| 76th Locarno Film Festival | |
| Location: | Locarno, Switzerland |
| Founded: | 1946 |
| Awards: | Golden Leopard |
| Host: | Associazione Festival del film Locarno |
| Artistic Director: | Giona A. Nazzaro |
| Date: | Opening: Closing: |
| Website: | https://www.locarnofestival.ch/home.html |
| Main: | Locarno Film Festival |
| Previous: | 75th |
| Next: | 77th |
| Closing: | Shayda by Noora Niasari |
The 76th annual Locarno Festival was held from 2 August to 12 August 2023 in Locarno, Switzerland.[1] [2]
French actor Lambert Wilson was the head of the Main Competition Jury.[3] American filmmaker Harmony Korine received the Pardo d’Onore Manor.
Iranian film Critical Zone, directed by Ali Ahmadzadeh, was the winner of the Golden Leopard, the festival main prize. Radu Jude's Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World was the winner of the Special Jury Prize.[4]
For this year edition, the acting categories (Best Actor/Best Actress) became gender-neutral after the creation of the Best Performance category. At the Main Competition, the winners were Dimitra Vlagopoulou for Animal and Renée Soutendijk for Sweet Dreams.
17 films, including 9 world premieres, were screened at the Piazza Grande, Locarno's open-air theater that accommodates a nightly audience of up to 8,000 people:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anatomy of a Fall | Anatomie d'une chute | Justine Triet | France | |
| Antarctica Calling | Continent Magnétique | Luc Jacquet | ||
| The Beautiful Summer | La Bella Estate | Laura Luchetti | Italy | |
| City of Women (1980) | La città delle donne | Federico Fellini | ||
| Dammi | Yann Mounir Demange | France | ||
| The Falling Star | L'Étoile Filante | Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel | France, Belgium | |
| Falling Stars | Richard Karpala, Gabriel Bienczycki | United States | ||
| Guardians of the Formula | Čuvari formule | Dragan Bjelogrlić | Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, North Macedonia | |
| The Old Oak | Ken Loach | United Kingdom, Belgium | ||
| (1974) | Daniel Schmid | Switzerland, France | ||
| First Case | Première affaire | Victoria Musiedlak | France | |
| Shayda (closing film) | Noora Niasari | Australia | ||
| Smugglers | 밀수 | Ryoo Seung-wan | South Korea | |
| Non sono quello che sono - The Tragedy of Othello di W. Shakespeare | I Am Not What I Am - The Tragedy of Othello by W. Shakespeare | Edoardo Leo | Italy | |
| Theater Camp | Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman | United States | ||
| The Path of Excellence | La Voie Royale | Frédéric Mermoud | Switzerland, France | |
| Piazza Grande: Pre-festival | ||||
| Chicken for Linda! | Linda veut du poulet! | Chiara Malta, Sébastien Laudenbach | France, Italy | |
The Concorso internazionale explores new territories in moviemaking. This year's selection of 17 titles, all world premieres and one as an international premiere, will be competing for the Pardo d’oro:[5]
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal | Sofia Exarchou | Greece, Austria, Romania, Cyprus, Bulgaria | ||
| Critical Zone | منطقه بحرانی | Ali Ahmadzadeh | Iran, Germany | |
| Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World | Nu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumii | Radu Jude | Romania, Luxembourg, France,Croatia | |
| Essential Truths of the Lake | Lav Diaz | Philippines, France, Portugal, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom | ||
| Home | Baan | Leonor Teles | Portugal | |
| The Human Surge 3 | El auge del humano 3 | Eduardo Williams | Argentina, Portugal, Netherlands, Taiwan, Brazil, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Peru | |
| The Invisible Fight | Nähtamatu võitlus | Rainer Sarnet | Estonia, Latvia, Greece, Finland | |
| Lousy Carter | Bob Byington | United States | ||
| Manga D'Terra | Basil Da Cunha | Switzerland, Portugal | ||
| Obscure Night - Goodbye Here, Anywhere | Nuit obscure - Au revoir ici, n'importe où | Sylvain George | France, Switzerland | |
| Patagonia | Simone Bozzelli | Italy | ||
