Isabella Rossellini lights up opening of Locarno film fest

Rossellini was celebrated for a career marked by collaborations with great filmmakers, from David Lynch to Robert Zemeckis. Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott

The Locarno Film Festival kicked off ten days of cinema on Wednesday, featuring tributes, new discoveries and competition. Italian actress Isabella Rossellini was presented with a lifetime achievement award at the opening ceremony.

“This award fills me with pride,” the actress said as she accepted it. “My father, Roberto Rossellini, also won an award at Locarno in 1948, and my brother, Renzo Rossellini, three years ago,” she noted.

A leading figure in contemporary cinema, Rossellini was celebrated for a career marked by collaborations with great filmmakers, from David Lynch to Robert Zemeckis. She will also be returning to Locarno on Thursday evening for a screening of Sailor and Lula (1990), David Lynch’s cult film, which will be shown in the Piazza Grande following a Q&A session with the audience.

Honoured for a career spanning arthouse cinema, international productions and personal commitments, Rossellini was also celebrated at the opening ceremony for her commitment to artistic freedom.

Shortly before that, at the Magistrale in Locarno, Swiss Culture Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider paid tribute to a figure who “has never ceased to champion women’s freedom and independence”. More broadly, the minister framed her speech around the theme of free and open cinema. “Locarno is a showcase for Swiss cinema, in which world cinema is reflected,” she said while praising a festival that “lets art breathe”.

In the same vein, Maja Hoffmann, president of the Locarno Film Festival, said she wanted “the Piazza Grande to be ever more daring”, before adding: “Let us hold on to Locarno’s courage – the courage to discover things before others do.”

Baume-Schneider also emphasised the political dimension of cinema, referring to the Red & Black retrospective dedicated to Hollywood’s blacklist during the McCarthy era. “The history of film is a story of risk-taking – and the quest for freedom,” she said.

The opening night continued with a screening of Les Yeux verts by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh. The film tells the story of 11-year-old Chaya, who delves into the dreams of her older brother, who has mysteriously fallen asleep following the news that their family is to be deported.

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Translated from French/reviewed by an English Department journalist