{"id":637977,"date":"2026-08-15T03:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T03:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/637977\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T03:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T03:13:15","slug":"locarno-market-takeaways-from-why-stars-attend-to-genre-buzz-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/637977\/","title":{"rendered":"Locarno Market Takeaways From Why Stars Attend to Genre, Buzz Titles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tUnspooling over Aug. 5-15, this year\u2019s Locarno Film Festival<\/a> broke records for industry attendance and its temperatures, Switzerland enduring its hottest summer since records began in 1864. Led by an ebullient Olivia Wilde<\/a>, charged by the breakout success of \u201cThe Invite,\u201d Locarno Pro delivered a telling take on the world\u2019s arthouse crunch with the sector courting venture capital to fill the breach of contracting finance from traditional sources.<\/p>\n

\n\tThese and other industry takeaways fom this year\u2019s Locarno Film Festival. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWhy Stars Attend Locarno<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tOlivia Wilde charmed unveiling to a Piazza Grande audience \u201cThe Invite,\u201d on its European premiere, to an 8,000 audience. Zoe Salda\u00f1a<\/a>, who also received a tribute, explained why she was bothered by political questions. Another Locarno honoree, James Gray<\/a>, presenting \u201cPaper Tiger,\u201d was in fine fettle delivering a stomping interview with Variety, calling AI \u201cworthless\u201d and arguing \u201cyoung people won\u2019t stand for it.\u201d Monica Bellucci<\/a> declared she\u2019d never done anything like her role in \u201cKettic\u00e8\u201d: \u201cOn set in my pyjamas with a knife in my hand and slippers on my feet.\u201d Europe\u2019s biggest mid-summer film event, \u201cLocarno offers prestige, elegance and plenty of press attention at what is a much less crowded selection than most festivals in the awards season corridor,\u201d Stuart Ford, at AGC Intl., told Variety last year when he brought \u201cKiss of the Spider Woman\u201d to Locarno. That reason still stands as Locarno\u2019s star presence builds ever more. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBuzz Titles<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tVariety called \u201cObjet a,\u201d an Oscilloscope U.S. pick-up from Ann Oren (\u201cPiaff\u201d), \u201ca wickedly kinky curiosity.\u201d \u201cHearing\u201d (\u201cgorgeous, secretive\u201d), Swedish-Danish Maria Back\u2019s \u201cBrave New Love\u201d (an \u201cemotionally intelligent, gently wry character drama\u201d) and Felix Randau\u2019s \u201cI Is Another<\/a>\u201d (\u201ca handsomely upholstered psychological thriller\u201d) also came in for Variety praise. As did German Isabelle Stever\u2019s \u201cI Rarely Wake Up Dreaming,\u201d \u201cstark surprising.\u201d Elsewhere, Argentinean Alessandra Sanguinetti\u2019s \u201cThe Illusion of an Everlasting Summer\u201d \u2013 dreamy, grounded,\u201d said Variety \u2014 had plenty of fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLocarno\u2019s Industry Value<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWho is full of hope?\u201d moderator A.C. Coppens, The Catalysts founder, asked a packed audience at Locarno\u2019s Step-In think tank\u2019s opening panel after Stephen Follows damning analysis of algorithm-driven decision-making in a Step-In introduction. Only two hands went up from audience members. Locarno Pro itself drives to identify opportunities during good times and industry malaise. \u201cWhen we did Step-In before the pandemic, we asked what the film industry would look like in five years time. Now that\u2019s impossible. Step-In is anticipating one-to-two years max because things are moving so fast,\u201d says Locarno Pro director Markus Duffner. That said, Locarno in 2026, supplied multiple suggestions for ways forward for the international independent sector.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tCo-Production: The Industry\u2019s Get Out of Jail Card<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tOne, without doubt, is co-production. \u201cOur aim is to build projects around international collaboration from their earliest stages,\u201d Portuguese producer Ana Sofia Nunes told Variety at Match Me! Locarno\u2019s large networking event. Most producers there agreed. Indeed, international co-production was highlighted by 12 of 20 Match Me! producers who talked to Variety about their business model, followed by genre production (three) and non-theatrical distribution (two). Match Me! can furthers their aims, notes Duffner, citing Chile\u2019s Equeco and Italy\u2019s Disp\u00e0rte, behind 2026 Locarno Piazza Grande premiere \u201cThe Chilean,\u201d who met at Match Me!\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tVenture Capital Investment<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s a new kid in town: venture capital investment, drawn to the Swiss Festival by a second Locarno Investment Community held over Aug. 6-9. Investors are discovering the value of the movie business. Why? \u201cBecause we need them,\u201d answers Alexandra Lebret, ex MD of the European Producers Club, now co-heading investor Together Fund, co-financed by the E.U.\u2019s MediaInvest fund. Europe\u2019s film industry now faces a triple-whammy: Shrinking broadcaster, international distributor and now state aid, and selective schemes \u2014 think France\u2019s Cin\u00e9mas du Monde are \u201cvery, very competitive,\u201d said Lebret. \u201cProducers will have to produce with less. There is more space for private investors. The whole system needs to adapt to first a new reality and secondly, to new players that are coming and will change the rules,\u201d Lebret forecast. \u201cPrivate investment is one answer to diminishing or evolving public funding for art films,\u201d says Duffner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tGenre Build<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tOf projects shopped at Match Me!, \u201cThe Girl Who Bled Women,\u201d from Brazil\u2019s Movioca and turning on a girl\u2019s determination not to lose her virginity in an arranged marriage, was cast as a survival thriller. \u201cHalf of the world, from France\u2019s Belladonna Films, is a \u201ccontemporary genre film with elements of comedy,\u201d said producer Gabriel Jumel. \u201cThe Educator,\u201d produced by Montenegro\u2019s Adriatic Western, weighs in as\u00a0 a \u201cfresh take on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Smith,\u201d producer Ivan Marin\u00f3vic told Variety. In all, 12 of the top projects presented by 35 producers at Match Me! were genre films or had distinct genre elements. \u201cMost genre, not only elevated genre but more commercial genre, makes some political statement, and Locarno, with Giona [A. Nazzaro\u2019s] editorial line as artistic director, has embraced more and more these kind of films and that can be seen in Locarno Pro lineups,\u201d says Duffner. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Need for More Films by Women<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThe industry could also do with more films by women. \u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve come across those little plaques that you sometimes see in offices that say: \u2018You don\u2019t have to be mad to work here, but it helps.\u2019 The film version is: \u2018You don\u2019t have to be a white, cisgendered, not-disabled, middle class urban man to work here, but it helps,\u2019\u201d Doris Ruth Eikhof, at the University of Glasgow and Design Otherwise said. She went on to cite German film data that suggested that even from just a business point of view, that is short-sighted: Films produced by men need \u20ac41 ($48) to sell one cinema ticket, women just \u20ac13 ($15). When they are selected, films by women are typically more successful, have a longer festival run and win more awards, Eikhof said.<\/p>\n

