The official program of the 72nd edition of the Locarno Film Festival was announced at a press conference today. Also announced were the Leopard Club Award, to be handed to Hilary Swank, the Vision Award Ticinomoda to Claire Atherton, the Premio Utopia to Enrico Ghezzi and the Premio Cinema Ticino to Fulvio Bernasconi. The 72nd edition was presented by Locarno’s new artistic director Lili Hinstin.

Clarification: The Leopard Club Award pays tribute to a great performer of real life. Hilary Swank will be the guest of honor during the August 9th ceremony, when she will receive the Leopard Club Award in Piazza Grande.

The festival’s tribute to Hilary Swank will include screenings of Kimberly Peirce’s “Boys Don’t Cry” (1999) and Clint Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby” (2004), the two films that earned her the Best Actress nod.

SEE ALSO: Saïdeh Pakravan’s BRUNO GANZ obit

Personalities of the film industry expected this year at Locarno include:

Mathieu Amalric, Claire Atherton, Jeanne Balibar, Emmanuelle Béart, Ramzy Bedia, Fulvio Bernasconi, BI Gan, BONG Joon-ho, Catherine Breillat, Earl Cave, Kiddy Citny, Pedro Costa, Denis Côté, Pierre Deladonchamps, Anaïs Demoustier, Alice Diop, Valérie Donzelli, Ginevra Elkann, Jimmie Fails, Koji Fukada, enrico ghezzi, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Arthur Jafa, Asif Kapadia, Marthe Keller, Ulrich Köhler, Komplizen Film’s producers, Maren Ade, Jonas Dornbach and Janine Jackowski, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Petros Markaris, Fredi M. Murer, João Nicolau, Euzhan Palcy, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Francis Reusser, Alba Rohrwacher, Riccardo Scamarcio, Angela Schanelec, SONG Kang-Ho, Samir, Hilary Swank, Joe Talbot, Béla Tarr, Greg Tate, Carice van Houten, John Waters and Yolande Zauberman.

Competitive sidebars

Piazza Grande
19 full-length, including 2 short films, 6 Crazy Midnight Films and in total 11 world premieres, will be screened in Piazza Grande, the open-air theater packed every night by an audience of up to 8,000.

Concorso internazionale
Seventeen full-length features, including 14 as world premieres, compete for the Pardo d’oro.

Concorso Cineasti del presente
The Locarno competition dedicated to discovery includes 16 first, second or third features, with 15 as world premieres.
Moving Ahead The sidebar that explores the edges of cinema, investigating experimental forms of narration and innovations in filmic language, from this year pays tribute to director Jonas Mekas and includes 6 full-length and 10 short features, with 15 as world premieres.

Pardi di domani 
Two competitions, one reserved for Swiss short films and a second international section, with 38 world premieres.

Non-competitive sidebars
Fuori Concorso: An open space for work by master filmmakers and directors of international stature.

Histoire(s) du cinéma
Film history through the lens of the protagonists of Locarno72.

Retrospettiva
This year’s retrospective Black Light includes 45 films, including 38 full-length features.

Open Doors
This year the sidebar that promotes and fosters independent filmmaking in the global South and East begins a new three-year cycle on Southeast Asia and Mongolia.

(illustration courtesy of Sebastian Curi)