Locarno Film Festival Archives - Celluloid Junkie

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The Europa Distribution session at New Nordic Films in Haugesund brought together an eclectic mix of speakers to discuss how this celebrated subcategory of international cinema is marketed internationally. Festival premieres, awards success and recognisable auteurs can be invaluable, but they don't tell the whole story.

Nordic Cinema Doesn’t Have an Export Problem. It Has a Conversion Problem

A Europa Distribution session at New Nordic Films in Haugesund looked at a well regarded subcategory of international cinema, and found that a reputation for quality doesn’t always lead directly to strong ticket sales. At festivals, Nordic films travel extraordinarily well. They win prizes, attract…

(From left) Locarno's Mitchell Harper moderated the "It Takes A Village: Investing in Film Beyond Cinema" panel, which featured Darcy Heusel, of Outside Pictures; Nicola Ofoego of Black Mic Mag, Logical Pictures; and Samuel Tebandeke of Kiasi. The panel took place on August 8, 2026, as part of the Swiss film festival's industry platform. (Photo: courtesy of Locarno Film Festival/Ti-Press)

At Locarno, Restored Films Face Their Next Challenge: Finding an Audience

At Locarno Pro 2026, archivists, exhibitors, distributors and filmmakers explored why restoring a classic film is only the first step in putting it back in front of audiences. Locarno Pro (August 5-11) – the Swiss film festival’s industry platform – closed its biggest edition yet this August with 2,…

(From Left) La Frances Hui (MoMA), Jacques Jagou, Pip Chodorov, Leo Van Hee, Elodie Mellado, Bernardo Rondeau during the Promotional Strategies for Classic Films Today panel at the 78th Locarno Film Festival on August 11, 2025

Locarno Insights: Marketing Classics in the Age of Letterboxd

On August 11, at the Locarno Film Festival’s Heritage Monday roundtable, industry leaders debated how to market classic films to a new generation raised on TikTok and Letterboxd. The session, titled “Promotional Strategies for Classic Films Today,” was moderated by freelance programmer Bernardo Rond…

Locarno Film Festival 2025 - Building Sustainable Film Ecosystems in Africa - Panel - Mitchell Harper, Neigeme Glasgow-Maeda, Tshepiso Chikapa Phiri, Ema Edosio-Deelen, Yannick Mizero Kabano

Locarno Panel Champions Africa’s Self-Reliant Film Ecosystem

On 9 August, Hotel Belvedere’s Sala Granda hosted the Locarno Pro panel “Building Sustainable Film Ecosystems in Africa: Financing the Future” during this year’s Locarno Film Festival. The event brought together filmmakers and industry strategists from across the continent and beyond to explore inno…

Susan and Thierry Hugot discuss Eurimages' new support scheme

Eurimages Launches Brand-new Film Marketing and Audience Development Support Scheme at Locarno

On August 10th the Hotel Belvedere in Locarno, Switzerland, hosted an exclusive presentation of Eurimages’ brand-new Film Marketing and Audience Development Support Scheme as part of Locarno Film Festival. Eurimages is one of the Council of Europe’s (CoE) most prominent cultural support funds, and t…

Locarno Pro panel, August 2023 (l-r Jaume Ripoll; Elise Cochin; Ronald Chammah; K.J. Relth-Miller; Frédéric Maire; Erin Farrell; Jay Weissberg).

Locarno: Market Classics Like New Releases, Says Panel of Experts

On 7 August, the Locarno Film Festival hosted a Heritage Online panel titled “Theatrical Distribution and Streaming of Classics,” moderated by critic and programmer Jay Weissberg. The panel was comprised of Ronald Chammah (Les Film Camelia); Frédéric Maire (Cinématèque Suisse); Elise Cochin (mk2); J…

Locarno Film Festival

The Sound of the Locarno Film Festival

Affectionately known by the team as the “smaller of the big festivals,” the Locarno Film Festival certainly ranks among the top five. Yet, the Locarno Film Festival can in no way be considered a small event; spread across 14 different venues throughout the Swiss town from which the festival draws it…

Kevin B. Lee and Hito Steyerl at the 75 Locarno Film Festival

Kevin B. Lee Talks Future Challenges of Film Exhibition, Attention Economics at Locarno

During this year’s Locarno Film Festival (3-13 August), in Switzerland, Celluloid Junkie caught up with Kevin B. Lee, Professor for the Future of Cinema and the Audiovisual Arts at Lugano’s Università della Svizzera Italiana. We met the lecturer and video essayist after he took part in a one-hour co…