El Festival de Cine de Locarno ha anunciado la cancelación de su 73a edición debido a restricciones del gobierno suizo. En su lugar, el festival ha puesto en marcha una iniciativa para apoyar el cine independiente
The prominent Swiss summer fest, which was scheduled to run August 5-15, is known as a champion of international indie cinema and the industry behind it. It is also known for its 8,000-seat outdoor Piazza Grande screening venue which is the largest outdoor venue in Europe.
Given the impossibility of preserving the festival’s strong outdoor spirit, Locarno has decided not to pursue the online festival option that several other fests have resorted to in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We looked at a number of different scenarios,” Locarno artistic director Lili Hinstin (pictured) tells Variety.
“For us the priority was to save the physical aspect of the festival, which for us is very closely tied to its (setting) since Locarno audiences are in this amazing place between a lake and a mountain where you have the Piazza Grande with this gigantic screen,”