What is a festival today? How can it become a meaningful experience for a young audience? These questions seeded a reflection on the meaning of the Locarno Film Festival in a world where film viewing habits have less and less to do with what they were ten years ago. This led to the idea of expanding our horizons through innovative projects, both physical and virtual, that are transforming Locarno into a future-oriented platform, year-round, creating new visions by involving other audiences, from young cinephiles to emerging creative talents.
At the same time, the exceptional nature of what takes place every summer in Locarno testifies that cinema is still an important and social event and is likely to remain so in the future. Theatres and screening venues such as the Piazza Grande will always bring the cinema back to a collective dimension and to the uniqueness of the here and now. Cinema will always be at the heart of Locarno. And festivals will continue to be an essential support for the cultural industry, as well as offering creativity and freedom of expression and the possibility of a productive and necessary dialogue with the wider society.
The future still holds an audience to attract, who will need opportunities to share and exchange, but also for instruction and education in the beauty and richness of the cinematic experience. Also, in the future, there will be partners eager for quality platforms and attention, where by 'attention' we do mean not only media attention but also the attention of an informed public. Locarno and this region will continue to be the stunning setting for an international, yet at the same time intimate and unique event. In the future, too, the magic in Locarno will happen during the 11 days of the Festival: precisely this awareness drove us to try to make Locarno75, yet again, the best edition ever.
Raphaël Brunschwig
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