\n\tArthouse\u2019s Generational Makeover<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAt the turn of the century, arthouse theaters in Europe were frequented by ageing baby boomers. Now, \u201dwe see a huge young audience coming to our cinema,\u201d Joyce Palmers, at Antwerp\u2019s De Cinema repertory theater, said at Step-In\u2019s opening panel. That may have two knock-ons. One most certainly: De Cinema\u2019s young audience \u201cloves to see classics.\u201d A central panel at Locarno\u2019s Heritage Monday identified classic film exhibition as one, however niche, future for cinema. Also, arthouse movies and directors breaking out around the world most often share the interest of a younger audience, making films of contemporary relevance, political and social point and authenticity. Notably, upscale European films may be skewing younger. Seven of the 11 projects at Alliance 4 Development, Locarno\u2019s platform for bigger projects, have young protagonists or as co-leads.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tMoving Beyond Nuclear Families<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIncreasingly, titles are certainly capturing a younger generation Zeitgeist. Multiple titles also chart for Millennials and the Gen Z the evolution of bedrock relations beyond those of nuclear families. Ghanaian Artei Armar\u2019s \u201cOur Time Will Come<\/a>\u201d trails two orphans who move to Accra to find chosen family. \u2018The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer<\/a>\u201d records cousins Guille and Belinda over 25 years as they grow up, fall in love, raise children and slowly drift apart. \u201cKinship, whether by blood or affinity, is redefined for a modern world,\u201d writes Variety of \u201cOur Time Will Come\u201d, which could be said of two notable titles in Locarno\u2019s Spanish Film Previews which again chart far more fluid bedrock relations: Diego Llorente\u2019s \u201cHow the Lights Get In\u201d and Paloma Zapata\u2019s \u201cJuliette & Camille.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFamily Arthouse<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tOr sales agents and distributors are turning to family arthouse. Kids and family pics are driving an ever larger part Locarno\u2019s business dealings. In one move, Locarno Kids title \u201cMu-ki-ra,\u201d a flamboyant animated feature and political allegory from Colombian creative powerhouse Estefan\u00eda Pi\u00f1eres Duque and \u201cDecorado\u201d producer Chelo Loureiro, was brought to market by Latido Films. And in another, Patra Spanou Films closed world sales rights to Rodrigo Pl\u00e1\u2019s \u201cLos Nuevos\u201d after its world premiere at Locarno. \u201cAn increasing number of international distributors are handling family arthouse for broader audiences, and come to Locarno to focus on Locarno Kids, which now has a lot of international and world premieres too,\u201d Duffner comments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Business<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tLocarno sparked a bevy of U.S. pickups and a slew of sales agent deals on movies in main international competition and Piazza Grande titles. <\/p>\n

