04/08/2003

Scheduled to run from 6 –16 August, the 56th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will stand out for the wealth and intelligence of its programme. Although the line up has yet to be announced, Marco Solari, the president of Locarno, Irene Bignardi, the artistic director and Teresa Cavina, the deputy director highlighted a number of special sections. “The festival continues to grow, especially in terms of content,” said Solari. This year the organisers have set aside an entire day to the human rights issue, a decision that that reflects Locarno’s vocation as “ a festival that’s intelligently rebellious and provocative, when necessary”. Franco La Polla has curated a retrospective with the self-explanatory title of “Cinema & Jazz”. A marriage of two art forms mirrored in contemporary filmmaking by titles like The Glenn Miller Story, Lady Sings the Blues and historically orientated films like New Orleans. Locarno will pay tribute to Swiss historian Friedrich Durrenmatt that includes films that his novels inspired, like La più bella sera della mia vita starring Alberto Sordi plus an art exhibit.
That is not to say that Locarno has forgotten about younger filmmakers: Argentina will feature in Los Argentinos Juniores. Also a new three-year project called “Open Doors – European Producers Meet World Cinema” will be launched with Cuba.
Sections we have come to know and love like “Present-day Filmmakers” and “Leopards of Tomorrow” – both of which have proved their worth in launching internationally renowned filmmakers.
Italy’s Niccolò Ammaniti and Stefania Rocca will join the international jury and English director, Ken Loach, will be honoured with this year’s Lifetime Achievement Honorary Leopard.
For the moment, just one Italian title was confirmed for screening in “Piazza Grande”: Mio Cognato (My Brother-in-Law), the second feature film by Bari’s Alessandro Piva, and starring Luigi Lo Cascio and Sergio Rubini.