# 74th Locarno Film Festival

The 74th annual Locarno Festival was held from 4 August to 14 August 2021 in Locarno, Switzerland. The opening film of the festival was Beckett by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, which had its world premiere on 4 August. The 74th edition of Locarno Film Festival hosted 14 films including 7 world premieres in Piazza Grande among which half were European productions. More than 75,000 spectators attended the festival. 50% less than the attendance rate in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Events
### Rotonda by la Mobiliare - Come together!

This event will be held from 30 July to 14 August. It is Locarno Film Festival’s communal space, which embraces existing audience and greets new people. It will have following platforms:
* Art
* Virtual Reality
* Forum
* Talks
* Music
* Food and beverage
* Kids town
* Come together

### Locarno Talks la Mobiliare

During the course of the film festival, it will be a stage for exchanging and debating ideas and perspectives. It will have encounters with people from the world of art, photography, cinema music, politics and science.

### Cinema and Youth

This is an initiative open to 28 final year students of high school or vocational school of Switzerland and Northern Italy, aged between 18 and 23. They will be privileged viewers as they may watch the screenings, meet directors and actors/actresses, attend specially organized introductory lectures on film language. In addition they will have access to the sidebar events.

## Juries
### International competition

* Eliza Hittman, American filmmaker (Jury President)
* Kevin Jerome Everson, American artist and filmmaker
* Philippe Lacôte, filmmaker from Ivory Coast
* Leonor Silveira, Portuguese actress
* Isabella Ferrari, Italian actress

### Filmmakers of the present competition

* Agathe Bonitzer, French actress
* Mattie Do, Laotian American filmmaker
* Vanja Kaludjercic, festival director

### Leopards of Tomorrow

* Kamal Aljafari, Palestinian filmmaker and artist
* Marie-Pierre Macia, French Producer
* Adina Pintilie (Romanian film director, screenwriter, visual artist and curator)

### First Feature

* Amjad Abu Alala, Sudanese filmmaker
* Karina Ressler, Austrian editor
* Katharina Wyss, Switzerland filmmaker

## Sections

The following films were selected to receive screening in the sections below:

### Pre-Festival

* LYNX by Laurent Geslin
* Tomorrow My Love by Gitanjali Rao

### Piazza Grande

| English Title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Beckett (Opening Film) | Beckett (Opening Film) | Ferdinando Cito Filomarino | Italy |
| Free Guy | Free Guy | Shawn Levy | United States |
| Heat | Heat | Michael Mann | United States |
| Hinterland | Hinterland | Stefan Ruzowitzky | Austria, Luxembourg |
| Ida Red | Ida Red | John Swab | United States |
| Monte Verita | Monte Verita | Stefan Jäger | Switzerland, Austria, Germany |
| National Lampoon's Animal House | National Lampoon's Animal House | John Landis | United States |
| Respect (Closing Film) | Respect (Closing Film) | Liesl Tommy | United States, Canada |
| Rose | Rose | Aurélie Saada | France |
| Sinkhole | 싱크홀 | Kim Ji-hoon | South Korea |
| The Alleys | The Alleys | Bassel Ghandour | Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar |
| The Terminator | The Terminator | James Cameron | United States /United Kingdom |
| Vortex | Vortex | Gaspar Noé | France, Belgium, Monaco |
| Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty | Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty | Alessandro Rak | Italy |

### International competition (Concorso internazionale)

    Highlighted title indicates Golden Leopard winner
| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| A New Old Play | Jiao Ma Tang Hui | Qiu Jiongjiong | Hong Kong, France |
| After Blue | Paradis Sale | Bertrand Mandico | France |
| Cop Secret | Leynilögga | Hannes Þór Halldórsson | Iceland |
| Gerda | Gerda | Natalya Kudryashova | Russia |
| The Giants | I Giganti | Bonifacio Angius | Italy |
| Heaven Above | Nebesa | Srdjan Dragojević | Serbia, Germany, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina |
| Juju Stories | Juju Stories | C.J. Obasi, Abba T. Makama, Michael Omonua | Nigeria, France |
| Luzifer | Luzifer | Peter Brunner | Austria |
| Medea | Medea | Alexander Zeldovich | Russia |
| The Odd-Job Men | Sis dies corrents | Neus Ballús | Spain |
| Petite Solange | Petite Solange | Axelle Ropert | France |
| The River | Al Naher | Ghassan Salhab | Lebanon, France, Germany, Qatar |
| The Sacred Spirit | Espíritu sagrado | Chema García Ibarra | Spain, France, Turkey |
| Secret Name | La place d'une autre | Aurélia Georges | France |
| Soul of a Beast | Soul of a Beast | Lorenz Merz | Switzerland |
| Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash | Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas | Edwin | Indonesia, Singapore, Germany |
| Zeros and Ones | Zeros and Ones | Abel Ferrara | Italy, Germany, United States |

