Locarno Open Doors 2022: Projects, Highlights, Trends

As actors ponder their Emmy acceptance speeches for Sept 12, one wonders whether some incipient Adrian Lester envy might creep into their thoughts. Lester, the Black British actor, won a Tony nomination for playing both a German Jewish banker and a female character in The Lehman Trilogy on Broadway. At the Emmys, actors like Jennifer Coolidge and Steve Martin will likely win kudos for essentially playing themselves, with great aplomb.

Zsuzsi Bánkuti Appointed Head Of Locarno’s Open Doors

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe first feature by Berlin-based visual artist and filmmaker Ann Oren, which is titled “Piaffe,” is launching on Aug. 11 from the Locarno Film Festival’s Piazza Grande.Described by the director as “a love letter to the less recognized magicians of cinema and a playful celebration of otherness,” this German film is produced by Kristof Gerega, Sophie Ahrens and Fabian Altenried of Berlin-based Schuldenberg Films.Beijing-based Rediance, as previously announced, has taken international sales.“When her sibling Zara suffers a nervous breakdown, the introvert Eva is forced to take on Zara’s job as a foley artist.

Latest DealsA score or more of new deals announced since Sunday in exclusivity to Variety:*Germany’s Pluto Film has been in negotiations with several theatrical distributors on Locarno Piazza Grande title “Semret,” ahead of its world premiere on Aug. 10.

K.J. Yossman Next year’s edition of German metal festival Wacken Open Air sold out in six hours, according to organizers.The entire ticket allocation was sold out during the pre-sale, Variety understands.Headlined by Iron Maiden, Wacken Open Air is set to take place from Aug.

Marta Balaga German director Lukas Nathrath has already lined up his next projects, Variety has found out. Following ensemble drama “One Last Evening,” which nabbed him Locarno Film Festival’s Cinegrell First Look Award consisting of post-production service worth €50,000, he will turn to “Bourgeois Paranoia” next.A mixture of dark comedy and psychological thriller, it will be set in the near future, when rents have become unaffordable and the roommate selection process goes off the rails.

JD Linville Zurich native Caterina Mona will bring her directorial debut “Semret” to the 75th Locarno Film Festival where it screens at the city’s Piazza Grande, an outdoor venue traditionally reserved for more popular plays. The film, which is being sold by German sales outfit Pluto Film, follows the difficult path to healing for the titular character of Semret: a reclusive immigrant mother from Eritrea, now living and working in Zurich.

Olivia Newton-John, the Grammy-winning singer who led a successful decades-long career, passed away on Monday at her southern California ranch at age 73. "Olivia has been a symbol of triumphs and hope for over 30 years sharing her journey with breast cancer," her husband John Easterling wrote on Instagram. "We ask that everyone please respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time." The star, a longtime resident of Australia whose sales topped 100 million albums, was among the world’s most popular entertainers from 1973 to 1983.

It's finally here, Little Monsters. After some pandemic-induced postponement, Lady Gaga has kicked off The Chromatica Ball tour.

Lukas Nathrath’s One Last Evening Wins Locarno Pro’s First Look Prize

West Ham will host Manchester City for the Matchday 1 of the 2022/2023 Premier League. Here you will find all the information you need to know about this game, including how to watch it on TV or live stream in your country.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLukas Nathrath’s “One Last Evening,” an often excruciating tragedy-laced dramedy set around a couple’s farewell dinner for friends, won big at Locarno’s First Look on Sunday, scooping the Cinegrell First Look Award.The award consists in €50,000 ($51,000) in post-production services from Cinegrell, a Switzerland and Germany based services house.The biggest prize at this year’s Locarno Pro First Look, a pix-in-post showcase dedicated six new movies from Germany, went to a first feature which delivers a scathing portrait of a success-obsessed society whose members mostly don’t live up to their promise, especially in their own estimation. Sebastian Jakob Doppelbauer plays Clemens, a once budding singer-songwriter but now pitied depressive whose girlfriend is now shaping up as the partner with a future as an on-the-rise doctor. Clemens in contrast doesn’t do shit.  Starting off afresh, moving from Hanover to Berlin, the couple stage a farewell dinner that spirals out of control, uncovering hidden fears, secret longings and life-lies.After the pandemic, our feeling was ‘Let’s shoot something this summer,’” Nasrath told Variety. Nasrath, Doppelbauer and fellow producer Linus Günther at Klinkerfilm reached out to film funds, to no avail, but weren’t too unhappy about making the film on a shoestring since that way “no one would interfere,” they said after Sunday night’s awards ceremony. “We were hugely impressed by ‘One Last Evening,’ finding its storytelling rich and nuanced. The film took us on a real emotional journey and the strong ensemble cast contributed to wonderfully detailed characterisations,” said the First Look jury.

