, where it won the US dramatic special jury award, after which Searchlight Pictures picked up worldwide rights.
Contact: Searchlight Pictures

International Competition

Animal (Greece-Austria-Rom-Cyp-Bul)
Dir. Sofia Exarchou
Greek writer/director Exarchou follows up 2016 debut Park, which premiered in Toronto and won the best new director prize at San Sebastian the same year. Animal is about a group of performers who spend one wild summer working at a Greek hotel. It stars Dimitra Vlagopoulou, who also appeared in Park.
Contact: Shellac

Baan (Port)
Dir. Leonor Teles
Baan is described as a story about “youth in turmoil”, blurring the lines between past, present and future, and between Lisbon and Bangkok. Cinematographer Teles shot Joao Canijo’s Berlinale 2023 double premieres Bad Living and Living Bad, and he has made shorts including the 2016 Golden Bear-winning Batrachian’s Ballad.
Contact: Totem Films 

Critical Zone (Iran-Ger)
Dir. Ali Ahmadzadeh
Tehran-born Ahmad­zadeh’s fourth feature follows a drug dealer in Tehran as he wanders aimlessly around the city streets, in search of an escape. The director made his debut with Kami’s Party, which premiered at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in 2013. His next film, 2015’s Atomic Heart Mother, bowed in the Berlinale’s Forum, and he followed that with 2017’s Phenomenon. Producer Sina Ataeian Dena played in Locarno’s International Competition with Paradise (2015) and co-wrote Steffi Nierderzoll’s Seven Winters In Tehran (2023).
Contact: Luxbox 

Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World (Rom-Lux-Fr-Cro)
Dir. Radu Jude
Romanian writer/director Jude has become one of the country’s premiere filmmakers, having begun his career as an assistant director on the likes of Cristi Puiu’s The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu. His work has won awards at the Berlinale (including the Golden Bear in 2021 with Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn), Cannes, Karlovy Vary and Locarno (a special jury prize and Don Quixote award for Scarred Hearts in 2016). This latest film is a two-part story following a Bucharest production assistant casting for a safety-at-work video, and a partially paralysed worker who wins the part.
Contact: Heretic 

Essential Truths Of The Lake (Phil-Fr-Port-Sing-It-Switz-UK)
Dir. Lav Diaz
Filipino festival favourite Diaz won Locarno’s Golden Leopard in 2014 for From What Is Before, along with Venice’s Golden Lion for The Woman Who Left (2016) and the best film in Horizons for Melancholia (2008) and Genus Pan (2020). Diaz’s latest is a prequel to his Venice 2022 title When The Waves Are Gone, and sees a conflicted police lieutenant (again played by John Lloyd Cruz) struggle to resolve a 15-year-old case.
Contact: Films Boutique

The Human Surge 3 (Arg-Port-Neth-Tai-Braz-HK-Sri-Peru)
Dir. Eduardo Williams
Argentinian filmmaker Williams won Locarno’s Golden Leopard — Filmmakers of the Present in 2016 for his feature debut The Human Surge, and this follow-up tells of a group of people in Taiwan trying to find something meaningful in life. Shot almost entirely using a 360-degree camera, the film was a beneficiary of the Hubert Bals Fund and Taiwan Creative Content Agency’s Taiwan’s international co-funding programme.
Contact: Rediance 

The Invisible Fight (Est-Lat-Gr-Fin)
Dir. Rainer Sarnet
The latest work from Estonian director Sarnet follows a guard on the Soviet-Chinese border who survives a deadly attack and is inspired to become a monk. The film is produced by Homeless Bob Productions, which was also behind Barnet’s 2017 title November, winner of a host of festival accolades and nine Estonian Film and TV Awards.
Contact: Homeless Bob Productions 

Lousy Carter (US)
Dir. Bob Byington
Indie favourite Byington’s latest film stars David Krumholtz (who also has a role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer) as a middle-aged literature professor who is motivated to shake up his life. The film is produced by Chris McKenna, co-writer of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania and Ghosted. Byington won Locarno’s special jury prize in 2012 for Somebody Up There Likes Me, starring Nick Offerman, which also played SXSW — as did his 2017 title Infinity Baby, starring Kieran Culkin.
Contact: Billy Offer, UTA 

