Strong French presence at the 70th Locarno International Film Festival

21 JULY 2017

Around thirty French films (including a number of minority-French co-productions) will be showcased at the upcoming Locarno Film Festival from August 2 to 12, held on the banks of Lake Maggiore in Switzerland. A high-profile French delegation will be there to accompany these films, including Olivier Assayas, who will lead the International Competition jury, and Sabine Azéma, president of the Pardi di Domani Competition jury, as well as Jean-Marie Straub and Mathieu Kassovitz, who will receive honorary awards.

Every summer, Locarno turns into the international capital of auteur cinema. From August 2 to 12 this year, around twenty French feature-length productions and co-productions, screened in world premieres, along with seven short films will be presented to festival-goers on the banks of Lake Maggiore.

This year, French cinema will be particularly well-represented, with Olivier Assayas leading the jury of the International Competition and Sabine Azéma serving as jury president for the Pardi di Domani jury Short Film Competition.

For this event, the Swiss city will welcome a large number of French actors, directors, and producers, who will present their films to movie enthusiasts who are always curious to discover the latest offerings of independent cinema. The list of attendees includes (subject to change): Noémie Lvovsky, Mathieu Amalric, Nadir Moknèche, Fanny Ardant, Tewfik Jallab, Hélène Cattet, and Bruno Forzani, Samuel Benchetrit, Vanessa Paradis, Vincent Macaigne, Serge Bozon, Damien Bonnard, Pascal Greggory, F.J. Ossang, and Guillaume Brac.

Jean-Marie Straub, who has attended the Locarno Festival many times over the years, will be presented this year with a Pardo d'Onore, while Mathieu Kassovitz will receive an Excellence Award.

This year's lineup

Screenings held on the Piazza Grande, which can accommodate 8,000 spectators, will include five French films: Dog by Samuel Benchetrit, Tomorrow and Thereafter by Noémie Lvovsky, Lola Pater by Nadir Moknèche, Sparring by Samuel Jouy, and Let the Corpses Tan by Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani.

Three French films will be vying for the Golden Leopard Award in the Official Competition: Mrs. Hyde by Serge Bozon, 9 Fingers by F.J. Ossang, and Good Luck by Ben Russell, in addition to minority-French co-productions.

Two other French films will be shown in competition in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present) competition section: Le Fort des fous by Narimane Mari and Milla by Valérie Massadian. Around ten French titles will be presented in the Fuori Concorso (Out of Competition) selection, including the latest film by Guillaume Brac, July Tales.

Furthermore, six French short films (including French co-productions) will be competing in the Pardi di Domani section, as well as the presentation of Zombillenium in the Locarno Kids section.

In the Retrospectives section, the directors Straub and Huillet will be honored in the History(ies) of Cinema program, with a retrospective of the first (French) films by Jacques Tourneur also held.