Actress Paz Vega – one of the most recognizable faces of Spanish cinema – joins us for a conversation about her directorial debut: the piercing childhood drama “Rita”. This remarkable work, for which Vega served in a multitude of capacities – director, writer, executive producer, and in a prominent lead role – had its world premiere at the 77th Locarno Film Festival to acclaim from the audience and the press. During the Festival, we caught up with Paz Vega to dig into this impressive first...

One of the most recognizable faces of British cinema, known best for “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”, actor Nick Frost stopped over at Locarno to show his latest film, the centuries-spanning time travel romantic comedy “Timestalker”, on the Piazza Grande. While in town, he sat down for a conversation on Locarno Meets to discuss the genesis of this one-of-a-kind new movie, expound on his admiration for director Alice Lowe – another beloved staple of British television comedy – and reflect...

One of the most beloved and influential directors of the past half century, Jane Campion – recipient of the Pardo d’Onore Manor at the 77th Locarno Film Festival –, joins us on Locarno Meets. Campion’s is a career of remarkable firsts, whether as the first woman to win the Palme d’Or or the first woman to be nominated twice for the Academy Awards for Best Director (winning for “The Power of the Dog” in 2022). But her body of work is full of artistic risk-taking and daring pivots into...

On Locarno Meets, we're joined by five-time Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón, who shared some candid thoughts about his singular career while in Locarno to accept the Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In an in-depth conversation with the podcast host Alex Miller, Cuarón opened up about his new Apple TV series Disclaimer, starring Cate Blanchett, taking breaks from Hollywood with Y tu mamá también and Roma – that allowed him to refresh his practice –, coping with the reality of the...

A film 28 years in the making and shot across 24 countries, Tarsem’s gonzo masterpiece The Fall has long been woefully unavailable. The 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival saw a new 4K restoration, done in collaboration with MUBI, premiere on the 8,000-seat Piazza Grande in Locarno. For this episode of our podcast Locarno Meets, Tarsem sat down for an in-depth discussion of this great UFO of film history, telling the epic story of its making, of the reasons for its long-time...

There are no words to introduce Shah Rukh Khan, the Baadshah of Bollywood, recipient of the Pardo alla Carriera Ascona-Locarno Tourism at the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival. He is one of the biggest and most beloved movie stars in the world; for billions of people around the world, his name is virtually synonymous with legendary films of all descriptions – romances, comedies, action films. When we caught up with SRK in Locarno – for this episode of our podcast Locarno Meets – we...

This week on #LocarnoMeets, we're joined by Eugene Hernandez, director of the Sundance Institute, as he reflects on his decades-long relationship with the famous festival in Park City, Utah, beginning with his first visit in 1993. He underscores Sundance's roots as a supporter of independent storytelling, dating back to its founding principles established by Robert Redford, and highlights the Institute's commitment to championing trailblazing artists in the face of industry...

This week on #LocarnoMeets, we're joined by filmmakers María Gisèle Roya and Julia De Castro, whose feature debut together "On the Go" premiered in Cineasti del Presente. Theirs is a bold homage to Spanish cinema of the '80s, specifically Gonzalo Garcia Pelayo's "Corridas de la Gria". Shot in 16mm, this irreverent and energetic road movie concocts an adventure playground-like narrative around a burnt-out nightclub, the ins and outs of motherhood, and various surreal encounters. Celebrated for...

This week on #LocarnoMeets, Greek filmmaker Sofia Exarchou discusses her second feature film, "Animal", which looks at the lives of so-called "animators" at beach hotels in Greece. The film explores the challenges these employees face in a demanding job that requires constant high energy and unwavering smiles. These people use their bodies to convey raw emotions, making their physical movements a central aspect of the film's storytelling and choreography. In our conversation, Exarchou touches...

Production designer Amos Sussigan, who served on the festival Pardi di Domani jury, engages in a thoughtful conversation about his work on Animal Farm and broader insights into the animation industry. He delves into the intricacies of character design, highlighting the challenges of capturing individuality while avoiding cartoonish stereotypes, drawing on his varied experience, including Space Jam 2. Sussigan also touches on the (at the time) ongoing strikes in the industry and concludes with...

In a rich and provocative conversation, filmmaker Eduardo Williams discusses "The Human Surge 3," the would-be sequel to his 2016 work. This time, he shot it with 360-degree cameras, making for a singular cinematic experience.   He describes the interplay between script and improvisation that forms the backbone of his process, as well as the inherently political nature of cinema and the significant influence of video games on his work. Reflecting on online interactions and the potential of...

Austin actress and writer Katie Folger shines in the ensemble cast of Family Portrait, a unique film about a Texas family's struggle to get a group photo. The production took an unconventional approach, reflected in both the casting and the visual language of the film. With room to experiment, Katie valued the immersive, "dream-like" shooting experience over traditional rehearsals and a strict script. In addition to her film work, Katie wrote Getting in Bed with the Pizza Man, a one-woman...