### Filmmakers of the Present (Concorso Cineasti del presente)

Highlighted title indicates winner
| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Actual People | Actual People | Kit Zauhar | United States |
| Holy Emy | Agia Emi | Araceli Lemos | Greece, France, USA |
| Public Toilet Africa | Amansa tiafi | Kofi Ofosu-Yeboah | Ghana |
| Brotherhood | Brotherhood | Francesco Montagner | Czech Republic, Italy |
| Virgin Blue | Bu yao zai jian a, Yu hua tang | Niu Xiaoyu | China |
| The Legionnaire | Il Legionario | Hleb Papou | Italy, France |
| Whether the Weather Is Fine | Kun maupay man it panahon | Carlo Francisco Manatad | Philippines, France, Singapore, Indonesia, Germany, Qatar |
| Our Eternal Summer | L’été l’éternité | Émilie Aussel | France |
| My Brothers Dream Awake | Mis hermanos sueñan despiertos | Claudia Huaiquimilla | Chile |
| Mostro | Mostro | José Pablo Escamilla | Mexico |
| No One's with the Calves | Niemand ist bei den Kälbern | Sabrina Sarabi | Germany |
| Shankar's Fairies | Shankar's Fairies | Irfana Majumdar | India |
| Streams | Streams | Mehdi Hmili | Tunisia, Luxembourg, France |
| Wet Sand | Wet Sand | Elena Naveriani | Switzerland, Georgia |
| Zahorí | Zahorí | Marì Alessandrini | Switzerland, Argentina, Chile, France |

### Leopards of Tomorrow (Pardi di domani)
#### International competition (Concorso internazionale)

Highlighted title indicates winner
| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| The Infernal Machine | A Máquina Infernal | Francis Vogner Dos Reis | Brazil |
| And Then They Burn the Sea | And Then They Burn the Sea | Majid Al-Remaihi | Qatar |
| Suncatcher | Atrapaluz | Kim Torres | Costa Rica, Mexico |
| Christmas | Dōng dōng de shèng dàn jié | Fengrui Zhang | China, United States |
| FIRST TIME [The Time for All but Sunset - VIOLET] | FIRST TIME [The Time for All but Sunset - VIOLET] | Nicolaas Schmidt | Germany |
| Neon Phantom | Fantasma Neon | Leonardo Martinelli | Brazil |
| Playtime | Giochi | Simone Bozzelli | Italy |
| Home | Imuhira | Myriam Uwiragiye Birara | Rwanda |
| In Flow of Words | In Flow of Words | Eliane Esther Bots | Netherlands |
| Night | Layl | Ahmad Saleh | Germany, Qatar, Jordan, Palestine |
| The Demons of Dorothy | Les Démons de Dorothy | Alexis Langlois | France |
| Love, Dad | Milý tati | Diana Cam Van Nguyen | Czech Republic, Slovakia |
| Mask | Mask | Nava Rezvani | Iran |
| Dad's Sneakers | Papyni krosivky | Olha Zhurba | Ukraine |
| Sound of the Night | Somleng reatrey | Chanrado Sok, Kongkea Vann | Cambodia |
| Squish! | Squish! | Tulapop Saenjaroen | Thailand, Singapore |
| Steakhouse | Steakhouse | Špela Čadež | Slovenia, Germany, France |
| The Sunset Special | The Sunset Special | Nicolas Gebbe | Germany |
| Strawberry Cheesecake | Strawberry Cheesecake | Siyou Tan | Singapore |
| Time Flows in Strange Ways on Sundays | Yi yi | Giselle Lin | Singapore |