| The Permanent Picture | La imatge permanent | Laura Ferrés | Spain, France | |
| Rossosperanza | Annarita Zambrano | Italy, France | ||
| Stepne | Maryna Vroda | Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Slovakia | ||
| Sweet Dreams | Ena Sendijarević | Netherlands, Sweden, Indonesia | ||
| The Vanishing Soldier | החייל הנעלם | Dani Rosenberg | Israel | |
| Yannick | Quentin Dupieux | France | ||
The Fuori concorso section features 12 films, of which 11 are world premieres, from outstanding directors’ intent on exploring new possibilities in filmic narration:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Hectares | Émilie Deleuze | France | ||
| Best Secret Place | Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel | |||
| Bonjour la Langue | Paul Vecchiali | |||
| Lovano Supreme | Franco Maresco | Italy | ||
| Mademoiselle Kenopsia | Denis Côté | Canada | ||
| Mimì – Prince of Darkness | Mimì – Il principe delle tenebre | Brando De Sica | Italy | |
| Procida | Antonella Di Nocera | |||
| Ricardo and Painting | Ricardo et la Peinture | Barbet Schroeder | Switzerland, France | |
| She Is Conann | Bertrand Mandico | Luxembourg, France, Belgium | ||
| Triggered | Topakk | Richard V. Somes | Philippines, United States | |
| We Barbarians | Nous les Barbares | Bertrand Mandico | Luxembourg, Belgium, France | |
| What Remains | Ran Huang | Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Finland | ||
The Concorso Cineasti del presente selection, dedicated to discovering the cinema of tomorrow, comprises 15 films: first and second features, all world premieres:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Good Place | Ein schöner Ort | Katharina Huber | Germany | |
| All the Fires | Todos los Incendios | Mauricio Calderón Rico | Mexico | |
| Bitten | La Morsure | Romain de Saint-Blanquat | France | |
| Camping du Lac | Eléonore Saintagnan | Belgium, France | ||
| Dreaming & Dying | Hao jiu bu jian | Nelson Yeo | Singapore, Indonesia | |
| Excursion | Ekskurzija | Una Gunjak | Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, France, Norway, Qatar | |
| Family Portrait | Lucy Kerr | United States | ||
| Negu hurbilak | Colectivo Negu | Spain | ||
| Of Living Without Illusion | Und dass man ohne Täuschung zu leben vermag | Katharina Lüdin | Germany, Switzerland | |
| On the Go | María Gisèle Royo, Julia de Castro | Spain | ||
| Rapture | Rimdogittanga | Dominic Sangma | India, China, Switzerland, Netherlands, Qatar | |
| Rivière | Hugues Hariche | Switzerland, France | ||
| Touched | Claudia Rorarius | Germany | ||
| West Border | 西渡 | Yan Luo | China | |
| Whispers of Fire & Water | Lubdhak Chatterjee | India | ||
The Pardi di domani section, dedicated to short films by emerging Swiss and international directors, combines with auteur shorts competition Concorso Corti d’autore to screen a total of 40 films, all presented as world premieres. The selection is completed by the collection of short films made during the Spring Academy, led this year by director Radu Jude:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Bird Called Memory | Pássaro Memória | Leonardo Martinelli | Brazil, United Kingdom | |
| As if Mother Cried That Night | Engar madaram geriste bud aan shab | Hoda Taheri | Germany | |
| A Study of Empathy | En undersøgelse af empati | Hilke Rönnfeldt | Denmark, Germany | |
| A Tortoise's Year of Fate | Yi zhi wu gui de ben ming nian | Yi Xiong | China | |
| The Currency - Sensing 1 Agbogbloshie | Elom 20ce, Musquiqui Chihying, Gregor Kasper | Germany, Taiwan, Togo | ||
| De Imperio | Alessandro Novelli | Portugal, Spain | ||
| Du bist so wunderbar | Leandro Goddinho, Paulo Menezes | Germany, Brazil | ||
| Full Night | Pleine Nuit | Manon Coubia | Belgium, France | |
| The Guard | Negahban | Amirhossein Shojaei | Iran | |
| i look into the mirror and repeat to myself | Giselle Lin | Singapore | ||
| Kinderfilm | Total Refusal, Adrian Jonas Haim, Michael Stumpf, Robin Klengel | Austria | ||
| The Lovers | Carolina Sandvik | Sweden | ||
| Making Babies | Faire un enfant | Éric K. Boulianne | Canada | |