Manga D’Terra (Switz-Port)
Dir. Basil da Cunha
Four years after he played in Locarno’s International Competition with The End Of The World (2019), Swiss filmmaker da Cunha returns with this tale of a woman who leaves behind her two children in Cape Verde in the hope of a better life in Lisbon. She discovers the city’s music scene is a way to escape the harsh realities of life. AKKA Films co-produced Erige Sehiri’s Under The Fig Trees, which premiered at Venice in 2021.
Contact: AKKA Films

Obscure Night — Goodbye Here, Anywhere (Fr-Swi)
Dir. Sylvain George
A year after he presented his documentary Obscure Night — Wild Leaves in Locarno, French filmmaker George returns with its sequel, which follows a young boy as he tries to cross from Morocco into Europe. As with the first film, it is a co-production between France’s Noir Production and Switzerland’s Alina Films, the latter behind Elena Lopez Riera’s 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight title El Agua.
Contact: Noir Production 

Patagonia (It)
Dir. Simone Bozzelli
Having directed short films including J’ador (best short in Venice Critics’ Week 2020) and Giochi (winner of Torino’s Italia Corti section in 2021), Italy’s Bozelli brings his feature debut to Locarno. Patagonia follows a naive young man as he makes a connection with an older guy, which moves to a relationship of dominance and submission. It is produced by Italy’s Wildside, behind Cannes 2022 jury prize winner The Eight Mountains.
Contact: Vision Distribution

The Permanent Picture (Sp-Fr)
Dir. Laura Ferrés
The feature debut of Catalan filmmaker Ferrés is the story of a casting director who meets a woman with whom she discovers a shared connection. Ferrés co-wrote the screenplay with Carlos Vermut, whose Manticore played the festival circuit in 2022, and received support from Cannes Critics’ Week’s Next Step initiative and TorinoFilmLab. Co-producer Fasten Films’ recent slate includes Thien An Pham’s Cannes 2023 Camera d’Or winner Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell. The Permanent Picture will be distributed in Spain by La Aventura.
Contact: Be for Films

Rossosperanza (It-Fr)
Dir. Annarita Zambrano
Italian filmmaker Zambrano unveils her second feature, six years after her debut After The War premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard. Set in 1990, Rossosperanza is the story of a 16-year-old Italian girl whose violent antics see her shipped off to a facility for troubled kids from wealthy families. The film picked up the TitraFilm prize in Les Arcs’ work-in-progress section last year.
Contact: Minerva Pictures

Stepne (Ukr-Ger-Pol-Slovakia)
Dir. Maryna Vroda
The feature debut of Kyiv-born Vroda, who won the short film Palme d’Or at Cannes 2011 for Cross, Stepne is set in post-Soviet Ukraine and sees a man return to his rural hometown to care for his dying mother. Vroda also produces through her Vrodastudio, and the film received backing from, among others, the Ukraine State Film Agency, Slovak Film Commission and Poland’s Koi Studio.
Contact: New Europe Film Sales

Sweet Dreams (Neth-Swe-Indo-Reunion)
Dir. Ena Sendijarevic
Bosnian-Dutch director Ena Sendijarevic’s debut feature Take Me Somewhere Nice premiered at Rotterdam in 2019, going on to win best film at that year’s Sarajevo Film Festival. Her second feature is set on a remote Indonesian island during the dying days of the colonial era, as the death of a Dutch sugar plantation owner throws his family into turmoil.
Contact: Heretic  

The Vanishing Soldier (Isr)
Dir. Dani Rosenberg
The second film from the Israeli director following The Death Of Cinema And My Father Too in 2020, The Vanishing Soldier is the story of an 18-year-old man who flees the military and returns to his girlfriend in Tel Aviv, only to discover his superiors believe he has been kidnapped. Production company United Channel Movies were behind 2013’s Israeli horror film Big Bad Wolves. Rosenberg’s short films Don Quixote In Jerusalem and Susya have previously played at the Berlinale.
Contact: Intramovies

Yannick (Fr)
Dir. Quentin Dupieux
French filmmaker Dupieux brings this ‘surprise’ film to Locarno, following a prolific 2022 that saw Incredible But True premiere at the Berlinale and Smoking Causes Coughing debut at Cannes. Shot in secrecy, the new feature is set during a performance of the play Le Cocu, and sees the titular Yannick interrupt the show and take over the evening. Diaphana is releasing in France on August 2 and will open Dupieux’s second film of 2023, Daaaaaali!, in France in November.
Contact: Kinology 

• Locarno head Giona A Nazzaro talks film-loving childhood, highlights from 2023 edition