#### National competition (Concorso nazionale)

Highlighted title indicates winner
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| After a Room | After a Room | Naomi Pacifique | United Kingdom, Netherlands, Switzerland |
| Dihya | Dihya | Lucia Martinez Garcia | Switzerland |
| Dream Racing | Cavales | Juliette Riccaboni | Switzerland |
| Four Pills at Night | Four Pills at Night | Leart Rama | Kosovo, Switzerland |
| It Must | Es muss | Flavio Luca Marano, Jumana Issa | Switzerland |
| The Life Underground | The Life Underground | Loïc Hobi | Switzerland |
| Mr. Pete & the Iron Horse | Mr. Pete & the Iron Horse | Kilian Vilim | Switzerland |
| Real News | Real News | Luka Popadić | Switzerland, Serbia |
| Strangers | Chute | Nora Longatti | Switzerland |
| Thing | Ding | Pascale Egli, Aurelio Ghirardelli | Switzerland |

#### Competition of Author's Courts (Concorso Corti d’autore)

Highlighted title indicates winner
| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Caricaturana | Caricaturana | Radu Jude | Romania |
| Creature | Criatura | María Silvia Esteve | Argentina, Switzerland |
| Dead Flash | Dead Flash | Bertrand Mandico | France |
| Fou de Bassan | Fou de Bassan | Yann Gonzalez | France |
| Gotta Fabricate Your Own Gifts | Il faut fabriquer ses cadeaux | Cyril Schäublin | Switzerland |
| Happiness Is a Journey | Happiness Is a Journey | Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan | United States, Estonia |
| Hotel Royal | Hotel Royal | Salomé Lamas | Portugal |
| How Do You Measure a Year? | How Do You Measure a Year? | Jay Rosenblatt | United States |
| Penalty Shot | Kazneni udarac | Rok Biček | Croatia, Slovenia, Austria |
| Se posso permettermi | Se posso permettermi | Marco Bellocchio | Italy |

### Out of Competition (Fuori Concorso)

| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| From the Planet of the Humans | Dal pianeta degli umani | Giovanni Cioni | Italy, Belgium, France |
| The Monster of the Crypt | Il mostro della cripta | Daniele Misischia | Italy |
| Mad God | Mad God | Phil Tippett | United States |
| Pathos Ethos Logos | Pathos Ethos Logos | Joaquim Pinto, Nuno Leonel | Portugal |
| Rampart | Rampart | Marko Grba Singh | Serbia |
| She Will | She Will | Charlotte Colbert | United Kingdom |
| The Sadness | The Sadness | Rob Jabbaz | Taiwan |

### Open Doors Screenings

| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Aswang | Aswang | Alyx Ayn Arumpac | Philippines, France, Norway, Germany, Qatar, Denmark |
| The Inseminator | Nguoi truyen giong | Bui Kim Quy | Vietnam, Germany |
| The Long Walk | Bor mi vanh chark | Mattie Do | Laos, Spain, Singapore |
| Manta Ray | Manta Ray | Phuttiphong Aroonpheng | Thailand, France, China |
| Money Has Four Legs | Money Has Four Legs | Maung Sun | Myanmar |
| The Seen and Unseen | Sekala niskala | Kamila Andini | Indonesia |
| The Story of Southern Islet | The Story of Southern Islet | Keat Aun Chong | Malaysia |
| They Sing Up on the Hill | Od ba gegee | Bat-Amgalan Lkhagvajav, Ian Allardyce | Mongolia, United Kingdom |
| Young Love | Young Love | Lomorpich Rithy | Cambodia |

### History (s) of cinema (Histoire(s) du cinéma)

| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Around Rocha’s Table | A Távola de Rocha | Samuel Barbosa | Portugal, Japan |
| Destiny | Al-massir | Youssef Chahine | Egypt, France |
| Derborence | Derborence | Francis Reusser | Switzerland |
| Dick | Dick | Andrew Fleming | United States, France, Canada |
| Doctor Chance  [fr] | Docteur Chance | F. J. Ossang [fr] | France, Chile |

### Retrospective (Retrospettiva)

| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| 12 directors for 12 cities: Genoa | 12 registi per 12 città: Genova | Alberto Lattuada | Italy |
| Anna | Anna | Alberto Lattuada | Italy, France |
| Love in the city | Amore in città | Alberto Lattuada, Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Carlo Lizzani, Francesco Maselli, Dino Risi, Cesare Zavattini | Italy |
| Stay as You Are | Così come sei | Alberto Lattuada | Italy, Spain |
| White Sister | Bianco rosso e... | Alberto Lattuada | Italy, France, Spain |

