Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival opens tomorrow with Shahrukh Khan, Jane Campion, Alfonso Cuaron and Irene Jacob set to be honoured with special awards.
Founded in 1946, Locarno is one of the world’s longest-running annual film festivals and focuses on auteur cinema.
Held on the shores of Lake Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking Ticino region of southern Switzerland, films are screened in Locarno’s central square – a feature of Swiss national life depicted on the country’s 20-franc banknotes.
The open-air Piazza Grande holds up to 8,000 moviegoers, and films are shown on one of the largest screens in the world.
Bollywood superstar Khan, 58, will on Saturday be given the Pardo alla Carriera award for people whose artistic contributions have redefined cinema.
“The wealth and breadth of his contribution to Indian cinema is unprecedented,” said the festival’s artistic director Giona A Nazzaro.
“Khan is a king who has never lost touch with the audience that crowned him. This brave and daring artist has always been willing to challenge himself.”
The 77th festival, which runs until August 17, features 225 films, including 104 world premieres and 15 debut movies.
