Locarno Kids la Mobiliare: The Workshops Never End!

It consists of films, workshops, laughter, and cinema. It’s Locarno Kids la Mobiliare, the Locarno Film Festival’s project devoted to children and once again a key part of the Festival days. Just like young boys and girls, the Kids universe grows each year, to the extent that you’d barely recognize it were it not everywhere: online, in the official program, at the PalaCinema, in the SUPSI classrooms, in the Cinemagia behind-the-scenes, among the activities of LAC edu, with the stars of Castellinaria and among RSI’s secrets. .  

Last year, we left off with the winners of the HomeMade Movies competition, which had been launched during Locarno 2020. It was an explosion of creativity and stop-motion stories with which the young filmmakers brightened our online days. In the meantime, with our minds set on returning to Piazza Grande and an in-person Festival, we kept working on the future of Locarno Kids la Mobiliare. Now that future has arrived. With la Mobiliare, the project’s partner, we have crafted eleven Festival days focusing on children. Locarno Kids la Mobiliare will consist of films and screenings, as a proper section of the Locarno74 program, as well as guests, a scavenger hunt and activities and workshops, naturally.

Movie&Media Labs by SUPSI  
The rich program of workshops putting children into direct contact with the Festival and moviemaking is back. With the new health measures in mind, SUPSI, in collaboration with the Locarno Film Festival, will put together seven workshops, each lasting three days, for youths aged 9-14, with in-depth looks at the worlds of robotics, videoclips, stop-motion and videogames. As for the younger bracket, aged 6-8, two one-day workshops focusing on stop-motion and film music. For all information on these workshops, we refer you to the specific SUPSI website.

Cinemagia
Once again, Cinemagia will provide the key to access the behind-the-scenes of the Festival. The longstanding partner of Locarno Kids la Mobiliare will take a group of young explorers on an inclusive tour peeking inside the Festival rooms, with secret locations, and unexpected encounters unveiling what happens behind the curtain.

LAC edu 
Where there’s Kids, there’s Lac edu. On August 9-14, the Lugano-based bridge between culture and audiences will bring ten workshops to Locarno, aimed at kids aged 7-16, with over 17 hours of activities. And it won’t just be cinema: there will be creativity, sound design, art, music, voices, images and so much more. Thanks to the professionals of LAC edu, these themed workshops will help kids explore various artforms. For more information and application details, visit the LAC edu Locarno page.

Castellinaria
But how does one write proper cinema, or talk about it? Castellinaria will answer these questions, with Erik Bernasconi and Giancarlo Zappoli guiding their young guests through the worlds of screenwriting and film criticism. Two different modes, one before and one after the film’s completion. And yet, they both feature a pen in the hand!

Wetube/RSI
There are two requirements: you must be aged 12-15, and have a cell phone. Well, there is a third: you must be curious. On August 10-12, RSI will open the doors of Wetube to young boys and girls eager to discover what happens during the making of a digital audiovisual product. And no one can tell the story better than those who have spent years recounting the Locarno Film Festival on TV, on the radio and online. For more information and application details, click here!

The Locarno74 version of Locarno Kids la Mobiliare will be unveiled here and on our social media platforms. Stay tuned, it’s going to be fun! 

PS: The films in the Kids section are all for you, our youngest viewers. But you can bring your parents along if you want. We won’t tell anyone…