Locarno and Karlovy Vary Film Festivals lineups include ‘Respect,’ ‘Free Guy,’ ‘ Martin Scorsese retrospective
With Cannes starting in less than a week, more European film festivals are announcing their lineups ahead of it. Locarno and Karlovy Vary will host high profile Hollywood films, new films by Abel Ferrara, Erika Hníková and Gaspar Noé and a 10-film retrospective and tribute to Martin Scorsese.
The 74th Locarno Film Festival will take place August 4-14 and will feature the world premiere of Abel Ferrara’s Zeroes and Ones, plus the Jennifer Hudson-starring Aretha Franklin biopic Respect by Liesl Tommy that has been earning Oscar buzz for Hudson for nearly a year. It will screen out of competition, alongside the Disney action-comedy Free Guy starring Ryan Reynolds.
In looking at the gender parity in this year’s Locarno lineup, the Filmmakers of the Present section, which is dedicated specifically to new directors, features nine out of fifteen entries by female helmers. The fest’s main competition, however, features just four women directors out of seventeen entries.
The 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has a lineup that includes 32 premieres, including documentaries in two competitive sections (the Crystal Globe Competition and East of the West Competition) for the first time. The festival begins a week after Locarno on August 20 with the premiere of David Ondříček’s Zatopek, a biographical drama about runner and four-time Olympic gold medalist Emil Zátopek. The festival will host the 10-film retrospective tribute to Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation.
Here is the lineup for the 2021 Locarno Film Festival.
PIAZZA GRANDE
Beckett by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino (Italy)
Hinterland by Stefan Ruzowitzky (Austria, Luxembourg)
Monte Verità by Stefan Jäger (Switzerland, Austria, Germany)
The Alleys by Bassel Ghandour (Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar)
Free Guy by Shawn Levy (U.S., Canada, Japan)
Ida Red by John Swab (U.S.)
Yaya e Lennie – The Walking Liberty by Alessandro Rak (Italy)
Rose by Aurélie Saada (France)
Respect by Liesl Tommy (Canada, U.S.)
Vortex by Gaspar Noé (France/Belgium/Monaco)
Sinkhole by Kim Ji-hoon (South Korea)
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
The Giants by Bonifacio Angius (Italy)
The River by Ghassan Salhab (Lebanon, France, Germany, Qatar)
Juju Stories by Abba T. Makama, C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi, Michael Omonua (Nigeria, France)
Medea by Alexander Zeldovich (Russia)
Soul of a Beast by Lorenz Merz (Switzerland)
Petite Solange by Axelle Ropert (France)
Luzifer, Peter Brunner (Austria)
Zeros and Ones by Abel Ferrara (Italy, Germany, U.S.)
Heavens Above by Srdjan Dragojevic (Serbia, Germany, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina)
The Odd-Job Men by Neus Ballús (Spain)
A New Old Play by Qiu Jiongjiong (Hong Kong, France)
The Sacred Spirit by Chema García Ibarra (Spain, France, Turkey)
Cop Secret by Hannes Þór Halldórsson (Iceland)
Secret Name by Aurélia Georges (France)
Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by Edwin (Indonesia, Singapore Germany)
Paradis sale by Bertrand Mandico (France)
Gerda by Natalya Kudryashova (Russia)
Here is the full Karlovy Vary lineup.
CRYSTAL GLOBE COMPETITION
Atlas ptáků / Bird Atlas
Director: Olmo Omerzu
Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, 2021, 92 min, World premiere
Boiling Point / Boiling Point
Director: Philip Barantini
United Kingdom, 2020, 94 min, World premiere
Ezmûn / The Exam
Director: Shawkat Amin Korki
Germany, Iraq, Qatar, 2021, 89 min, World premiere
Guerres / Wars
Director: Nicolas Roy
Canada, 2021, 84 min, World premiere
Každá minuta života / Every Single Minute
Director: Erika Hníková
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2021, 80 min, World premiere
Láska pod kapotou / At Full Throttle
Director: Miro Remo
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2021, 85 min, World premiere
Nö / Nö
Director: Dietrich Brüggemann
Germany, 2021, 119 min, World premiere
Le Prince / Le Prince
Director: Lisa Bierwirth
Germany, 2021, 125 min, World premiere
Strahinja Banović / As Far as I Can Walk
Director: Stefan Arsenijević
Serbia, France, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Lithuania, 2021, 92 min, World premiere
La terra dei figli / The Land of the Sons
Director: Claudio Cupellini
Italy, 2021, 118 min, International premiere
Zbornica / The Staffroom
Director: Sonja Tarokić
Croatia, 2021, 126 min, World premiere
Zpráva o záchraně mrtvého / Saving One Who Was Dead
Director: Václav Kadrnka
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, France, 2021, 90 min, World premiere
EAST OF THE WEST – COMPETITION
Bliscy / Dear Ones
Director: Grzegorz Jaroszuk
Poland, Czech Republic, 2021, 74 min, World premiere
Bėgikė / Runner
Director: Andrius Blaževičius
Lithuania, Czech Republic, 2021, 87 min, World premiere
Jednotka intenzivního života / Intensive Life Unit
Director: Adéla Komrzý
Czech Republic, 2021, 73 min, World premiere
Koreni / Roots
Director: Tea Lukač
Serbia, 2021, 80 min, World premiere
Külön falka / Wild Roots
Director: Hajni Kis
Hungary, Slovak Republic, 2021, 98 min, World premiere
Marťanské lodě / Two Ships
Director: Jan Foukal
Czech Republic, Norway, 2021, 76 min, World premiere
Nuuccha / Nuuccha
Director: Vladimir Munkuev
Russia, 2021, 107 min, World premiere
Otar’s Death / Otar’s Death
Director: Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze
Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, 2021, 106 min, World premiere
Patchwork / Patchwork
Director: Petros Charalambous
Cyprus, Israel, Slovenia, 2021, 86 min, World premiere
Poslije zime / After the Winter
Director: Ivan Bakrač
Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, 2021, 101 min, World premiere
Sestri / Sisterhood
Director: Dina Duma
North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, 2021, 90 min, World premiere
Zrcadla ve tmě / Mirrors in the Dark
Director: Šimon Holý
Czech Republic, 2021, 84 min, World premiere
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Années 20 / Roaring 20’s
Director: Elisabeth Vogler
France, 2021, 90 min, European premiere
Brighton 4th / Brighton 4th
Director: Levan Koguashvili
Georgia, Russia, Bulgaria, USA, Monaco, 2021, 95 min, European premiere
Moje slunce Mad / My Sunny Maad
Director: Michaela Pavlátová
Czech Republic, France, Slovak Republic, 2021, 81 min, International premiere
O slavnosti a hostech / The Party and the Guests
Director: Jan Němec
Czechoslovakia, 1966, 71 min
Podezření / Suspicion
Director: Michal Blaško
Czech Republic, France, 2022, 68 min, World premiere
Rekonstrukce okupace / Reconstruction of Occupation
Director: Jan Šikl
Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2021, 95 min, World premiere
Sny o toulavých kočkách / Dreams About Stray Cats
Director: David Sís
Czech Republic, USA, France, 2020, 96 min, World premiere
Zátopek / Zátopek
Director: David Ondříček
Czech Republic, 2021, 131 min, World premiere
Image courtesy of 20th Century
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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