LOCARNO, Switzerland — Taken multiple ways, 2024’s Locarno industry days proved hot. Attendance at Locarno Pro , the festival’s industry arm, hit over 1,743 on-site participants and 141 online accreditations, an all-time historical record of 1,886 delegates, 23% up on last year’s 1,530 total. Business witnessed a mini feeding frenzy from sales agents as 13 of the 28 titles without an announced sales agent at the July 10 Locarno lineup announcement were picked up for international sales by festival start.
Variety alone unveiled 16 sales deals, also an all-time high. As temperatures hit a highly humid 36oC, the big industry question at this year’s Locarno was why business – in terms at least of sales pack-ups – seemed so bullish. A few potential answers to that and other industry takes on this year’s Locarno Festival, Europe’s biggest mid-summer event.
Arthouse Crosses Over...
Maybe what makes an art film has changed. Boosted by new government funding, a new generation of directors emerged in the 2000s which made out-there, sometimes minimalist movies which tore up the filmmaking rule book: Think Carlos Reygadas’ “Japan.” Now the center of gravity in non-English language filmmaking is moving ever more towards a commercial arthouse still addressing, however, urgent hot button issues.
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.and Embraces Genre Some of the biggest market hits from early festival going, moreover, look like movies that bring genre into play. Psychodrama “Sparrow” is spangled.