Marta Balaga Tom Hardiman’s feature debut “Medusa Deluxe,” which premiered at Locarno on Saturday, has already seduced multiple international distributors with its mixture of humor, grief and competitive hairdressing.Now Warsaw-based New Europe Film Sales has sealed further deals for the unusual murder mystery in Spain (Elastica Films), Benelux (Filmfreak), Scandinavia and the Baltics (NonStop Entertainment), Variety has learnt in exclusivity.As previously reported, A24 has acquired North American rights to the film, produced by Emu Films with the support of BFI, BBC Films, and Time Based Arts.MUBI holds the rights to U.K./Ireland, France, Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, India and Southeast Asia. “The buyers are excited about ‘Medusa Deluxe’ because it’s a quirky, original piece of cinema which can appeal to younger audiences, especially since A24 and MUBI will lead the way on global marketing,” said New Europe Film Sales CEO, Jan Naszewski.Hardiman, a self-confessed hairdressing aficionado, has joined forces with celebrity hairstylist Eugene Souleiman in order to show a community struggling with tragic loss yet still striving for perfection.“There is this cathartic moment at one point, two people genuinely caring about each other, and you have this hairstyle with a boat on the top.

It's finally here, Little Monsters. After some pandemic-induced postponement, Lady Gaga has kicked off The Chromatica Ball tour.

Marta Balaga Tom Hardiman becomes a director to track with “Medusa Deluxe,” a deliciously dark murder mystery set in the competitive hairdressing competition which is about to bow at Locarno.MUBI holds the rights to U.K./Ireland, France,Latin America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Turkey, India and Southeast Asia. The film was developed and financed by the BFI and BBC Film.“I really care about hairdressing, it’s something I am really passionate about,” admits Hardiman, who “picked up their language” over time.“When they talk about Russian weaves [in the film], that came from a hairdresser in Peckham.

MIDNIGHT MADNESSWeird: The Al Yankovic Story – Eric Appel | USAWorld PremiereThe Blackening – Tim Story | USAWorld PremierePearl – Ti West | USANorth American PremiereThe People’s Joker – Vera Drew | USAWorld PremiereProject Wolf Hunting – Kim Hongsun | South KoreaWorld PremiereSick – John Hyams | USAWorld PremiereSisu – Jalmari Helander | FinlandWorld PremiereVenus – Jaume Balagueró | SpainWorld PremiereV/H/S 99 – Flying Lotus, Johannes Roberts, Maggie Levin, Tyler MacIntyre, Vanessa & Joseph Winter | USAWorld PremiereLeonor Will Never Die – Martika Ramirez Escobar | PhilippinesCanadian PremiereWAVELENGTHSFeaturesConcrete Valley – Antoine Bourges | Canada World PremiereDe Humani Corporis Fabrica – Véréna Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor | France, SwitzerlandNorth American PremiereDry Ground Burning (Mato Seco em Chamas) – Joana Pimenta, Adirley Queirós | Portugal, BrazilNorth American PremiereHorse Opera – Moyra Davey | USAFestival PremierePacifiction – Albert Serra | France, Spain, Germany, PortugalNorth American PremiereQueens of the Qing Dynasty – Ashley McKenzie | Canada North American PremiereUnrest (Unrueh) – Cyril Schäublin | SwitzerlandNorth American PremiereWill-o’-the-Wisp (Fogo-Fátuo) – João Pedro Rodrigues | Portugal, FranceNorth American PremiereShortsAfter Work – Céline Condorelli, Ben Rivers | United KingdomNorth American PremiereBigger on the Inside – Angelo Madsen Minax | USAWorld PremiereEVENTIDE – Sharon Lockhart | USAWorld PremiereF1ghting Looks Different 2 Me Now – Fox Maxy | Mesa Grande Reservation/USAFestival PremiereFata Morgana – Tacita Dean | United Kingdom, USAFestival PremiereHors-titre – Wiame Haddad | FranceNorth American PremiereI Thought the World of You – Kurt Walker | Canada North

German director Kilian Riedhof’s drama You Will Not Have My Hate is inspired by the experiences of French writer Antoine Leiris, whose wife was killed in the Bataclan nightclub during the November 13, 2015 Paris terror attacks, leaving him to raise their young son alone.

The England Women's national football team, known as the Lionesses, dressed to impress on a boozy night out as they continue to celebrate their epic victory in the Euro 2022 finals against Germany on Sunday 31 July. The tense game ended up going to extra time with full time ending on 1-1, but Chloe Kelly brought it home with a cheeky second goal for England in the 110th minute.The girls are the toast of the country, and they've certainly been celebrating their win in style as they've enjoyed numerous nights out this week.The Lionesses all looked fantastic as they paid a visit to Cirque Nightclub in London, and they were pictured looking in high spirits as they continued their celebrations.