Maja Hoffmann named next president of Locarno Film Festival

Maja Hoffmann made it clear that her approach was not “anti-commercial” Keystone / Annie Leibovitz

Billionaire art collector and patron Maja Hoffmann will be the next president of the Locarno Film Festival. She has been appointed to replace Marco Solari, who has held the position for 23 years.

A well-known figure in the visual arts world, Hoffmann, founder of the LUMA Foundation in Arles, France, will be the first woman to take on the role, the festival said in a statementExternal link on Monday.

“Maja Hoffmann is a great personality” in the world of the visual arts, internationally recognised and with an extensive cultural network, Solari said at a press conference in Locarno on Monday. The festival’s board of directors unanimously approved the selection committee’s choice.

Maja Hoffmann

Maja Hoffmann, born in Basel in 1956, is an heir to the Hoffmann-La Roche pharmaceuticals fortune.

She set up the Luma Foundation in Zurich in 2004. The LUMA art complex, based in Arles since 2013, is one of the most important private cultural projects in Europe, according to the festival.

In her projects, Hoffmann has addressed current issues in the fields of culture, nature, scientific research and ecology. She works with a number of international cultural institutions, including the Swiss Institute in New York, the Vincent van Gogh Foundation in Arles, and the Kunsthalle in Zurich.

“After spending many years exploring and putting into practice a range of projects, both in Switzerland and abroad, I am pleased to be able to put my experience and knowhow at the service of the future of this prestigious festival, and so help foster the development of culture in Switzerland,” she said.

“Locarno has always displayed a robust identity, which is vital to strengthening the positioning of the festival internationally.”

Solari announced a radical paradigm shift in terms of the presidency. Until now, the president has been the embodiment of the festival and the city of Locarno, in the southern Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino. “But the days of the CEO are over, and the festival will have to come to terms with that,” he said with a smile.

Maja Hoffmann is in great demand all over the world, so she won’t be as physically present. But the festival will benefit from this, and it is important that it develops its international network, Solari said.

‘Free cinema’

Asked about her links with the festival, the town of Locarno and Ticino in general, Hoffmann acknowledged that these should be developed further. “I’m going to get back in touch with my friends who live in Locarno, spend some time here, talk to the teams in place and rely on them. I work with people and in ecosystems, not hierarchically,” she said.

“I want to prove that the type of cinema presented at Locarno, a free cinema, is still possible.”

She made it clear, however, that her approach was not “anti-commercial”. She also spoke of non-European cinema, praising its freshness and importance.

Hoffmann’s candidacy still has to be formally endorsed by the extraordinary general meeting on September 20.

The 76th Locarno Festival will take place this year from August 2-12.