Israel, Gaza, Iraq, Lebanon, Korea: Political and Dystopian Films in the Locarno Spotlight
As such, its 78th edition will present 'cinema that unfolds while the world is undergoing violent upheavals, while we witness — in real time — horrors that we had only read about in history books or studied in archival footage,' as artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro put it in unveiling this year's lineup.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Writer Steven Knight Teases His Plans for Amazon's James Bond: "Better, Stronger and Bolder"
British Tough Guy Ray Winstone to Receive Sarajevo Festival Award
Gus Van Sant to Receive Venice Fest's Passion for Film Award
Indeed, political movies or ones likely to cause political debate or are a prominent part of the Locarno78 program. Audiences will find dystopian films, documentaries, and experimental fare that is likely to be cause for reflection.
Israel, Gaza and Lebanon are among the places represented on Locarno screens. The two Koreas, Iraq's nuclear ambitions, and climate change are also being dissected cinematically in the various sections of the fest.
Kicking off the fest on Wednesday is Tamara Stepanyan's In the Land of Arto, starring Camille Cottin and Zar Amir Ebrahimi, which dives into Armenia and the war traumas its people deal with. Iranian dissident auteur Jafar Panahi's Cannes winner It Was Just an Accident also dissects trauma — and vengeance. Plus, fans of Romanian provocateur Radu Jude can expect his Dracula to ruffle some feathers.
Here is THR's look at some of the other Locarno 2025 feature-length films with political or dystopian undertones.
Tales of the Wounded LandDirector: Abbas FahdelCountry of production: LebanonFestival section: International Competition
'Intimate chronicles of the war that devastated southern Lebanon for a year and a half, this film captures the everyday lives of those left behind in the scorched land, as a wounded community struggles to rebuild and find a semblance of peace.'
The description for this documentary hints at such themes as loss, displacement and the attempt to preserve dignity amid destruction.
Explains Fahdel in a director's statement: 'My film was born from the need to bear witness to a war that shattered our lives and homes, and to show how, despite everything, resilience and humanity continue to flourish amid the ruins.'
Some Notes on the Current SituationDirector: Eran KolirinCountry of production: IsraelFestival section: Out of Competition
'A philosophical tragicomedy about space, time, cinema and wars, composed of six episodes, all together forming an absurdist footnote.' This is how Israeli filmmaker Kolirin's new movie is described.
Starring third-year acting students, Kolirin (The Band's Visit, Let It Be Morning) tells seemingly absurd stories to offer reflections on Israel amid the conflict in Gaza.
Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who lauds Kolirin as 'an extremely outspoken' filmmaker, highlights: 'That is not a film about Gaza. It's really a film about the Israeli and Jewish Zionist identity. … And it's terribly prophetic in a way.'
With Hasan in GazaDirector: Kamal AljafariCountries of production: Palestine, Germany, France, QatarFestival section: International Competition
'This is my first film, which I have never made,' Palestinian filmmaker Aljafari (A Fidai Film, Recollection) says about his new, but also old, movie. And he calls it 'an homage to Gaza and its people, to all that was erased and that came back to me in this urgent moment of Palestinian existence, or non-existence. It is a film about the catastrophe, and the poetry that resists.'
A synopsis explains that three Mini-DV tapes of 'life in Gaza from 2001 were recently rediscovered.' What started as a search for a former prison mate from 1989 has become a documentary about an unexpected journey through the Gaza Strip, accompanied by local guide Hasan. A trailer for the film has just been released.
Nazzaro told THR: 'It's a film that was supposed to be Kamal Aljafari's first film, when he was looking for a friend in Gaza, around the early years of the 2000s, when the so-called largest open-air prison in the world was creating the preconditions of the unspeakable tragedy that we are witnessing today. And the reason why we picked that film as programmers was that we see a filmmaker who, while he thinks he's making something, he's actually creating his very own archive of himself, his family, his land, his homeland, and so on.'The FinDirector: Syeyoung ParkCountries of production: South Korea, Germany, QatarFestival section: Filmmakers of the Present
If you like dystopian genre films or love exploring young South Korean voices, The Fin could be for you.
Here's what to expect: In a post-war, ecologically devastated unified Korea, mutated outcasts called Omegas are exploited as cheap labor. A newly recruited government worker becomes suspicious of an Omega, but then begins to question her once unshakable faith in the state's ideology.
