Press Releases  ·  11 | 07 | 2019

Locarno Talks la Mobiliare: the emotions of the future

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Thinking about the future through the full range of emotions that we feel when we share hopes and visions. For the third edition of "Locarno Talks la Mobiliare", from 15 to 17 August, personalities from the arts and sciences will once again take part in a series of panel discussions on social and political issues. Each guest will bring his or her perspective to the table, but all share the desire to find the necessary “common ground” to plan for our tomorrow. Which is why the keynote theme for the Talks, developed by the Locarno Film Festival with its Main Partner, Swiss Mobiliar, is NOW – the best place to change the future.

A conversation between two of the most fascinating creative voices in Switzerland – artist Michel Comte and multi-disciplinary artist Maya Rochat – will get the ball rolling at "Locarno Talks la Mobiliare", exploring the many different ways in which personal artistic research can address the gap between subjectivity and the world around us. Personal relations and sensibilities will again come under the spotlight on day two, but in a completely different ambit. This time the conversation will feature Prof. Barbara Treutlein and Prof. Daniel J. Müller, leading experts in biomedical engineering. They will discuss the ethical challenges of engineering life, considering its effects on the notion of human identity. Rounding off the program on day three will be a true visionary, video artist and cinematographer Arthur Jafa, whose tireless investigation of black American identity exposes injustice as he attempts to learn from the past and build a better future. This concluding topic ties in perfectly with the theme of this year’s Retrospective, Black Light.

Lili Hinstin, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival: “What we will be getting this year, once again, from our partnership with Swiss Mobiliar is a real opportunity to do something important ‘off screen’. The Locarno Talks will enable us to build another bridge with our audience and, at the same time, lead us to reflect on the feelings with which we should address, challenge or imagine the future. Just as the Festival tackles the cinema through the actions and intelligence of “its” auteurs, the thought-provoking Talks start conversations that allow us to tackle reality, through the visions of art.”

Dorothea Strauss, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Swiss Mobiliar: It is fantastic to discuss topics of burning relevance to our times with exciting personalities. We couldn’t imagine a better partner than the Locarno Film Festival for such a project ".

The venue for the "Locarno Talks la Mobiliare" is the Spazio Cinema, a place for discussion at the heart of the festival. Admission to the Talks is free. The conversations are in English with a simultaneous translation service in French, German and Italian, and the moderators for the sessions will be Michelle Nicol, Dr. Ralf Stutzki and Greg Tate.
The public can also follow the "Locarno Talks la Mobiliare" streamed live on the Locarno Film Festival website: www.locarnofestival.ch.

Swiss Mobiliar’s presence will also be felt at the Festival in the "Locarno Garden la Mobiliare", which this year switches its location to the Castello Visconteo. A meeting place hallmarked by relaxation with fine food and drink, the castle setting will be lit up by installations by Maya Rochat, who on 12 August will also be giving a live artistic performance.
 

Locarno Talks la Mobiliare the Program:
 

15 August – 11 am     
Michel Comte, artist and photographer, and Maya Rochat, multi-disciplinary artist
Moderator: Michelle Nicol, curator and co-founder of Neutral

16 August – 11 am      
Prof. Daniel J. Müller, Deputy Head of Biosystems Science and Engineering (DBSSE, ETH Zürich), and Prof. Barbara Treutlein, Professor of Developmental Biology (DBSSE, ETH Zürich)
Moderator: Dr. Ralf Stutzki, Head of Ethics at NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering (Basel University)

17 August – 11 am       
Arthur Jafa, video artist and filmmaker
Moderator: Greg Tate, writer, film and music critic

 

The 72nd Locarno Film Festival will take place from 7 to 17 August 2019.

www.locarnofestival.ch/locarno-talks

 

 

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