Locarno Film Festival

TypeFeature film and short film festival

ThemeInternational festival

LocationSwitzerland

PeriodAugust

Event presentation

Founded in 1946, The Locarno Film Festival, which is supported by the FIAPF, has earned itself a unique position in the landscape of the major film festivals. Every August around 200,000 spectators, 1,100 journalists, and 3,700 professionals converge on the small Swiss-Italian town of Locarno, which becomes the world capital of auteur cinema over eleven days.

A crucial annual event for movie-lovers, Locarno is recognized by professionals around the world as a key meeting place that fosters the discovery of new talent, offering a broad selection of high-quality productions presented in world premieres.

Around 200 films are showcased at the festival each year, including around thirty French productions. The festival is divided into around ten sections that are open to all film genres and all formats, the most famous of which is the Piazza Grande, which presents open-air screenings to around 8,000 spectators in a spectacular setting.
The festival also has two feature film competition sections (the International Competition and the Filmmakers of the Present Competition), as well as an international short film competition (Leopards of Tomorrow).
Also on the festival's program are retrospectives, the Open Doors Co-Production Lab, roundtables, special awards, and numerous other sidebar events.