International reporter
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The Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland returns this week with perhaps the strongest lineup festival director Giona A. Nazzaro has assembled in his short but impactful four-year tenure. The festival’s official competitions feature new works from arthouse leaders Hong Sang-soo, Wang Bing, Radu Jude and Ben Rivers — all world premieres. Hollywood will also be present on the Piazza Grande, with an extensive retrospective titled The Lady with the Torch being held at the festival to celebrate the centenary of Columbia Pictures.
Neapolitan filmmaker Gianluca Jodice’s latest film, The Flood, a historical drama about the final days of the reign of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, opens the festival on August 7. The film stars Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet, who will receive one of the festival’s career awards. The festival will also honor Jane Campion, Shah Rukh Khan, Alfonso Cuarón and producer Stacey Sher.
Below, Nazzaro takes an in-depth look at this year's edition, discussing why it was important to embrace the "diverse world" and honor Shah Rukh Khan, how Locarno still rivals Cannes and Venice on the festival calendar, and which little-known competition title he thinks audiences should keep an eye on.
