International Film Festival Locarno
The 60th International Film Festival Locarno
The 60th International Film Festival Locarno
Acting as an interface for film, video art and all other media, the intention of the
Play Forward is to create an ideal space for the entire range of contemporary
audiovisual experimentation. Open to any format or length and to every kind of
digital technology, the programming brings together works that are strong and
radical, whether in form or content. In just a few years, the section has
established itself through its selection, courtesy of some of the major
international art galleries, from such prestigious artists as Matthew Barney, Shirin
Neshat, Isaac Julien, Nan Goldin, Oliviero Toscani, not to mention the most recent
forms of expression relating to new technologies, from the web to mobile phones.
A selection of full-length features
One of the full length features presented in 2007 is Después del mar, a
project initially conceived as an installation, by Adrian Caetano, known for fiction
features such as Bolivia and Un Oso rojo. Likewise, Blood of a Poet, by the great
Polish artist Lech Majewski, is a film version of the installation currently on
display at the Venice Biennale. Literature and painting went into the making of
Johnny 316 by Erick Ifergan (USA), a free adaptation from Oscar Wilde in which
Vincent Gallo roams Hollywood as a new Jesus, enhanced by a superb cinematography.
Artists of renown
Play Forward's second brief is to present artists of world renown (in partnership
with major international art galleries), in a dialogue with independent filmmakers,
a discerning niche audience and film directors who have decided to make at least one
film outside the "classical" canon. This year the Festival will be
hosting, among others, recent works by Richard Billingham, Olivo Barberi, Vanessa
Beecroft, Yang Fudong, David Austen, Victor Alimpiev, but also new works by
established directors such as Bertrand Bonello, Vincent Dieutre and Ghassan Salhab.
Somewhere in between -- second part
Play Forward will be deepening the reflection on the frontiers between cinema and
arts with the second part of a panel launched in 2006; on Monday August 6th,
professionals, artists and filmakers attending the festival will discuss about their
newest experiences in the aim of an exchange in the field of visual arts.
Outside the cinema
In the search of this exchange, during the whole period of the festival, two
installations, Pshycastenia -2+2 de Knut Asdam and The Dark Side de Pierre
Coulibeuf will be presented at La Rada , space for the contemporary art in Locarno,
thanks to the collaboration of Fine Arts Unternehmen AG de Franco Marinotti (August,
2 - 11, 2007; Opening August 2, 2007 - 6p.m.)
Locarno International Film Festival
Via Ciseri 23 - 6600 Locarno - Switzerland