Korean singer Pureum Kim and Pachinko actress Yeji Yeon star in the movie, which 'explores the contagion of fear and the making of myths,' as its young filmmaker explains.
The DealDirector: Jean-Stéphane BronCountries of production: Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, BelgiumFestival section: Out of Competition
Bron is pulling double duty in Locarno's 2025 out-of-competition lineup. His Le Chantier, about the renovation of a legendary cinema, led by architect Renzo Piano, 'paints a portrait of a miniature society,' a synopsis says.
In contrast, The Deal is a geopolitical drama series that takes viewers behind the scenes of the 2015 nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in Switzerland. It has already won Series Mania's first annual Buyers Choice Award.
Starring Veerle Baetens, Juliet Stevenson, Arash Marandi, Anthony Azizi, Fenella Woolgar, and Alexander Behrang Keshtkar, the series not only sounds West Wing-y but also feels particularly timely again.
Mare's NestDirector: Ben RiversCountries of production: United Kingdom, France, CanadaFestival section: International Competition
English filmmaker Rivers has made a name for himself with documentaries. In his latest, Bogancloch, he revisited a Scottish hermit.
At Locarno, he is premiering a dystopian hybrid film, starring Moon Guo Barker and inspired by the impact of COVID-19 on children and Don DeLillo's climate change play The Word for Snow. It sees a young girl traveling through a mysterious world free of adults.
'I wanted to create a world of kids with underlying uncertainty, echoing global anxieties, while somehow also being hopeful,' Rivers says in a director's note. 'I didn't want any relation to the adult world, and no explanation as to why.'Best of The Hollywood Reporter
The 40 Greatest Needle Drops in Film History
The 40 Best Films About the Immigrant Experience
Wes Anderson's Movies Ranked From Worst to Best
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Webtoon Soars 97% as Disney Pact Brings Marvel, Star Wars Comics to Platform
(Bloomberg) -- Webtoon Entertainment Inc. surged 81% in its best day since going public last year after announcing a partnership with Walt Disney Co. that will bring iconic characters such as Marvel's Spider-Man and Luke Skywalker of to its platform. The deal will allow it to publish 100 reformatted comics from Disney brands to a dedicated section on Webtoon's English-language app, the company said in a statement on Tuesday after the market's close. The two will also produce original web comics together. Sunseeking Germans Face Swiss Backlash Over Alpine Holiday Congestion The US-Canadian Road Safety Gap Is Getting Wider To Head Off Severe Storm Surges, Nova Scotia Invests in 'Living Shorelines' Five Years After Black Lives Matter, Brussels' Colonial Statues Remain For Homeless Cyclists, Bikes Bring an Escape From the Streets The announcement came as Webtoon reported quarterly results that beat analyst expectations, which helped fuel the rally. 'Together, we're bringing this legendary storytelling to a new generation of mobile-native comic fans, while giving existing fans a new way to experience series and characters they love,' said Yongsoo Kim, chief strategy officer and head of global Webtoon. Disney marks the latest collaboration for Webtoon, a platform that allows creators and users to make and discover digital comics. The company also counts South Korean entertainment firm HYBE Co. Ltd. and DC Comics, which is owned by Warner Bros Discovery Inc., as content partners. But even with the stock's surge, the stock is still below the $21 price of its initial public offering last year, following a previous string of disappointing earnings reports. Morgan Stanley's Matthew Cost said the Disney partnership is an 'intriguing development.' 'We believe this will be an important audience building effort that could help accelerate user growth in English speaking markets,' Cost wrote in a note published on Wednesday. 'Our key question is whether that Disney audience will stay in Webtoon to consume and create platform-native content, or will they only consume the branded content they know?' (Updates for market close.) Bessent on Tariffs, Deficits and Embracing Trump's Economic Plan Why It's Actually a Good Time to Buy a House, According to a Zillow Economist Dubai's Housing Boom Is Stoking Fears of Another Crash Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates The Social Media Trend Machine Is Spitting Out Weirder and Weirder Results ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Woman Tattoos 'Scannable' Red Bull Barcode on Her Forearm but Reveals It's Not Actually Her Favorite Drink (Exclusive)