| The Moon Will Contain Us | Solo la luna comprenderá | Kim Torres | Costa Rica, United States | |
| Pray | Caleb Azumah Nelson | United Kingdom | ||
| Scorched Earth | Markela Kontaratou | Greece, United Kingdom | ||
| Slimane | Carlos Pereira | Germany | ||
| La Vedova Nera | fiume, Julian McKinnon | France | ||
| The Waves | Pado | Yumi Joung | South Korea | |
| Z.O. | Loris G. Nese | Italy | ||
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| About a Cow | O krávě | Pavla Baštanová | Czech Republic, Switzerland |
| Alexx196 & the pink sand beach | Alexx196 & la plage de sable rose | Loïc Hobi | Switzerland, France |
| Duck | Canard | Elie Chapuis | Switzerland, Belgium |
| Ever Since, I Have Been Flying | O gün bu gündür, uçuyorum | Aylin Gökmen | Switzerland |
| The Island | Julien Pujol | France, Estonia | |
| Jaima | Francesco Pereira | Switzerland | |
| Last Night | Letzte Nacht | Lea Bloch | |
| NIGHT SHIFT | Kayije Kagame, Hugo Radi | ||
| Remember, Broken Crayons Colour Too | Urša Kastelic, Shannet Clemmings | ||
| Searching for the 5th Direction | Matthias Herr Schüpbach | ||
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Been There | Corina Schwingruber Ilić | Switzerland | ||
| iNTELLIGENCE | Jeanne Frenkel, Cosme Castro | France | ||
| I Used to Live There | Ryan McKenna | Canada | ||
| Kill 'Em All | Mátalos a todos | Sebastian Molina Ruiz | Mexico | |
| Loving in Between | Jyoti Mistry | Austria, South Africa | ||
| My Mother Is a Saint | I mitera mou ine agia | Syllas Tzoumerkas | Greece | |
| Nocturne for a Forest | Nocturno para uma floresta | Catarina Vasconcelos | Portugal | |
| The Passing | Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan | United States | ||
| Rainer, a Vicious Dog in a Skull Valley | Bertrand Mandico | France | ||
| Valley Pride | Lukas Marxt | Austria, Germany | ||
In the second of three years dedicated to cinemas in Latin America and the Caribbean, Open Doors will offer an overview of the most interesting independent productions from its current focus region. For the Open Doors Screenings, this year's focus will be on film from South American continent, with 18 long, medium and short films, of which one is a world premiere:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98 Seconds Without Shadow (2021) | 98 Segundos sin Sombra | Juan Pablo Richter | Bolivia | |
| Autoerótica (2021) | Andrea Fernanda Hoyos Valderrama | Peru | ||
| Boreal (2022) | Federico Adorno | Paraguay, Mexico | ||
| Me & The Beasts (2021) | Yo y las Bestias | Nico Manzano | Venezuela | |
| Once Upon a Time in Venezuela (2020) | Érase una vez en Venezuela | Anabel Rodríguez Ríos | Venezuela, United Kingdom, Austria, Brazil | |
| The Preacher (2021) | El Rezador | Tito Jara H. | Ecuador, Colombia, Spain | |
| The Shape of Things to Come (2021) | Tiempos Futuros | Víctor Checa | Peru, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Ecuador | |
| Short Films | ||||
| Angelo (2022) | Alex Plumb | Bolivia | ||
| The Distance of Time (2021) | La distancia del Tiempo | Carlos Ormeño Palma | Peru | |
| Eating Papaw On The Seashore (2022) | Rae Wiltshire, Nickose Layne | Guyana | ||
| Hidden World (2018) | Kenrich Cairo | Suriname, Netherlands | ||
| Plástico (2022) | Vero Kompalic | Venezuela | ||
| The Red Spiral (2021) | La Espiral Roja | Lorena Colmenares | Venezuela, Germany | |
| Rimana Wasi: Home of Stories (2022) | Rimana Wasi: Hogar de Historias | Ximena Málaga Sabogal, Piotr Turlej | Peru | |
| Volivia (2014) | Leandro Grillo | Bolivia | ||
| What Do You See? (2019) | Veo, veo | Tania Cattebeke Laconich | Paraguay | |
| Willkawiwa (The Sacred Fire of the Dead) (2022) | Willkawiwa (El Sagrado Fuego de los Muertos) | Pável Quevedo Ullauri | Ecuador, Costa Rica | |
| You Can Read, Can't You? (2018) | Je kan toch lezen | Ananta Khemradj | Suriname, Netherlands | |
Unprecedented perspectives on movie history with 18 films, including prestigious restored titles, valuable rediscoveries and works that have become part of the collective imagination:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abismu (1977) | Rogério Sganzerla | Brazil | ||
