Unspooling over Aug. 5-15, this year’s Locarno Film Festival broke records for industry attendance and its heat, Switzerland enduring its hottest summer since records began in 1864. Led by an ebullient Olivia Wilde, charged by the breakout success of “The Invite,” Locarno Pro delivered a telling take on the world’s arthouse crunch with the sector courting venture capital to fill the breach of contracting finance from traditional sources.
These and other industry takeaways fom this year’s Locarno Film Festival.
Stars
Olivia Wilde charmed with a candid conversation at Locarno and her unveiling to a Piazza Grande audience “The Invite,” which could — or should — be in the upcoming Oscar race. Zoe Saldaña, who also received a tribute, explained why she was bothered by political questions. Another Locarno honoree, James Gray, presenting “Paper Tiger,” was in fine fettle delivering a stomping interview with Variety, calling AI “worthless” and arguing “young people won’t stand for it.” Monica Bellucci declared she’d never done anything like her role in “Ketticè”: “On set in my pyjamas with a knife in my hand and slippers on my feet.” Europe’s biggest mid-summer film event, “Locarno offers prestige, elegance and plenty of press attention at what is a much less crowded selection than most festivals in the awards season corridor,” Stuart Ford, at AGC Intl., told Variety last year when he brought “Kiss of the Spider Woman” to Locarno. That reason still stands as Locarno’s star presence builds ever more.
