68th Festival del Film Locarno Lineup - Update

Recently was announced a new film for the International Competition and is none other that Chant d'hiver by Otar Iosseliani. This brings the total number of films in competition to 19, of which 15 are world premieres.

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7/15/15
A few hours ago organizers announced the festival full lineup for #Locarno68 with a competition selection that absolutely calls my attention as there are films by well-known directors plus other movies that from films stills look visually stunning -like for example, Cosmos by Andrzej Zulawski; so no surprise when I say that have to record the movies for future viewing.

Have to admit that this year Locarno promises to be a very interesting festival, which it's something that in my opinion hasn't happened since a very long time, as festival has always been the most eclectic collection of "strange" films but believe this year has the right mixture of known and new together in a melting pot that could be cinema-hot, as hot as some of the major film festivals haven't been in a while.

Main competition looks exciting with what I know have to be very unconventional films by Chantal Akerman, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Bakur Bakuradze, Hong Sang-soo and Alex van Warmerdam; these films are must be seen for me just because who is the director and no matter how "strange" movies are or could be. Then things get eclectic-hot when you consider that the are world premieres of more commercial movies like festival opening film Ricki and the Flash by Jonathan Demme (yes, is about the rock & roll star played by Meryl Streep) and much awaited by me (and many that read the blog) La Belle Saison by Catherine Corsini starring Cécile de France.  So festival seems could bring something for almost everyone that loves cinema.

Nevertheless the International Competition offers a program in which two first films play alongside those of a group of directors who have gained an appreciative audience on the international festival circuit. Some of them are making a welcome return to Locarno, others have returned to filmmaking after a long silence. As is now a Locarno tradition, the competition includes documentaries, personal films, more traditional fictions and those of hybrid genres.



Concorso Internazionale (International Competition)

Bella e perduta (Lost and Beautiful), Pietro Marcello, Italy (documentary)
Брат Дэян Brat Dejan (Brother Dejan -aka The General), Bakur Bakuradze, Russia and Serbia
Chant d'Hiver, Otar Iosseliani, France and Georgia
Chevalier, Athina Rachel Tsangari , Greece
Cosmos, Andrzej Zulawski, France and Portugal
Entertainment, Rick Alverson, USA
ハッピーアワー Happy Hour (aka Brides), Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan
Heimatland, Lisa Blatter, Gregor Frei, Jan Gassmann, Benny Jaberg, Carmen Jaquier, Michael Krummenacher, Jonas Meier, Tobias Nölle, Lionel Rupp, and Mike Scheiwiller, Switzerland and Germany
(*) James White, Josh Mond USA
지금은맞고그때는틀리다 Jigeumeun Matgo Geuttaeneun Teullida (Right Now, Wrong Then), Hong Sang-Soo, South Korea
(*) Ma Dar Behesht (Paradise), Sina Ataeian Dena, Iran
No Home Movie, Chantal Akerman, Belgium and France (documentary)
O Futebol (On Football), Sergio Oksman, Spain
Schneider vs Bax, Alex van Warmerdam, Netherlands and Belgium
Suite Armoricaine, Pascale Breton, France
Sulanga Gini Aran (Dark in the White Light), Vimukthi Jayasundara, Sri-Lanka and France
Te Prometo Anarquía, Julio Hernández Cordón, Mexico and Germany
The Sky Trembles and the Earth is Afraid and the Two Eyes are not Brothers, Ben Rivers, UK
תיקון Tikkun, Avishai Sivan, Israel

The Jury of the Concorso Internazionale
Udo Kier, Actor, Germany
Nadav Lapid, Director, Israel
Daniela Michel, Festival Director, Mexico
Moon So-ri, Actress, South Korea
Jerry Schatzberg, Director, USA

Concorso Cineasti del Presente (first and second films)

(*) Dead Slow Ahead, Mauro Herce, Spain and France (documentary)
Der Nachtmahr, Akiz, Germany
(*) Dom Juan, Vincent Macaigne, France
(*) ភពសុបិន្ត Dream Land, Steve Chen, Cambodia and USA
El Movimiento, Benjamín Naishtat, Argentina and South Korea
(*) Keeper (aka Hors Cadre), Guillaume Senez, Belgium, Switzerland and France
(*) Le Grand Jeu, Nicolas Pariser, France
Les Êtres chers (Our Loved Ones), Anne Émond, Canada
(*) 路边野餐 Liu Bian Ye Can (Kaili Blues), Bi Gan, China
(*) Moj Brate - Mio Fratello, Nazareno Manuel Nicoletti, Italy, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina (documentary)
Olmo & the Seagull, Petra Costa and Lea Glob, Denmark, Brazil, Portugal and France (documentary)
Siembra, Ángela Osorio Rojas and Santiago Lozano Álvarez, Colombia and Germany
(*) The Waiting Room, Igor Drljaca, Canada
(*) Thithi, Raam Reddy, India

Jury of the Concorso Cineasti del Presente
President: Júlio Bressane, Director, Brazil
Fabrice Aragno, Director and Cinematographer, Switzerland
Clotilde Courau, Actress, France
Joanna Hogg, Director, UK
Jay Van Hoy, Producer, USA

(*) First Feature - In competition for First Feature Award

Eligible Films for the First Feature Award

Concorso Internazinale
James White, Josh Mondm USA
Ma Dar Behesht (Paradise), Sina Ataeian Dena, Iran

Concorso Cineasti del Presente
Dead Slow Ahead, Mauro Herce, Spain and France
Dom Juan, Vincent Macaigne, France
Dream Land, Steve Chen, Cambodia and USA
Keeper, Guillaume Senez, Belgium, Switzerland and France
Le Grand Jeu, Nicolas Pariser, France
路边野餐 Liu Bian Ye Can (Kaili Blues), Bi Gan, China
Moj Brate - Mio Fratello, Nazareno Manuel Nicoletti, Italy, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Waiting Room, Igor Drljaca, Canada
Thithi, Raam Reddy, India

Piazza Grande
Qing Tian Jie Yi Hao (The Laundryman), Lee Chung, Taiwan

Out of competition
Kiev/Moscow, Part 1, Elena Khoreva, Russia, Estonia and Ukraine (documentary)
O Espelho, Rodrigo Lima, Brazil
Origem do Mundo, Moa Batsow, Brazil
Vivere Alla Grande, Fabio Leli, Italy

Signs of Life
88:88, Isaih Medina, Canada
Recollection, Kamal Aljafari, Germany

Jury of the First Feature
Haden Guest, Film Historian and Archive Director, USA
Roger Alan Koza, Film Critic, Argentina
Cristina Piccino, Film Critic, Italy

Check info and available trailers @MOC.

There are many more feature films, documentaries and short films in many sections of the festival like Pardi di Domani (short films), Piazza Grande, Open Doors, Tributes, Retrospectives and more sections; to check them you will have to download the pdf file with the complete lineup that you can find here.

Locarno festival will run from August 5 to 15, 2015. Check the following video with the festival Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian comments in English plus some clips from movies.