French cinema at the 74th Locarno Film Festival

Four French films (or majority-French productions) will be presented in competition at the 74th Locarno Film Festival (which will take place from August 4 through 14). They are among the twenty or so French feature films – including minority productions – screening in this year's festival, most of which will be world premieres. Not to mention four short films, and a tribute to Laetitia Casta.

Bertrand Mandico, Axelle Ropert, Aurélia Georges, and Ghassan Salhab are the four filmmakers presenting French films (or majority-French productions) in competition during this edition. They will travel to the festival to accompany their films. They will also be joined by Gaspar Noé and Aurélie Saada, who will have the privilege of showing their respective films in the Piazza Grande. F.J. Ossang will attend the festival to present the 4K restored version of No Place for Me. This is not forgetting the actors who will also be in town: Elina Löwensohn, Lyna Khoudri, Maud Wyler, Françoise Fabian, Aure Atika, and Stéphane Ferrara.
Yann Gonzalez and Alexis Langlois will also be festival guests, in Locarno to present their short films.

On August 4, during the opening night, Laetitia Casta will receive the Excellence Award Davide Campari, which is given each year to a personality who has left her mark on contemporary cinema. Juliette Binoche received this award in 2014, and Mathieu Kassovitz in 2017.

We also note the presence of Franco-Ivorian filmmaker Philippe Lacôte in the jury. Producer Marie-Pierre Macia will officiate in the Pardi di Domani jury, and actress Agathe Bonitzer in the Cinéastes du Présent jury.

Last but not least, UniFrance will jointly organize – with the Ambassade de France in Switzerland – a dinner and breakfast (August 5 and 8) in honor of the French film professionals present at the festival.

All the French films presented at the Locarno Film Festival 2021

International Competition

• After Blue by Bertrand Mandico
• Petite Solange by Axelle Ropert
• Secret Name by Aurélia Georges
• The River by Ghassan Salhab
• The Sacred Spirit by Chema García Ibarra (minority-French production)
• A New Old Play by Jiongjiong Qiu (minority-French production)

Cinéastes du Présent

• Holy Emy by Araceli Lemos
• Our Eternal Summer by Émilie Aussel
• Streams by Mehdi Hmili (minority-French production)
• Il Legionario by Hleb Papou (minority-French production)
• Zahorí by Marí Alessandrini (minority-French production)
• Whether the Weather Is Fine by Carlo Francisco Manatad (minority-French production)

Piazza Grande

• Rose by Aurélie Saada
• Vortex by Gaspar Noé

Open Doors

• Aswang by Alyx Arumpac
• Manta Ray by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng

Semaine de la Critique

• A Thousand Fires by Saeed Taji Farouky

Prefestival

• Lynx by Laurent Geslin (minority-French production)

Histoire(s) du cinéma

• No Place for Me by F.J. Ossang

Short films - International Competition Léopards de demain

• Steakhouse by Čadež Špela
• The Demons of Dorothy by Alexis Langlois

Short films - Courts d'auteur

• Fou de Bassan by Yann Gonzalez
• Dead Flash by Bertrand Mandico

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