Director of the Locarno Film Festival to Al-Jarida: Cinema cannot be reduced to categories
Gianna Nazzaro, the artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, stated that the transformations the film industry has undergone in recent years have proven that the traditional divide between commercial cinema and auteur cinema no longer reflects the reality of the industry. He noted that a film is no longer judged by the type of audience it targets or its commercial success, but by its ability to realize its artistic vision and reach its audience authentically.
In an interview with Al-Jarida, he added that Locarno’s programming does not start from predefined categories or templates, but rather treats each film as an independent experience. He explained that the selection committee begins with each work “from scratch,” striving to understand what the film wants to say and how successfully it expresses itself, without seeking out specific themes or trends.
He pointed out that this philosophy is reflected in the construction of the festival’s general program, which offers the audience multiple entry points to discover cinema through diverse sections. These allow for the follow-up of new talents, the most experimental works, and public screenings, enabling viewers to shape their own experience within the festival. This approach simultaneously reflects the breadth and diversity of the global cinematic landscape.
Nazzaro emphasized that Locarno’s honors policy is not based solely on celebrating stardom, but on appreciating artistic careers that have left a genuine mark on the history of cinema. He noted that selecting honorees represents an acknowledgment of their creative contributions and reflects the diversity of cinematic arts, whether in acting, directing, or technical aspects.
He added that the identity of the new edition is embodied not only in the films but also in their visual and intellectual elements. He pointed out that choosing the work of American artist Cindy Sherman as the festival’s official poster stemmed from a desire to connect cinema with visual arts and to open a discussion on issues of identity, image, and rethinking contemporary reality.
He noted that the retrospective program dedicated this year to Hollywood’s “Blacklist” aimed not only to revisit a historical period, but also to re-examine questions regarding freedom of expression and artistic independence amid current political and cultural shifts. He considered cinema to remain a space for discussion and defense of creative freedom, just as much as it is a means of artistic expression.
Nazzaro said that the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival reflected the vision the festival has been working toward for years: presenting a program that combines the discovery of new talents with the celebration of established names, while maintaining ample space for cinematic experimentation.
He added that the concluded edition did not seek to promote a single cinematic trend, but rather reflected the multiplicity of voices, languages, and styles that characterize contemporary cinema. This was achieved through a program featuring films from around the world, distributed among the International Competition, sections dedicated to emerging directors, and public screenings in the Piazza Grande, alongside retrospectives and intellectual events. He affirmed that this diversity constitutes the core of Locarno’s identity, offering the audience the opportunity to discover cinema from multiple perspectives, thereby making the festival a space for dialogue among different experiences, rather than merely a platform for screening films.
