The idea of bringing Piazza Grande to other squares in the region, born last year as part of the Locarno Film Festival’s 75th anniversary celebrations, was met with enthusiasm by local viewers, who flocked to every single screening and rediscovered gems from past editions. “Festeggiamo” is now ready to make a comeback with a fresh lineup of classic and recent titles, serving as a prelude to the unveiling of the Locarno76 selection (August 2-12).
The initiative, organized by the municipalities of the region (Ascona, Avegno Gordevio, Bosco Gurin, Brione s. Minusio, Brissago, Campo Vallemaggia, Centovalli, Cerentino, Cevio, Cugnasco-Gerra, Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Lavizzara, Linescio, Locarno, Losone, Maggia, Mergoscia, Minusio, Onsernone, Orselina, Ronco s. Ascona, Tenero-Contra, Terre di Pedemonte, Verzasca) with the support of the Locarno Film Festival, will take place from July 1 to August 17, with open air screenings, all free of charge.
“It’s a program born out of freedom, devoted to pleasure, to rediscovery and – most importantly – to the big screen placed at the center of our communities”, says Artistic Director Giona A. Nazzaro, who personally curated this year’s selection, which includes “masterpieces of cinema selected across the Festival’s 76-year history, as well as more recent works whose encounter with the public began in Locarno.” Audiences will thus get to see landmark titles that impacted subsequent decades of filmmaking (Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds and Ettore Scola’s The Pizza Triangle), Nanni Moretti’s end-of-millennium satire Red Wood Pigeon, Paolo Sorrentino’s debut One Man Up, and two of the more interesting takes on the contemporary thriller, which played at Locarno75 (Anna Gutto’s Paradise Highway and Michele Vannucci’s Delta).
The films will have Italian audio or subtitles, to make the experience accessible to the entire regional audience. Additionally, each evening will anoint the winner of a Festival Pass for Locarno76, with other tickets available via online or radio competitions. For the complete lineup and updates, visit the initiative’s website and social media (Facebook and Instagram) - @festeggiamo.ch.
