The images of History and the cinema of Radu Jude will be at the core of the new Spring Academy

“Find a Film!”: History, its images and memory, will be the focus for developing ideas at next year’s Spring Academy, the Locarno Film Festival workshop dedicated to young filmmakers from Ticino and around the world. In tandem with the upcoming edition of L’immagine e la parola (from 11 to 12 March 2023), whose program will be announced soon, participants in the workshop will have the opportunity of an intensive training experience mentored by one of Europe’s highest-profile filmmakers at international level, Radu Jude, winner of a special jury prize at Locarno in 2016 for Scarred Hearts, and of a Golden Bear in Berlin in 2021 for Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn. In his fiction and archive documentary work, Jude has explored aspects of Romanian history about which his country continues to be in denial; in the workshop, he will guide the group of fledgling talents on a research journey through the archives of RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera. With access to this immense heritage of material, participants will be asked to reflect on the image of Switzerland and its national archetypes, as they develop short films set in Locarno and the region. Their completed shorts will be presented in a special screening at Locarno76 and subsequently broadcast on RSI channels.

The Spring Academy

The Spring Academy is organized by the Locarno Film Festival and CISA (Conservatorio Internazionale di Scienze Audiovisive), in collaboration with the Ticino Film Commission and thanks to the support of RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera and Hotel Du Lac. In its eight editions to date since 2013, the workshop has been led by major figures from a variety of creative backgrounds, including Alexander Sokurov, Emmanuel Carrère, Lorenzo Mattotti, Béla Tarr and Michelangelo Frammartino. As with all training and educational projects from the Locarno Film Festival aimed at emerging talents, “Find a Film!” will be an opportunity for cultural convergence and exchange, and will once again bring Canton Ticino and Switzerland into contact with different gazes, opening up new perspectives for creation.

Call for applications

If you are a young filmmaker and would like to take part in the Spring Academy 2023, you will find everything you need to send your application here. You have until 13 January 2023.