\n\tJust some of the deals at Locarno 2026 announced by Variety:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t*Ahead of Locarno world premiere, Oscilloscope Laboratories acquires Ann Oren\u2019s \u201cObjet a,\u201d which went on to spark rave reviews at the Swiss festival.<\/p>\n

\n\t*Cinetic Media swooped on North America sales rights to \u201cManhunt,\u201d a Locarno Main Competition contender. Aspect Ratio has taken international sales rights.<\/p>\n

\n\t*\u201dBloody Tennis\u201d sold to Shudder for the U.S. in a CAA deal<\/a>, with the expose of elite sport extremes closing major territories \u2014 Australia (Umbrella Entertainment), Italy (Plaion Pictures), Japan (Extreme Film) and Scandinavia (Njutafilms) \u2014 in the run-up to Locarno. The Playmaker Munich and Augenschein Sales handled international deals.<\/p>\n

\n\t*Hong Sangsoo\u2019s \u201cNowhere to Lay My Eyes\u201d landed at Cinema Guild ahead of its Locarno Premiere\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t*Heretic pounced on Denis C\u00f2t\u00e9\u2019s awaited \u201cNobody\u2019s Violence,\u201d in a mid-July deal. According to many critics it proved worth the waiting with C\u00f4t\u00e9,\u00a0\u201cproving once again to be an inimitable observer of the human condition,\u201d said iCs.<\/p>\n

\n\t*Fandango Sales picked up explosive Locarno Premiere \u201cThe Chilean,\u201d a \u201870s-set militant-left thriller from top Chilean scribe-helmer Sergio Castro-San Mart\u00edn, creator of \u201cLa Jaur\u00eda.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t*\u201dSmall Talk,\u201d a nuanced take on Switzerland\u2019s last finishing school, was boarded by France\u2019s Urban Sales<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t*And \u201cLa Koreana<\/a>,\u201d a banner new talent title from Spain, was brought to market at Locarno by producers Lazona Zinema and Sirimiri, headed by \u201c20,000 Species of Bees\u201d director Estibaliz Urresola.<\/p>\n

\n\t*In other deals unveiled just after the Locarno lineup announcement in July, Brazilian erotic thriller \u201cThe Riverbank\u201d was boarded by Premium Films\/MPM Premium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t*While Bendita Film Sales swooped on Locarno-bound \u201cDonkey Princess,\u201d from \u201cThe Wolf House\u201d directors Le\u00f3n & Coci\u00f1a;<\/p>\n

\n\t*In other trading, Low Light Films took Basil Da Cunha\u2019s \u201cO Jacar\u00e9,\u201d a celebration of Lisbon\u2019s vibrant Reboleira district.<\/p>\n

\n\t*And Isabelle Stever\u2019s Locarno main competition title, \u201cI Rarely Wake Up Dreaming,\u201d produced by Tom Tykwer, was picked up for world sales by France\u2019s Outplay Films<\/p>\n

\n\t*Heretic also secured sales rights on L\u00ea B\u1ea3o\u2019s \u201cHearing,\u201d praised by Variety as a \u201csensuous, intuitive mood piece.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t*Dario Albertini\u2019s \u201cArmony,\u201d bowing at Locarno\u2019s Piazza Grande, secured Swiss distribution with Xenix.<\/p>\n

\n\t*Italy-Based Lights On snapped up Colombia\u2019s \u201cIn All My Journeys I Am Returning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t*\u201dThe Days Off,\u201d Lucila Mariani\u2019s dreamlike Argentine debut, found a sales agent at Inwave Films.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unspooling over Aug. 5-15, this year\u2019s Locarno Film Festival broke records for industry attendance and its temperatures, Switzerland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[268],"tags":[434,18,117,19,17,80593,34459,50488,37540,81425],"class_list":["post-637977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-james-gray","tag-locarno-film-festival","tag-monica-bellucci","tag-olivia-wilde","tag-zoe-saldau00f1a"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117097346374683382","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637977"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637977\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}