| Alphaville (1965) | Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution | Jean-Luc Godard | France | |
| California Straight Ahead (1925) | Harry A. Pollard | United States | ||
| Documentário (1966) | Rogério Sganzerla | Brazil | ||
| Final Report (2020) | Zárójelentés | István Szabó | Hungary | |
| The Lodger A Story of the London Fog (1927) (opening film) | Alfred Hitchcock | United Kingdom | ||
| Pardo d'onore Manor: Harmony Korine | ||||
| Gummo (1997) | Harmony Korine | United States | ||
| Spring Breakers (2012) | ||||
| Cinéma Suisse Redécouvert - Heritage Online | ||||
| If the Sun Never Returns (1987) | Si le soleil ne revenait pas | Claude Goretta | Switzerland, France | |
| Heritage Online | ||||
| The Gate of Sun (2004) | باب الشمس | Yousry Nasrallah | France, Egypt, Morocco, Denmark, Belgium | |
| (2022) | Sergio Leone - L'italiano che inventò l'America | Francesco Zippel | Italy | |
| TAMARO. Stones and Angels. Mario Botta Enzo Cucchi (1998) | TAMARO. Pietre e angeli. Mario Botta Enzo Cucchi | Villi Hermann | Switzerland | |
| Pardo alla carriera Ascona-Locarno Turismo | ||||
| Days (2020) | 日子 | Tsai Ming-liang | Taiwan, France | |
| Premio Cinema Ticino | ||||
| Waalo Fendo - Where the Earth Freezes (1997) | Waalo Fendo (là où la terre gèle) | Mohammed Soudani | Switzerland | |
| Raimondo Rezzonico Award: Marianne Slot | ||||
| Woman at War (2018) | Kona fer í stríð | Benedikt Erlingsson | Iceland, France, Ukraine | |
| Vision Award Ticinomoda: Pietro Scalia | ||||
| Black Hawk Down (2001) | Ridley Scott | United States, United Kingdom | ||
| Good Will Hunting (1997) | Gus Van Sant | United States | ||
| Excellence Award Davide Campari: Riz Ahmed | ||||
| Mogul Mowgli (2020) | Bassam Tariq | United Kingdom, United States | ||
“Espectáculo a diario – Las distintas temporadas del cine popular mexicano” (“Spectacle Every Day – The Many Seasons of Mexican Popular Cinema”) will offer an intensive investigation of Mexican filmmaking from the 1940s to the end of the 1960s, covering decades hallmarked by astonishing creativity and peppered with stars of the silver screen and one-of-a-kind directors who were an inspiration for generations. This year's Retrospective is curated by Olaf Möller, in collaboration with Roberto Turigliatto. A collection of essays in Spanish and English to accompany the event, curated by Jorge Javier Negrete Camacho and Alonso Díaz de la Vega, will be published by Les éditions de l’Œil:
| English Title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amok (1944) | Antonio Momplet | Mexico | |
| Autumn Days (1963) | Días de Otoño | Roberto Gavaldón | |
| The Batwoman (1968) | La Mujer Murciélago | René Cardona | |
| The Black Ace (1944) | El as Negro | ||
| The Black Pit of Dr. M (1958) | Misterios de Ultratumba | Fernando Méndez | |
| Carry me in your Arms (1954) | Llévame en tus razos | Julio Bracho | |
| The Case of the Wee Murdered Woman (1955) | El Caso de la Mujer Asesinadita | Tito Davison | |
| La Corte de Faraón (1944) | Julio Bracho | ||
| Corner, Stop (1948) | Esquina, Bajan...! | Alejandro Galindo | |
| El medallón del crimen (El 13 de oro) (1956) | Juan Bustillo Oro | ||
| Girls in Uniform (1951) | Muchachas de Uniforme | Alfredo Bolongaro-Crevenna | |
| The Great Champion (1949) | El Gran Campeón | Chano Urueta | |
| In the Times of Don Porfirio (1940) | En Tiempos de Don Porfirio | Juan Bustillo Oro | |
| The King of the Neighborhood (1949) | El Rey del Barrio | Gilberto Martínez Solares | |
| Más Fuerte que el Amor (1955) | Tulio Demicheli | Mexico, Cuba | |
| May God Forgive Me (1948) | Que Dios me Perdone | Tito Davison | Mexico |
| La Mente y el Crimen (1961) | Alejandro Galindo | ||
| My Son, the Hero (1961) | Los Hermanos del Hierro | Ismael Rodríguez | |
| Música de Siempre (1956) | Tito Davison | ||
| The Night Falls (1952) | La Noche Avanza | Roberto Gavaldón | |
| The Olympics in Mexico (1969) | Olimpiada en México | Alberto Isaac | |
| Pueblerina (1949) | Emilio Fernández | ||
| The River and Death (1954) | El Río y la Muerte | Luis Buñuel | |
