As the first major international film festival mounted following SAG-AFTRTA’s decision to join the WGA in strike action against the studios, there was much speculation about how the Locarno Film Festival would adapt its lineup.
The fest lost its opening-night centerpiece at short notice, with UK actor-producer Riz Ahmed pulling out of an appearance during which he was set to receive Locarno’s Davide Campari lifetime achievement award. Fellow lifetime award recipient Stellan Skarsgård also pulled out of his festival engagements.
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Instead, the fest pulled into motion Wednesday evening with a subdued opening-night ceremony. Proceedings began with the festival’s outgoing president, Marco Solari, opening the event for the last time following a 23-year tenure. He was followed onstage by artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who, despite Ahmed’s absence, pushed on with the Davide Campari lifetime achievement award presentation, handing the gong to director Yann Mounir Demange. The pair worked together on the short Dammi, which screened this evening as part of the ceremony. Before the screening, Demange (‘71, White Boy Rick) read out a short note penned by Ahmed, accepting the award and laying out his reasons for not attending.
“Thank you to the Locarno Film Festival for this amazing honor,” Ahmed’s message began. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be with you today. I’m out on strike with my union, taking a stand for rights and recognition due to us for our artistic contributions, which will safeguard the most vulnerable amongst us. It’s a very important fight, and I hope you all understand.”
The note received a hearty round of applause from the festival audience. The screening of Dammi was followed by the world premiere of Falling Stars, the debut feature from Polish-American directorial duo Richard Karpala and Gabriel Bienczycki.
Aside from this evening’s change of schedule, the two Hollywood strikes should have minimal impact on Locarno. Unlike the major fall festivals — Venice, Toronto, and Telluride — Locarno has a slimmer Hollywood presence, with competition strands focused more on international arthouse work and features from first- and second-time indie filmmakers. As such, many attending guests have little to no affiliation with the Hollywood guilds and are not bound by their strict and complicated rules on festival appearances.
However, there is the question of symbolic solidarity. On the ground in Locarno, for instance, there had been much speculation over whether Cate Blanchett would turn up with her indie Sundance pic Shayda, which closes the festival. Blanchett was set to attend in her role as an executive producer — not an actor — on the pic and host a discussion between director Noora Niasari and lead actor Zar Amir Ebrahimi. In this instance, Blanchett wouldn’t technically be covered under SAG-AFTRA regulations, but as Deadline revealed this evening, the two-time Oscar winner has decided not to attend to show support for striking actors.
Beyond Blanchett, Ahmed, and Skarsgård, the fest has had only one other strike-related cancellation: Molly Gordon and actors Ben Platt and Noah Galvin will no longer attend with their pic Theater Camp.
Earlier in the day, footfall within the main festival square was noticeably slight; on opening night, Locarno’s Old Town is traditionally buzzing with life. The festival’s 8,000-seat Open Air screen backs onto a commercial strip filled with open-facing bars and cafes alongside informal hang-out hubs erected for the festival. Today, they were all mostly empty.
It’s unlikely that this is directly related to no-show actors. There has also been a significant change in transportation to and from the festival. In past years, Locarno, like most European festivals, has shuttled visitors in via coach from connecting transport hubs such as Milan. This year, the festival scrapped the shuttle program and encouraged visitors to travel in via train — the greener option — leading to staggered arrivals. Multiple festival sources told us the drop in opening-day visitors had not gone unnoticed, but they expect things to pick up in the coming days, particularly on the industry side, with what one source with close knowledge of the festival’s industry program described to us as a record number of registered industry visitors this year.
This year, Locarno runs through August 12. The fest’s Piazza Grande program also features Justine Triet’s 2023 Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall, Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or contender The Old Oak, and the world premiere of Luc Jacquet’s Antarctica Calling. The festival’s International Competition will showcase 17 films this year, 16 of which are world premieres. Golden Leopard contenders include French director Quentin Dupieux’s secretly shot Yannick, which will be released simultaneously in France; Filipino director Lav Diaz’s Essential Truths of the Lake; and Greek director Sofia Exarchou’s Animal, her second film after San Sebastian New Directors Award winner Park.
The festival jury features Aftersun director Charlotte Wells and Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi alongside French actor Lambert Wilson, European Film Academy CEO Matthijs Wouter Knol, and New York Lincoln Center’s president of film Lesli Klainberg.
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