NEED TO KNOW A Swiss woman got a Red Bull barcode tattooed on her forearm — and it works in retail locations across the country At the time, Dew was working retail and had to strategically place the tattoo so she wouldn't accidentally scan it while ringing up customers "I have A LOT of tattoo plans," she shares. "If I had the money, I would be covered all over"Dew, a 22-year-old Swiss woman, quickly went viral on TikTok when she shared a video of herself buying a Red Bull. But instead of scanning the can's barcode, Dew whipped out her upper forearm and scanned her tattoo instead — and sure enough, the sale went through. Now, she's opening up to PEOPLE about the tattoo's functionality and the wide range of opinions it seems to evoke. It started as a joke — Dew, whose hair is dyed purple and whose skin is already populated with tattoos, occasionally encountered rude people who dubbed her appearance as "emo" and asked if she had "barcodes," or scars on her arms. Dew wanted a funny and effective reply to those comments, and thus, she chose the Red Bull barcode. In February 2024, around the time she got the tattoo, Dew was working a retail job and often manned the checkout, she tells PEOPLE. She decided to get the tattoo close to the inside of her elbow, so she could scan it when she wanted but not have to worry about accidentally scanning it while working, she says. Contrary to popular belief, though, Red Bull isn't Dew's favorite caffeine source. "I like Red Bull a lot, [though] I do admit its not my favorite energy drink," she shares. "However, Red Bull is quite silly and I thought this tattoo is silly, so why not?" In terms of function, the bar code does work consistently, and is accepted at retail locations across Switzerland, she revealed in a TikTok following her viral video. Sometimes she has to pull or spread her skin out, but otherwise it's "pretty easily scannable," she says. Her family likes the tattoo, mostly because there's a worm that wraps around the barcode as a fun decoration. She says the worm is actually inspired by a "silly doodle" that her sister once made that she adapted to fit in with the tattoo. Her friends are supportive for the most part, while others see the choice as "a bit insane." In addition to the barcode, Dew also has a tattoo of a screaming alpaca, as well as a lemon with the inscription, "lemonade 100% lemon, 0% sugar, 0% ade, just Lemon." She also has a little "L" on her left thumb and an "R" on her right thumb, plus a Legend of Zelda design and a burning moth. "I have A LOT of tattoo plans," she shares. "If I had the money, I would be covered all over." Read the original article on People
Geek Tyrant
2 days ago
- Geek Tyrant
Jackie Chan Slams Modern Hollywood: 'They're Not Filmmakers, They're Business Guys' — GeekTyrant
At the Locarno Film Festival, Jackie Chan didn't hold back when sharing his thoughts on the state of Hollywood filmmaking today. The action legend told a packed crowd that big studios have lost touch with creativity, replacing filmmaking passion with corporate priorities. 'I think the old movies are better than today. Right now, a lot of big studios, they're not filmmakers, they're business guys. They invest 40 million and think, 'How can I get it back?' And you can't go over. It's very difficult to make a good movie now.' Speaking with Locarno festival head Giona Nazzaro, Chan reflected on his decades-long career, from his start in Hong Kong cinema to his wildest stunt stories, and how he learned nearly every job on a set — acting, directing, stunt choreography, editing, and more. 'In all of Asia, only two directors can do everything: the writing, directing, acting, stunt coordinating, stunt fighting, and editing. Only two. One is Sammo Hung, the second one is Jackie Chan. And I'm better because I know how to sing.' Chan explained that singing wasn't just a side hobby. Early in his career, he realized that constantly performing dangerous stunts wasn't sustainable. 'I cannot do this forever. It's just so dangerous. Whatever station I would go to, they ask me how to punch and kick. I thought, What should I do? I should learn how to sing. Then I started trying to learn how to sing. I wanna be the Asian Robert De Niro.' By the early 2000s, Chan had grown frustrated with Hollywood. He said he couldn't connect with American audiences and was tired of being offered weak scripts. He was ready to walk away until one final gamble changed everything. That gamble was Rush Hour . 'Rush Hour. It was the last try. If it doesn't succeed, then I finish. I think Rush Hour changed the culture.' It also solidified his goal of being 'a cross-cultural bridge between the US and China.' Chan was in Locarno to receive the festival's prestigious Pardo alla Carriera award for career achievement, with screenings of his directorial classics Project A and Police Story . Even with all the accolades, his words carried a clear message Hollywood might have the money, but it's losing the heart. Source: Deadline
