Locarno Film Festival artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro has recruited some big names – including Isabella Rossellini, Darren Aronofsky, Olivia Wilde, and Caleb Landry Jones who, in various guises, are expected to be making the trek to the Swiss temple of indie cinema this year.
On Thursday, Nazzaro unveiled his lineup of more than 200 titles — almost half of which are world premieres — that will comprise new works by a mix of known auteurs such as South Korea’s Hong Sangsoo, India’s Gurvinder Singh, Canada’s Denis Côté, Romania’s Florin Serban, and Germany’s Isabelle Stever and promising newcomers including Giovanni Tortorici whose sophomore feature “Ketticè” is produced by Luca Guadagnino.
Nazzaro speaks to Variety about this year’s selection and why it reflects his new mantra which is “curated diversity.”
Let’s start with the so-called philosophy behind this year’s selection. You’ve described it as “curated diversity.” Can you elaborate?
It puts the accent on curation and diversity. But diversity understood in all its forms. It’s a curated multiplicity of possibilities in the spectrum of filmic expression. “Curated” means that you make a choice, which is especially relevant today, when the algorythyms tend to decide for you and basically try to shape your everyday life. We want to bring back the element of unpredictability, surprise, and even something that you might not expect, which is a bit different from surprise. So this is the thing.
How is “curated diversity” reflected in the Locarno opener, Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’s “The Green Eyes,” in which a refugee child is affected by trauma when his father abandons the family home to escape deportation and falls in a deep sleep where we follow him in his dreams ?
It has different kinds of elements to it. First of all, they are young filmmakers. They previously made the film “Gagarine” [that made a splash in Cannes in 2020] and sparked lots of interest when it was released. Secondly, this is also a kind of social issue-oriented film. It’s about the plight of refugees waiting for a visa, and all the complexities that come when you are uprooted from your home. But then there are the fantasy elements. So in a way, it’s quintessentially a Locarno film, because all these elements are woven together. This is why I wanted it to be a kind of introduction to the festival. What we are trying to say is that this is a film for a large audience. It’s also a very ambitious film that has something to say.
Ok let’s talk about the competition. You’ve said it contains several narrative strands. One “community and family,” the other being “the body.” Can you give me some examples?
For instance, the Romanian film “You Don’t Belong Here,” [directed by Florin Șerban] is the story of a teenage boy who kills someone [an old Romani man.] Somehow he feels out of place, even though the [masked vigilante] group he belongs to, claim that other people do not belong to their same society. And while this is going on, the kid’s father understands that maybe there is no place for his child as part of the first generation of Romanians that came after the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu. So its a film about community, but it also asks questions about family. The Ukrainian film “I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming” [directed by Isabelle Steve] raises the question: “What happens if I’m planning to reshape my gender identity and this existential project of mine clashes with the Russian invasion of my country?” Basically, in all the films in this section the common element is that the world is getting smaller. And it’s getting smaller because there are wars everywhere, and people feel threatened from different angles. I can’t recall a time when there were so many wars were going on at the same time. And therefore people are asking themselves basic questions about how to shape or reshape their societies, bodies, families, and how to rebuild communities.
What are some of titles you are particularly proud of that are not in competition?
Since you cover the Arab world, I’d like to point out “Bakma” an urban horror thriller by Tunisian director Abdelhamid Bouchnak [screening out of competition]. You have never seen a film from Tunisia like that before. Then I would like to point out the vampire film “Sundown” by Canadian director Rebekah McKendry with Daniel Bernhardt, the Swiss actor-turned-Hollywood-action-superstar with the “Matrix” and “John Wick” franchises. Then there is new film by U.S. director Vincent Grashaw (“Keep Quiet”). We will have the international premiere of Bertrand Mandico’s “Roma Elastica” and a new political film by Portuguese auteur Edgar Pêra “Asphalt Guerrilla” partly made with A.I.
Back to the Piazza Grande, how did you score the world premiere of Caleb Landry Jones’ “Down the Arm of God.” What can you tell me about it?
It’s his passion project, based on firsthand accounts of homeless people in his native Texas. Its about a small community with a church outside the boundaries of the city. There are some homeless people that are being threatened by the approaching winter, and the pastor decides that maybe it’s a good idea to have to offer the church as a shelter to these people. But the community revolts against the pastor because they don’t want these people anywhere, near their children.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.