Lili Hinstin will be the new artistic director of the Locarno Festival, replacing Carlo Chatrian, who is leaving Locarno to take over the artistic direction of the Berlinale (see the news). Hinstin will take up her appointment from 1 December 2018, while already devoting part of her time to the preparation of the next edition of the Locarno Festival, assisted by the teams of both the chief operating officer and the artistic direction, together with the staff of the president’s office.

Since 2013, Lili Hinstin has been artistic director of the International Film Festival Entrevues Belfort in France. She was born in Paris in 1977, and after studying at the Universities of Paris and Padua for a degree in Foreign Languages, Literatures and Civilisations with a specialisation in Philosophy, in 2001 she set up the production company Les Films du Saut du Tigre. From 2005-2009, she was responsible for the film-related activities of the Academy of France in Rome, and from 2011-2013, she was also deputy artistic director of the Paris-based international documentary film festival Cinéma du Réel.

Lili Hinstin said, “I am very pleased to be taking up the post of artistic director of the Locarno Festival. It is an honour because this is a festival that over the years has become a benchmark for cinephiles worldwide. I will be putting all my experience and passion into taking forward this project of freedom and discovery.”