The Festival

Film sections

Welcome to the world capital of auteur cinema! With 11 sections, 3 competitions and 20 awards, quality and variety is key. We are a festival that explores cinema from every perspective, carefully selecting films that are designed to inspire you, surprise you, open your mind, and question your assumptions.

Competitive Film Sections

Film Sections

Concorso internazionale

A stimulating panorama of contemporary auteur cinema, where young talent rubs should with established directors to compete for the prestigious Pardo d’oro. Expect a stimulating, inclusive selection where the best forms of contemporary cinema converge.

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Film Sections

Concorso Cineasti del presente

An ideal arena of discovery for emerging directors around the world. We focus on the cinema of tomorrow, primarily devoting the selection to world premieres of first and second features from up and coming talent.

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Film Sections

Pardi di domani

A platform for new talent, the Pardi di domani section screens short and medium-length films from all over the world, split into three competitions: two are devoted to filmmakers who have never made a feature, one to international directors exploring new storytelling modes.

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Other Sections

Film Sections

Piazza Grande: Prefestival

A taste of the screenings, of the atmospheres and the magic of the Locarno Film Festival. Every year the Prefestival anticipates the event with a selection of works which are able to captivate audiences of all ages.

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Film Sections

Piazza Grande

8,000 viewers a night, the Piazza Grande is both the Festival’s heart and its showcase. With its giant screen, one of the biggest in Europe, endowed with truly exceptional projection quality, the Piazza Grande is one of the finest open-air venues in the world.

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Film Sections

Fuori concorso

The Fuori concorso selection offers recent work – feature films and shorts, film essays, documentaries – by well-established filmmakers, out of competition, presented mostly as world or international premiere.

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Film Sections

Open Doors Screenings

From 2022 until 2024, the Open Doors Screenings section explores the diverse filmmaking of Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2023, the spotlight will be turned on films from the South American region.

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Film Sections

Retrospettiva

Over the years the Locarno retrospectives have delved into every corner of cinema history: from great career monographs to themed programs; from wide-ranging tributes to contemporary filmmakers, to complete retrospective seasons of acknowledged great masters.

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Film Sections

Histoire(s) du cinéma

Histoire(s) du cinéma is the sidebar dedicated to the history of cinema. It offers works from filmmakers and artists to whom the Festival dedicates special tributes.

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Film Sections

Locarno Kids Screenings

The Locarno Kids Screenings section offers films for children and teenagers. It has a special emphasis on works screening as national premieres, together with restored titles that help rediscover film history.

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Independent Sections

Film Sections

Semaine de la critique

Founded in 1990, the Semaine de la critique is an independent section within the Locarno Film Festival organized by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists.

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Film Sections

Panorama Suisse

Panorama Suisse is an independent section within the Locarno Film Festival. The films are selected by a commission with representatives of the Solothurn Film Festival, SWISS FILMS and the Swiss Film Academy.

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