| Skeleton of Mrs. Morales (1960) | El Esqueleto de la Señora Morales | Rogelio Antonio González | |
| The Soft One (1951) | El Suavecito | Fernando Méndez | |
| Sword of Granada (1953) | El Corazón y la Espada | Edward Dein, Carlos Véjar Jr. | |
| The Three Garcías (1947) | Los Tres García | Ismael Rodríguez | |
| Tongolele has been Killed (1948) | Han Matado a Tongolele | Roberto Gavaldón | |
| Torero! (1956) | Carlos Velo | ||
| Santo vs. the Vampire Women (1962) | Santo vs. las Mujeres Vampiro | Alfonso Corona Blake | |
| Sensuality (1951) | Sensualidad | Alberto Gout | |
| Streetwalker (1951) | Trotacalles | Matilde Landeta | |
| Forgotten Faces (1952) | Rostros Olvidados | Julio Bracho | |
| The Unknown Policeman (1941) | El Gendarme Desconocido | Miguel Melitón Delgado | |
| Wetbacks (1955) | Espaldas Mojadas | Alejandro Galindo | |
| The Witch's Mirror (1960) | El Espejo de la Bruja | Chano Urueta | |
A rite of passage into the movies, with 8 titles for children and teenagers, featuring exclusive premieres, golden oldies, and forays into the world of animation:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Greyhound of a Girl (2023) | Mary e lo Spirito di Mezzanotte | Enzo d'Alò | Luxembourg, Italy, Ireland, United Kingdom, Estonia, Latvia, Germany | |
| The Kid (1921) | Charles Chaplin | United States | ||
| March of the Penguins (2005) | La Marche de l'Empereur | Luc Jacquet | France | |
| Nina and the Hedghog's Secret (2023) | Nina et le Secret du Hérisson | Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli | France, Luxembourg | |
| The Singing Princess (1949) | La Rosa di Bagdad | Anton Gino Domenighini | Italy | |
| Snot & Splash (2023) | Räkä ja Roiskis | Teemu Nikki | Finland | |
| Tales of Franz (2022) | Geschichten vom Franz | Johannes Schmid | Austria, Germany | |
| We Have a Dream (2023) | Pascal Plisson | France | ||
Founded in 1990, the Semaine de la Critique is an independent section within the Locarno Film Festival organized by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists. This year's Locarno's Critics’ Week features 7 full-length documentaries as world or international premieres:
| English Title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archive of the Future | Archiv der Zukunft | Joerg Burger | Austria |
| The First Days | Les Premiers Jours | Stéphane Breton | France |
| Monogamia | Ohad Milstein | Israel | |
| The Pathan Sisters | Les Soeurs Pathan | Eléonore Boissinot | France |
| Prisoners of Fate | Mehdi Sahebi | Switzerland | |
| Under Construction | Wanha Markku | Markus Toivo | Finland |
| Vista Mare | Julia Gutweniger, Florian Kofler | Austria, Italy | |
A selection of titles representing the state of the art in Swiss cinema, chosen by representatives from SWISS FILMS, the Solothurner Filmtage and the Swiss Film Academy, Panorama Suisse presents 10 current Swiss films such as festival successes, audience favorites and films that have not yet been released in theaters. Film lovers from all over the world have the opportunity to discover current Swiss filmmaking in its own dedicated section at the Locarno Festival.:
| English Title | Original Title | Director | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Little Women (2022) | Nadia Fares | Switzerland, Egypt | |
| Crows – Nature Is Watching Us (2023) | Krähen – Nature Is Watching Us | Martin Schilt | Switzerland, Austria |
| Flores del Otro Patio (2022) | Jorge Cadena | Switzerland, Colombia | |
| The Giacomettis (2023) | I Giacometti | Susanna Fanzun | Switzerland |
| Jill (2022) | Steven Michael Hayes | Switzerland, Germany | |
| The Land Within (2022) | Fisnik Maxville | Switzerland, Kosovo | |
| Longing for the World (2023) | L'Amour du Monde | Jenna Hasse | Switzerland |
| Pipes (2022) | Jessica Meier, Kilian Feusi, Sujanth Ravichandran | ||
| (2022) | Hanna Nobis | Switzerland, Poland | |
| The Record (2023) | Jonathan Laskar | Switzerland | |
| This Kind of Hope (2023) | Paweł Siczek | Switzerland, Germany | |
| Thunder (2022) | Foudre | Carmen Jaquier | Switzerland |
| Until Branches Bend (2022) | Sophie Jarvis | Canada, Switzerland | |