Explore the captivating world of director Moussa Sene Absa, best known for his trilogy of films portraying Senegalese women. Absa, a true artist at heart - director, composer, painter - shares insights into his dynamic and insightful filmmaking process. Drawing parallels between himself and a bird, he navigates seamlessly between mediums, intuitively choosing to express his emotions through pencil, camera or music. Absa's films intertwine drama and tenderness, loss and love, narratives that...

Renowned film producer and former Head of Movies at Amazon Studios, Ted Hope, embarks on a compelling conversation challenging the evolving role of platforms in the film industry. With a career marked by transformative moments, including bringing Spike Lee and Jim Jarmusch to Amazon, Hope questions the pervasive influence of streaming platforms. He advocates a shift in perspective, urging the recognition of streaming as a utility rather than a determinant of content creation. An outspoken...

Join us for an exploration of resilience, creativity and the transformative power of cinema in the lives of our inspiring guests: director Gloria Carrión and producer Nadean Rawlins, both participants in the 2023 Open Doors Hub program focused on Latin America and the Caribbean.   Gloria shared her journey from the 2018 civil uprising in Nicaragua to the creation of Leaves of K., a film born out of oppression and forced migration. Faced with government restrictions, she found refuge in...

Dive into the future of cinema in our latest podcast with Brian Newman, former Tribeca CEO and founder of Sub-Genre, as he looks at the future of film, festivals and streaming platforms through a new way of funding.   Through his company Sub-Genre, Brian explores the ever-evolving relationship between brands and cinema, working to bridge the gap and turn brand engagement into a new form of cinema, with Patagonia and Saint Laurent as great examples of how it could be done. Brian's aim is to...

Oliver Stone, Ridley Scott, Michael Bay, Gus Van Sant... these are just some of the iconic filmmakers who have called on award-winning editor Pietro Scalia to help them realise their visions. With a career spanning over 30 years, 2 Oscars and many more awards, Scalia has helped shape some of the most iconic films in Hollywood history, "Gladiator", "Black Hawk Down" and "JFK" to name but a few. In August, he received the Vision Award Ticinomoda in Locarno and sat down with our host Alexander...

Delve into the world of Lucy Kerr, an American filmmaker and artist based in New York, who was named one of the '25 New Faces of Independent Film' by Filmmaker Magazine in 2022! Her debut feature, "Family Portrait", which premiered at the 76th Locarno Film Festival, is set during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and offers a compelling exploration of family bonds and the enigmatic nature of time and space. Inspired by her own family experiences, the film transcends traditional...

Luc Jacquet is an award-winning director and screenwriter with a passion for our planet and, in particular, Antarctica. This summer he was in Locarno to receive the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare, a recognition of the creative minds that are helping to shape the future of today's and tomorrow's younger generations.  Jacquet's work attempts to strike a balance between celebrating the beauty and poetry of nature as it is, and raising much-needed awareness of the dangers of climate change....

Harmony Korine is a skater, a painter, a cigar aficionado, a computer game designer and one of the most important independent American directors of the last 30 years. In the 90s, almost overnight, he went from being a teenager drinking at skate parks to the generationally heralded screenwriter of Larry Clark’s legendary Kids (1995) and then, just as quickly, he became a visionary and brilliant director in his own right. This year, we honoured Korine with the Pardo d’onore Manor for a career...

Fifteen years ago facing facing prison and corporal punishment Zar Amir Ebrahimi was forced to give up a successful acting career and flee her home in Iran. Ebrahimi’s last two roles are fierce criticisms of Iranian patriarchal culture. Firstly, with the terrifying satire Holy Spider (2022), which won her the Best Actress in Cannes 2022 and now in Shayda (2023) a gut wrenching story of a mother trying to protect her family from an abusive husband. Away from starring roles, during the Woman,...

Radu Jude is a Romanian filmmaker who isn't to everyone's taste. His last film was called "Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn", a provocative satire that won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2021 and pushed him into the center of global cinema. It also annoyed a lot of his countrymen who frankly found it crass. Jude's new film is a near three hour experience called "Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World," a triptych of differing styles that leaps, without warning, into a montage...

Outside of perhaps Alfred Hitchcock, it’s arguable that there has never been a film director as significant in Britain as Ken Loach. In his seven decade career, Loach’s unrivalled filmography has been the most potent, artistic voice for the dispossessed in his native England. It is a tragedy for both the art form and the country that his new film will be his last. At 87, the man is drawing a line under this remarkable career, which began in the 1960s and has enjoyed multiple peaks. His final...

After a career stretching back to childhood, defining Christmas for a generation of American kids in ‘The Santa Claus’ and shining in the brilliant ‘Adams Family Values’, for a long period as a supporting actor and comedian, American actor David Krumholtz has now moved into the centre of the cinematic frame with ‘Lousy Carter’ - the story of a man with unrealised potential, confronting and embracing death as an excuse to try one last time to achieve something small in his life. We sat down...