One great film after another creature, painting the world’s leading producers – all of this international film festival in Locarno.
Throughout its 62 year history, the Locarno International Film Festival has occupied a unique position in the landscape of the major film festivals. Every August, around 180,000 cinema-goers, 1,100 journalists, and 3,400 professionals converge on the small Swiss-Italian town of Locarno, right in the heart of Europe, which becomes the world capital of auteur cinema for eleven days.
Geographically located at the crossroads of three major regions of Switzerland, with an audience that reflects these three major European cultures (Italian, German and French), the Locarno Festival has made an asset of its special situation. Its long-standing tradition of openness and dialogue have made it an ideal platform for the promotion of national cinemas from Europe and the world over, from South America to Asia. Locarno knows no borders, neither geographic, thematic or stylistic, and via its dozen different sections welcomes all kinds of films, and all kinds of formats.
In short, Locarno provides a convivial and informal ambiance, a good-time festival, where, together, the public, professionals and creative talents alike come to get a taste of the youth and vitality of contemporary cinema. Far reaching in its quest both for innovation and films to inspire the imagination, the Locarno International Festival lives through and for cinema, tirelessly fostering respect and eagerness for both films and filmmakers.