Locarno Honors Jason Blum, Kelly Reichardt, Laurie Anderson, Costa-Gavras – The Hollywood Reporter

From its first organization back in 1946, Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival has been dedicated to celebrating the extremes of filmmaking, from the most avant-garde experimentation through cutting-edge art and political cinema to the best movies of the Hollywood genre.

The filmmaking quartet that Locarno has chosen this year to honor its achievements is a near-perfect reflection of this approach.

Here’s a closer look at them.

Jason Blum

With his Blumhouse Production costumes, American producer Jason Blum pioneered and mastered the model that combines tight budget control (usually under $5 million per film) with immense creative freedom. to produce global horror series, including Paranormal activity, Purge and Insidiousas well as nurturing a new generation of directorial talent, backing feature debuts like Damien Chazelle .’s Whiplash and by Jordan Peele Get out, both of which earned Blum an Oscar nomination for best picture. Much researched, unequaled, the Blumhouse model remains the gold standard for independent filmmaking worldwide.

Blum will receive Locarno’s best independent producer award on August 6, followed by a dual Blumhouse feature that includes Get out (2017) and Detached (2016).

Laurie Anderson

A multimedia artist known for her music (Hey superman), poetry and collaborations with William S. Burroughs, John Cage and her late husband Lou Reed, as well as for her documentaries (The heart of a dog, Brave’s homepage), Anderson is this year’s winner of this year’s Locarno Vision Award, which highlights an artist whose creative work has “contributed to innovating the cinematic image.” Anderson represents the avant-garde, eclectic type of performer. Locarno has long prided itself on providing its biggest stage for.

Anderson will receive the Locarno Vision Award on Aug. 10. The festival will also screen The heart of a dog (2015) and 4K restored version of Brave’s homepage (1986).

Costa-Gavras

For nearly 60 years, the French-Greek director has been at the forefront of politically active cinema. From his 1969 Best International Oscar winner Ztracing the greek military coup and the 1982 horror film Missingabout Augusto Pinochet’s brutal rule in Chile, it took home the Oscar for best screenplay for Costa-Gavras and co-screenwriter Donald E. Stewart, for his 2019 drama. Adults in the room, on the economic crisis of 2015 in Greece, he made headlines with political themes. In the words of Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, Costa-Gavras is “the embodiment of a truly noble idea of ​​cinema as an instrument of advancement and knowledge, the heir to all directors. tell a story they hope will make a difference. “

Costa-Gavras will receive Locarno’s lifetime achievement honor on August 11. The festival will screen his first two rarely seen films: Murders in sleeping cars (1965) and Assault team (In 1967)

Kelly Reichardt

American director Kelly Reichardt has quietly built a work ethic that includes famous films like Old fun (2006), Wendy and Lucy (2008), Moving at night (2013) and the opening night movie Locarno 2020 First cow that cemented her reputation as the masterful woman of the arthouse auteur. Locarno’s Leopard of Honor, which went to Ken Loach, Agnès Varda, Werner Herzog and Jean-Luc Godard, seems overdue.

Reichardt will receive the Locarno Leopard of Honor on August 13, and the festival will screen two of her featured films: Meek’s Cutoff (2010) and Moving at night (two thousand and thirteen).