The Locarno Film Festival rounds off its 75th edition in a packed Piazza Grande

The 75th edition of the Locarno Film Festival ended yesterday, Saturday, August 13. Over the eleven days of the event, the screenings were watched by a total audience of 128’500, an increase of 60.4% from last year: the audience in Piazza Grande was 56’500 and 72’000 in theaters. Film professionals also attended in droves, with 3,530 accreditations, including online, with 1,300 for industry representatives and 706 for press and photographers. The Festival’s digital offering also scored a major success: the metrics for the official Festival website were excellent, with 160’279 unique visitors from all over the world, and 2’113’080 pageviews.

Festival President Marco Solari brought the 75th Locarno Film Festival officially to a close: “This anniversary built a tangible bridge between our tradition and the innovation that will be our chief asset in maintaining our position in the front rank of world Festivals. Our decision to create a program open to other initiatives and media languages also proved a winner, confirming the status of our City, region and Canton as a vital cultural hub, and rewarding our public with a chance to experiment with new features, as well as the freedom to enjoy familiar experiences once again. Over the past eleven days we saw first-hand how keen people were to participate, continuing to be a part of the Festival with great enthusiasm: there could have been no finer gift than that, to celebrate our 75 years of history.”

Artistic Director Giona A. Nazzaro commented: “The prizes awarded by both the juries and the audience reflect the vision that guided our artistic choices. At Locarno75, film once again proved to be an indispensable tool to express that which cannot be said, to address trauma, to approach what seems remote, and to give shape to the complexities of reality, including its diversity. The response from the audience and their openness to the possibilities of audiovisual languages point the way for us to continue on this path, exploring and anticipating the trends of an art form which, as Locarno’s history shows, never fails to find expressive ways and means to speak to the present.”

Managing Director Raphaël Brunschwig gave a first assessment of this year’s edition: “Locarno75 turned out to be what we wanted it to be: a more generous offering than ever, with a conscious balance between innovation and tradition. This has only reinforced our belief that the August event should be the pivotal moment around which we can develop a fully-fledged galaxy of initiatives and events, serving as the keystone that will hold together both who we are and who we intend to become. Proof of this was offered by the packed theaters for the Retrospective – and by the youthful energy of the Atelier du Futur and BaseCamp. With all of our staff, who were the solid foundation for the success of this special edition, we are ready to engage with our communities throughout the rest of the year as well, in an ongoing workshop that does not truly end today, but instead works towards Locarno76.”

The past few days also saw the winding down of the programs for film industry professionals organized by Locarno Pro and Open Doors. The heads of the two sections, Markus Duffner and Zsuzsi Bánkuti, reported positively on this year’s edition, with industry players able to join both in person and online. Locarno once again acted as a major international platform for the film industry, and a place for dialogue and exchange where the cinema of tomorrow can take shape.

The full list of prize winners at the 2022 Festival, press articles, photo gallery, videos of conversations between the audience and guests receiving tributes and awards, and all episodes in the new podcast Futurespectives, are available online at locarnofestival.ch.

The 76th Locarno Film Festival will take place from 2 to 12 August 2023.