The Festival del film Locarno kicked off on 23 August 1946, at the Grand Hotel of Locarno with the screening of the movie O sole mio by Giacomo Gentilomo.
The first edition was organized in less than three months with a line-up of fifteen movies, mainly American and Italian, among which was Rome, Open City directed by Roberto Rossellini, And Then There Were None directed by René Clair (1945), Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder (1944) and The Song of Bernadette by Henry King (1943).

Later, the Festival del film Locarno presented features and short films by many international directors such as Claude Chabrol, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Verhoeven, Miloš Forman, Marco Bellocchio, Glauber Rocha, Raúl Ruiz, Alain Tanner, Mike Leigh, Béla Tarr, Chen Kaige, Edward Yang, Alexandr Sokurov, Atom Egoyan, Jim Jarmusch, Ang Lee, Gregg Araki, Christoph Schaub, Catherine Breillat, Abbas Kiarostami, Gus Van Sant, Pedro Costa, Fatih Akin, Claire Denis and Kim Ki-Duk.

The 73rd edition, scheduled from 5 to 15 August 2020, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; in its place will be held the special edition called "Locarno 2020 - For the Future of Films".
For the Future of Films is designed for a year zero and to welcome films and spectators to the large web square and the valuable local cinemas.
An audience from all over the world with whom to discover the first visions of today, support the films that will arrive tomorrow, and explore projects to enhance the history of cinema and the Festival.

The 74th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will take place from 4 to 14 August 2021.

In 2020, due to the interruption of programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival has asked high-profile directors including Lucrecia Martel and Lav Diaz to select films from the festival's 74-year history for a retrospective that will be screened online and in physical locations.
The Festival del film Locarno kicked off on 23 August 1946, at the Grand Hotel of Locarno with the screening of the movie O sole mio by Giacomo Gentilomo. The first edition was organized in less than three months with a line-up of fifteen movies, mainly American and Italian, among which was Rome, Open City directed by Roberto Rossellini, And Then There Were None directed by René Clair (1945), Double Indemnity by Billy Wilder (1944) and The Song of Bernadette by Henry King (1943).
Later, the Festival del film Locarno presented features and short films by many international directors such as Claude Chabrol, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Verhoeven, Miloš Forman, Marco Bellocchio, Glauber Rocha, Raúl Ruiz, Alain Tanner, Mike Leigh, Béla Tarr, Chen Kaige, Edward Yang, Alexandr Sokurov, Atom Egoyan, Jim Jarmusch, Ang Lee, Gregg Araki, Christoph Schaub, Catherine Breillat, Abbas Kiarostami, Gus Van Sant, Pedro Costa, Fatih Akin, Claire Denis and Kim Ki-Duk.
The 73rd edition, scheduled from 5 to 15 August 2020, has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; in its place will be held the special edition called "Locarno 2020 - For the Future of Films". For the Future of Films is designed for a year zero and to welcome films and spectators to the large web square and the valuable local cinemas. An audience from all over the world with whom to discover the first visions of today, support the films that will arrive tomorrow, and explore projects to enhance the history of cinema and the Festival.
The 74th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will take place from 4 to 14 August 2021.
In 2020, due to the interruption of programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival has asked high-profile directors including Lucrecia Martel and Lav Diaz to select films from the festival's 74-year history for a retrospective that will be screened online and in physical locations.
Locarno Festival