### Locarno Kids

| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Clorofilla dal cielo blu | Clorofilla dal cielo blu | Victor J. Tognola | Switzerland |
| Go West | Go West | Buster Keaton | USA |
| Here My Village | Here My Village | Abas Aram | Iran |
| Trash - The legend of the magic pyramid | Trash - La leggenda della piramide magica | Luca Della Grotta, Francesco Dafano | Italy |
| Too Far Away | Zu weit weg | Sarah Winkenstette | Germany |

### Swiss Panorama (Panorama Suisse)

| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| Atlas | Atlas | Niccolò Castelli | Switzerland, Belgium, Italy |
| The Game | Das Spiel | Roman Hodel | Switzerland |
| The Girl and the Spider | Das Mädchen und die Spinne | Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher | Switzerland |
| Mare | Mare | Andrea Štaka | Switzerland, Croatia |
| The New Gospel | Das neue Evangelium | Milo Rau | Switzerland, Germany |
| Nothing but the Sun | Apenas el sol | Arami Ullón | Switzerland, Paraguay |
| Your Street | Deine Strasse | Güzin Kar | Switzerland |

### International Critics' Week (Semaine de la critique)

| English title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| A Thousand Fires | A Thousand Fires | Saeed Taji Farouky | France /Switzerland /Netherlands /Palestine |
| The Bad Man | The Bad Man | Lee Yong Chao | Taiwan |
| The Balcony | Film balkonowy | Paweł Łoziński | Poland |
| Bukolika | Bukolika | Karol Pałka | Poland |
| How to Kill a Cloud | How to Kill a Cloud | Tuija Halttunen | Finland /Denmark |
| Stand Up My Beauty | Stand Up My Beauty | Heidi Specogna | Switzerland /Germany |
| Walk With Angels | Walk With Angels | Tomasz Wysokiński | Poland |

## Official Awards

The following awards were presented for films shown in competition:

### International Competition

* Golden Leopard: Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by Edwin
* Special Jury Prize: A New Old Play by Qui Jiongjiong
* Best Direction Award: Abel Ferrara for Zeros and Ones
* Best Actor Award: Mohamed Mellali, Valero Escolar for The Odd-Job Men
* Best Actress Award: Anastasiya Krasovskaya, Gerda by Natalya Kudryashova
* Special Mentions:
** Soul Of A Beast by Lorenz Merz
** The Sacred Spirit by Chema García Ibarra

### Filmmakers of the Present Competition

* Golden Leopard - Filmmakers of the Present: Brotherhood by Francesco Montagner
* Special Jury Prize: L’Été L’éternité by Émilie Aussel
* Best Emerging Director: Hleb Papou for Il Legionario
* Leopard for the Best Actress: Saskia Rosendahl for No One’s With the Calves
* Leopard for the Best Actor: Gia Agumava for Wet Sand

### Leopards of Tomorrow
#### International Competition

* Pardino d’oro SRG SSR for the Best International Short Film:
** Neon Phantom by Leonardo Martinelli
* Pardino d’argento SRG SSR for the International Competition:
** The Demons of Dorothy by Alexis Langlois
* Pardi di domani Best Direction Award – BONALUMI Engineering:
** Eliane Esther Bots for In Flow of Words
* Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Award:
** Home for Myriam Uwiragiye Birara
* Special Mentions:
** First Time (The Time For All But Sunset – Violet) by Nicolaas Schmidt

#### National Competition

* Pardino d’oro Swiss Life for the Best Auteur Short Film:
** Strangers by Nora Longatti
* Pardino d’argento Swiss Life for the National Competition:
** After A Room by Naomi Pacifique
* Best Swiss Newcomer Award:
** Flavio Luca Marano, Jumana Issa for It Must

#### Competition of Author's Courts

* Pardino d’oro Swiss Life for the Best Author Short Film:
** Creature by María Silvia Esteve

### First Feature

* Swatch First Feature Award:
** She Will by Charlotte Colbert
* Special Mention: Holy Emy (Agia Emi) by Araceli Lemos

## Special Awards
### Leopard of Honour (Pardo d’onore Manor award)

* John Landis

### Excellence Award Davide Campari

* Laetitia Casta

### Locarno Film Festival Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards

* In Flow of Words

### Special Lifetime Achievement Award

* Dario Argento

### Prix du public UBS Award

* Hinterland by Stefan Ruzowitzky

### Variety Piazza Grande Award

* Rose by Aurélie Saada