The Locarno Film Festival has launched a new competition aimed at short and medium-length works by auteur directors already established on the international scene.
The new strand is called Corti d’autore and will have its inaugural run at Locarno’s 74th edition, scheduled to run from August 4-14 this year. It will be open to world or international premieres.
The aim of the new section is to create a space where high-profile directors can showcase work experimenting with new and innovative forms and formats.
Artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro described it as: “A new, competitive section dedicated to the non-standard gazes of filmmaking, with no genre excluded or prioritized, staying true to Locarno’s vocational mission to discover new voices pitched towards the future.”
Up until now, Locarno’s competitive focus on shorts has been on works by emerging filmmakers which were showcased in the Pardi di Domani section.
Pardi di Domani selection committee head Eddie Bertozzi will oversee the selection of the films in contention for the new prize alongside incoming team members Anne Gaschütz, Enrico Vannucci and Valeria Wagner.
“Corti d’autore will be a stimulus towards redefining our perceptions about what short films are, about who makes them and why,” said Bertozzi. ”They are not just a trial run for emerging talents hoping to break into features, but also a preferred format for established artists who find new freedoms for storytelling and stylistic experiments that challenge the rigidity of conventional feature formats.”
No comments yet