The Locarno Film Festival’s Locarno Pro initiative dedicated to pics in post is set to look at films from the U.K. that are in their final stage of production for its upcoming 76th edition.
Locarno’s First Look focus on indie U.K. film segues from the fest having developed a close rapport with the British industry over the decades, spanning from Mike Leigh’s 1972 Golden Leopard winner “Bleak Moments” to Terence Davies’s “Distant Voices, Still Lives,” which scooped the pard in 1998, and the more recent launches last year of Andrew Legge’s “LOLA” and Charlotte Colbert’s “She Will.”
Locarno’s First Look initiative, in partnership with the British Film Institute (BFI), will run August 4-6. Six selected U.K. films that are currently in post-production will be unveiled, providing their producers an opportunity to pitch them to international industry professionals attending the festival. The U.K. pics in post will be presented to sales agents, buyers, programmers and representatives from post-production funds.
“U.K. cinema has always been able to capture the spirit of the times, to intercept young and emerging cinema,” said in a statement Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro who also noted that recent editions of the fest have shown that U.K. film production “tirelessly continues to deliver surprises.”
Said Katie Ellen, the BFI’s head of distribution and commercial strategy. “We enjoy a great relationship with Locarno and are delighted that the festival has offered the U.K. to be this year’s country of focus for
their First Look initiative. We shall be able to uncover new films from some of our most exciting filmmakers at a vital stage in their progression from production to screen.”