More than forty works produced or co-produced by France will be presented at this year's Locarno Film Festival ((August 6-16), including the final part to Abdellatif Kechiche's Mektoub, My Love trilogy, the only majority-French film in International Competition.
The small town in the south of Switzerland, the cradle for this major festival dedicated to arthouse and experimental cinema, currently directed by Giona A. Nazzaro, will be the perfect setting for new films by Hafsia Herzi, Jean-Stéphane Bron, Maureen Fazendeiro, Tamara Stepanyan, Maxime Matray, Alexia Walther, and Jérôme Reybaud, most of which will have their world premiere there.
This will be a first for Abdellatif Kechiche at Locarno, as the director has always presented his films in Venice or Cannes. Mektoub My Love : Canto Due brings to a close a trilogy of which only the first opus (Mektoub, My Love : Canto Uno) was released theatrically eight years ago, the second having been presented only at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
Four other minority-French co-productions will also be in the running for the precious Golden Leopard: the documentary Les Saisons, the second feature by Maureen Fazendeiro, a French filmmaker based in Lisbon; Mare's Nest by British experimental filmmaker Ben Rivers; Mosquitoes by the Italian duo Valentina Bertani and Nicole Bertani; and God Will Not Help, the third feature by Croation film director Hana Jusic.
Out of Competion, Swiss Jean-Stéphane Bron will present Le Chantier, his documentary about Renzo Piano. This majority-French film is produced by Les Films Pelléas, as is the series The Deal, also directed by Jean-Stéphane Bron, whose first two episodes will be screened in the Piazza Grande. In this huge open-air screening area, much appreciated by the 8,000 spectators who are accommodated there, the Palme d'Or 2025, It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi, will be shown, as will The Little Sister by Hafsia Herzi, also presented at Cannes, where its star Nadia Melliti won the Best Actress Award, and In the Land of Arto, by Armenian filmmaker Tamara Stepanyan, starring Zar Amir and Camille Cottin on the roads of Armenia.
In the Cineasti del Presenti, the duo Maxime Matray and Alexia Walther (Blonde Animals) will come to present Affection Affection, while Jérôme Reybaud will be there for A Balcony in Limoges, nine years after his debut feature 4 Days in France.
10 French short films have been selected in the Pardi di Domani. (full list below)
Golshifteh Farahani honoured
The French-Iranian actress will receive the prestigious Davide Campari Award of Excellence. Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the festival, describes her as an ‘essential figure’ and ‘an exceptional artist who has left a lasting impression on the eyes and hearts of film lovers around the world.’ The actress will take advantage of her presence in Locarno to present Julia Ducournau's Alpha and meet the public on this occasion.
Last but not least, Rithy Panh will be chairing this year's Concorso Internazionale Jury, and producer Judith Lou Lévy and filmmaker Patricia Mazuy are part of the First Feature jury.
Unifrance's presence in Locarno
On Sunday, August 9, Unifrance will organize a cocktail reception in honor of French cinema, in the presence of the Ambassadrice de France in Switzerland and the 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.
This year they are:
All the French films at the 78th Locarno Film Festival
International Competition
- Mektoub My Love : Canto Due by Abdellatif Kechiche
- Les Saisons by Maureen Fazendeiro (minority-French co-production)
- Mare's Nest by Ben Rivers (French co-production shares not specified)
- Mosquitoes by Valentina Bertani and Nicole Bertani (minority-French co-production)
- God Will Not Help by Hana Jusic (minority-French co-production)
Out of Competition
- Le Chantier by Jean-Stéphane Bron
- Exile by Mehdi Hmili (minority-French co-production)
- The Deal by Jean-Stéphane Bron (screening of the first two episodes)
Piazza Grande
- The Little Sister by Hafsia Herzi
- In the Land of Arto by Tamara Stepanyan
- It Was Just an Accident by Jafar Panahi
- Irkalla - Gilgamesh's Dream by Mohamed Jabarah Al Daradji (French co-production shares not specified)
- Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier (minority-French co-production)
Cineasti del Presente
- A Balcony in Limoges by Jérôme Reybaud
- Affection Affection by Maxime Matray and Alexia Walther
- Becoming by Zhannat Alshanova
- Balearic by Ion De Sosa (minority-French co-production)
- Don’t Let Me Die by Andrei Epure (French co-production shares not specified)
- Hair, Paper, Water... by Minh Quý Trương and Nicolas Graux (French co-production shares not specified)
- Hijo mayor by Cecilia Kang (French co-production shares not specified)
Semaine de la Critique
- Silent Legacy by Jenni Kivistö, Jussi Rastas (French co-production shares not specified)
- She by Parsifal Reparato (French co-production shares not specified)
Histoire(s) du cinéma
- Silent Light by Carlos Reygadas (minority-French co-production)
Locarno Kids
- Arco by Ugo Bienvenu
- Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake by Irene Iborra (minority-French co-production)
- Fantastique by Marjolijn Prins (minority-French co-production)
Panorama Suisse
- The Safe House by Lionel Baier (minority-French co-production)
Open Doors
- So Long a Letter by Angèle Diabang (French co-production shares not specified)
- Ancestral Visions Of The Future by Lemohang Mosese (French co-production shares not specified)
- Nome by Sana Na N'Hada (minority-French co-production)
Histoire(s) du cinéma / Raimondo Rezzonico Award Abbout Productions
- Costa Brava, Lebanon by Mounia Akl (minority-French co-production)
- Memory Box by Khalil Joreige and Joana Hadjithomas
Histoire(s) du cinéma - Premio Cinema Ticino Michele Dell'Ambrogio
Histoire(s) du cinéma - Cinéma Suisse Redécouvert
- L'Ogre by Simon Edelstein (minority-French co-production)
- Les Vilaines Manières by Simon Edelstein (minority-French co-production)
Short Films - Pardi di Domani (International Competition)
- Boa by Alexandre Dostie
- Eldorado by Anton Bialas
- Goats! by Tonći Gaćina
- Happily Ever After by Élodie Beaumont Tarillon
- Plancton by Irene Moray
- Still Playing by Mohamed Mesbah
- A Sky So Low by Joachim Michaux
- Yo Yo by Mohammadreza Mayghani
Short Films - Pardi di Domani (National Competition)
- Yonne by Julietta Korbel and Yan Ciszewski
Short Films - Pardi di Domani (Corti d'Autore Competition)
- A South Facing Window by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
- Slet 1988, by Marta Popivoda
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© Rahi Rezvani
© Rahi Rezvani
