A still from Gianluca Jodice’s ‘The Flood’ courtesy of the Institut Français
If ever there was an event that had me at “hello” it’s this one. And I’ve been graciously asked to moderate the Q&A following Gianluca Jodice’s fab film, which opened the 2024 Locarno Film Festival on the Piazza Grande.
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As I flew over to Milan to reach Locarno then by car over the Alps, I watched 'The Gospel According to André' on the plane -- the documentary about the grand fashion figure that is André Leon Talley. It was a perfect way to dive into the Locarno Festival since Talley's life has been all about courage and bold choices and this year's film festival is channeling that spirit exactly.
Also, as a woman I find solace at an event that kicks off with a press release announcing their commitment to sign the Programming Pledge for Parity and Inclusion in Cinema Festivals for parity and equality in the industry. Locarno will be the first festival after Cannes to commit to this pledge. So on August 5th at 9.45 a.m. Marco Solari, Locarno Festival President and Carla Speziali, Locarno Festival Vice President, will gather at the Spazio Forum to publicly and officially sign the initiative by SWAN, the Swiss Women’s Audiovisual Network, a sister movement to the French 5050x2020 campaign that took place on the steps of the Palais this May 2018 during the Cannes Film Festival.
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COURTESY OF THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL
A film festival is of course only as great as the sum of its parts, and one very important, visual and ever-present part of the well-loved and hyper-attended festival that is Locarno is represented in the figure of its Artistic Director, Carlo Chatrian. A film journalist, writer, film programmer and now as the visionary head of the festival, Chatrian has been a part of Locarno Festival since 2002, inheriting his latest role in 2013. Those attending, as well as those following the event on social media and through their informative, interactive website, will notice his infectious enthusiasm. When I caught up with him on the next to last day of the festival, after he greeted the delegations of the day’s films during lunch — an activity he calls “a pleasure, after spending so much time in the dark watching films, to see these films come to light, and meet those who have done that work” — and then did a lively TV interview, he still had energy to spare. I, on the other hand, was exhausted by then.
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A still from Rok Biček’s ‘The Family’
Away from the main competition films featured in the Locarno Film Festival are two important sidebar sections which are filled with works of art worthy of the numerous audiences who attend their screenings. La Semaine de la Critique, Critics’ Week, and the Open Doors programs offer each and separately a fresh insight into modern groundbreaking filmmakers who will be the future maestros of our times. With Open Doors that even goes beyond the films we are watching on the big screen now, but bear with me before I get to that.
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COURTESY OF THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL
A still from Rana Eid’s ‘Panoptic’
It is not often that a film journalist like me gets to experience the stuff hard core news are made of in first person, up close. I mean, I’ve been privy to some great cinematic history in the making and yes, I lived in NYC at the time of the attacks of 9/11 so I watched unmentionable horror unfolding before my very eyes, but in Locarno I feel part of another narrative that will affect the world as we know it.
I’m talking about the sudden decision by UN war crimes Special Prosecutor Carla del Ponte to quit her post, because she feels that Syria is now “a land without future”. Appointed to a three-member panel set up in August 2011 by the Human Rights Council to monitor the al-Assad regime and the unfolding civil war in Syria remotely, del Ponte represented the one slight hope for justice and yet today, that hope seems gone. Having previously sat on tribunals that investigated atrocities in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, del Ponte is most famous for putting Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević on trial at The Hague. And for having stood up to Sicily’s La Cosa Nostra and won, by simply walking away with her life. Now that’s a hero of a woman right there!
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COURTESY OF THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL
My third day at the Locarno Film Festival started with the mind-blowing, wonderful directorial debut by actor John Carroll Lynch, which made me feel ‘Lucky’ all day long. It’s that good and if Harry Dean Stanton doesn’t get an Oscar nomination for playing the title character, I’ll go on a hunger strike — albeit one where I exclusively drink milk and diner coffee just like Lucky. If you haven’t kept up with the Diaries, you can read my thoughts on the film here.
The day went from great to better when I got to interview filmmaker Nadir Moknèche and his lead actor Tewfik Jallab about their film ‘Lola Pater’ on the patio of the Hotel Belvedere — a stylish place overlooking the Old Town that required a brisk walk up a steep hill in the midday heat and humidity to access. After the initial huffing and puffing, I realized that everything which goes up must come down, and the walk back into town after the inspiring conversations with two men who simply make the world better by being in it was soul soothing. I loved being an invisible witness to Locarno daily life, the man who watered his garden unaware of my presence to the left, the band rehearsing at a club a bit further down the hill on the right. There is a wonderful human aspect to the festival and that walk back into town made me reconcile with the world, for a few precious moments.
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COURTESY OF THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL
David Lynch and Harry Dean Stanton in a still from ‘Lucky’
Locarno is a really pleasant surprise. While Cannes may be the glitziest, Venice the oldest and Berlinale the most packed with titles, the Locarno Film Festival is a rockstar among film fests. Starting from its frontman, Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian, to the stars attending and what they are wearing, from the films shown, to how those in the media can comfortably attend mostly everything on their wish lists, Locarno stands out as the hip, cool and happening event.
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COURTESY OF THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL
Noémi Lvovsky and Luce Rodriguez in a still from ‘Tomorrow and Thereafter’
The city of Locarno, located on the Lago Maggiore, is reached by crossing a tunnel through a mountain that felt like it was a dozen kilometers long. It’s moments like those, in the darkness and echo of an eerie place deep into the core of a solid rock formation that I feel smallest on this earth. But also in awe of the grandness of my fellow humans, who could envision such a project before its inception and managed to dig a passageway where it must have seemed impossible. Perhaps the perfect example that even a journey of a thousand miles begins with one, single step.
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