Filmmakers Quentin Dupieux Sylvain George will spearhead French cinema at this year's Locarno Film Festival (August 2-12) with their International Competition entries Yannick and Obscure night - Goodbye here, anywhere, bridging the gap between comedy and experimental documentary.
This major festival in the Swiss-Italian town, a central meeting place for auteur cinema, will be hosting over thirty French films this year – including minority-French productions and shorts – most of them world premieres.
Prolific filmmaker Quentin Dupieux returns to Locarno aftering debuting his film Rubber there ten years ago, followed by Wrong and Wrong Cops, in the Piazza Grande – but for the first time he has a title in Competition. Documentary filmmaker Sylvain George was in Competition in 2022 with his documentary Obscure Night - Wild Leaves, the sequel to which he will present in Competition this year.
Four French co-productions complete the French presence in the Competition, with new films from Lav Diaz, Annarita Zambrano, Radu Jude, and Laura Ferrés Moreno.
French actor Lambert Wilson will be the president of the Jury this year.
The Piazza Grande selection, named after the majestic town square where the films are screened outdoors, will feature films by Justine Triet, the duo Fiona Gordon & Dominique Abel, Luc Jacquet (back in Antarctica almost twenty years after The Emperor's Journey), Frédéric Mermoud (whose Moka was presented in the Piazza Grande in 2016), and Victoria Musiedlak, in Locarno with her debut feature First Case.
Another debut film, Bitten by Romain De Saint-Blanquat, will be presented in the Cineasti del presente strand.
Bertrand Mandico's multi-presence is also noteworthy, with She Is Conann and two of its "variations" in short film and VR form, and the Out-of-Competition selection of Émilie Deleuze's new film, Paul Vecchiali's posthumous film, shot in a single day, and the latest documentary by Barbet Schroeder.
Last but not least, French-Danish producer Marianne Slot will receive the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize, awarded each year to a leading figure in the film production world.
Unifrance's presence in Locarno
On Saturday August 5, Unifrance will host a cocktail reception in honor of French cinema, in the presence of the French Ambassador to Switzerland and delegations of French films attending the festival (by invitation only).
Furthermore, as part of its commitment to supporting the international development of emerging French producers, Unifrance has renewed its partnership with the festival, enabling three member companies to take part in the Match Me program!
The names of the selected companies will be announced in mid-July.
The French films at the 76th Locarno Film Festival
International Competition
- Yannick by Quentin Dupieux
- Obscure night - Goodbye here, anywhere by Sylvain George
- Do Not Expect Too Much of the End of the World by Radu Jude (French co-production shares not specified)
- Essential Truths of the Lake by Lav Diaz (French co-production shares not specified)
- Rossosperanza by Annarita Zambrano (French minority co-production)
- The Permanent Picture by Laura Ferrés Moreno (French co-production shares not specified)
Piazza Grande
- Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet
- Antarctica Calling by Luc Jacquet
- First Case by Victoria Musiedlak
- The Falling Star by Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon
- The Path of Excellence by Frédéric Mermoud
- The Old Oak by Ken Loach (French minority co-production)
Cineasti del presente
- Bitten by Romain De Saint-Blanquat
- Rivière by Hugues Hariche (French co-production shares not specified)
- Excursion by Una Gunjak (French co-production shares not specified)
- Camping du lac by Éléonore Saintagnan (French co-production shares not specified)
Out-of-Competition
- Bonjour la langue by Paul Vecchiali
- 5 hectares by Émilie Deleuze
- Ricardo and Painting by Barbet Schroeder
- She Is Conann by Bertrand Mandico (French minority co-production)
- We Barbarians (VR - 27') by Bertrand Mandico
Locarno Kids
- Nina and the Tales of the Hedgehog by Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli
- We Have a Dream by Pascal Plisson
- The Emperor's Journey by Luc Jacquet
Semaine de la Critique
Short films - Pardi di domani International Competition
Short films - Pardi di domani National Competition
Short films - Out-of-Competition
- Best Secret Place by Jonathan Vinel and Caroline Poggi
Short films - Corti d'autore Competition
- iNTELLIGENCE by Jeanne Frenkel and Cosme Castro
- Rainer, a Vicious Dog in a Skull Valley by Bertrand Mandico
