No 73rd Edition Of Locarno Film Festival This Year

With the majority of prestigious film festivals already cancelled and Cannes Film Festival still uncertain of what shapes it will take this year, one more cinema fiesta is announced to be cancelled. Locarno Film Festival, which usually meets at Piazza Grande in the beginning of August, has also made this difficult decision.

According to the the President of the Festival Marco Solari, "since it cannot mount an edition centered on gathering and sharing in physical spaces, the Festival reinvents itself, launching Locarno 2020 - For the Future of Films, an initiative to foster independent auteur filmmaking.

The press release issued today states the following:

"The Executive Board of the Locarno Film Festival regrets to announce the cancellation of Locarno73. Finding itself obliged to forgo both its traditional selection of full-length feature premieres and, in principle, physical venues - first and foremost the iconic Piazza Grande - the Festival has decided to put forward an alternative to the classic film festival concept. The aim is to continue to offer, thanks to the Festival’s partners, the greatest possible support to international and Swiss film industries as they face a profound crisis. Locarno 2020 - For the Future of Films will bolster independent auteur filmmaking and cinema theaters via a selection of dedicated projects, offering special content to both industry professionals and the public on a range of platforms which will include - as and when allowed by the constantly evolving situation - screenings at physical venues in complete safety.

The concept of Locarno 2020 is to take action against the film industry’s enforced idleness by supporting filmmakers who have had to interrupt their projects, contributing both to international and domestic productions that have been put on hold because of the global pandemic through special Leopard awards and other prizes."

So now we are left with the 77th Venice International Film Festival, which has to be held on 2-12 September and still hasn't announced about its cancellation.

Source: www.locarnofestival.ch