Locarno Film Festival 2026: The Magic of Cinema Returns to Piazza Grande
Running August 5 to 15, 2026, the Locarno Film Festival celebrates its 79th edition. The program features 233 films in total, including 8 international premieres and 17 titles in the International Competition. Opening the festival is Les Yeux Vertes, a French-Belgian-Swedish co-production by directing duo Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh.
Italy is well represented. In competition, Armony by Dario Albertini follows a truck driver, played by Valerio Mastandrea, who must suddenly care for his orphaned granddaughter while battling an unrelenting bureaucracy. Asia Argento also stars in the film; she will receive a Career Achievement Award at this year’s edition. Another Italian title in the program is Alberi erranti by Salvatore Mereu. On the iconic Piazza Grande outdoor screen, audiences will also be treated to The Invite, directed by and starring Olivia Wilde alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.
The Histoire(s) du Cinéma section spotlights a curated selection of restored masterpieces, including an extended 4K-restored version of Kevin Costner’s timeless western Dances with Wolves, returning to the big screen in a stunning new edition. The festival will also pay tribute to Roger Corman in the centenary year of his birth, with a screening of his final directorial work, Frankenstein Unbound (1990), starring John Hurt, Raúl Juliá, and Bridget Fonda — a bold hybrid of science fiction and gothic horror that reimagines the Frankenstein myth, and a fitting celebration of a prolific filmmaker previously honored by Locarno itself.
The major new addition to this edition is Locarno Kids, a new competitive section dedicated to young audiences. Seven feature films in world or international premiere showcase family cinema in all its forms: nature documentaries, animation, adventure, and coming-of-age stories, from filmmakers around the globe, spanning Switzerland, France, Colombia, Mexico, Germany, and Denmark. Among the selected titles is the Italian film L’estate che finì due volte by Matteo Incollu. The winner will be chosen by the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare, judged by a jury of young festival-goers aged 11 to 15. Two special out-of-competition titles round out the section: the Italian-Swiss co-production Cercatori d’angeli by Leopoldo Pescatore, and the French animated film Carmen, l’oiseau rebelle by Sébastien Laudenbach. Young viewers aged 8 to 16 can attend all Locarno Kids screenings with the Locarno Kids Screenings Pass.
For more information: locarnofestival.ch
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Running August 5 to 15, 2026, the Locarno Film Festival celebrates its 79th edition. The program features 233 films in total, including 8 international premieres and 17 titles in the International Competition. Opening the festival is Les Yeux Vertes, a French-Belgian-Swedish co-production by directing duo Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh.
Italy is well represented. In competition, Armony by Dario Albertini follows a truck driver, played by Valerio Mastandrea, who must suddenly care for his orphaned granddaughter while battling an unrelenting bureaucracy. Asia Argento also stars in the film; she will receive a Career Achievement Award at this year’s edition. Another Italian title in the program is Alberi erranti by Salvatore Mereu. On the iconic Piazza Grande outdoor screen, audiences will also be treated to The Invite, directed by and starring Olivia Wilde alongside Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, and Edward Norton.
The Histoire(s) du Cinéma section spotlights a curated selection of restored masterpieces, including an extended 4K-restored version of Kevin Costner’s timeless western Dances with Wolves, returning to the big screen in a stunning new edition. The festival will also pay tribute to Roger Corman in the centenary year of his birth, with a screening of his final directorial work, Frankenstein Unbound (1990), starring John Hurt, Raúl Juliá, and Bridget Fonda — a bold hybrid of science fiction and gothic horror that reimagines the Frankenstein myth, and a fitting celebration of a prolific filmmaker previously honored by Locarno itself.
The major new addition to this edition is Locarno Kids, a new competitive section dedicated to young audiences. Seven feature films in world or international premiere showcase family cinema in all its forms: nature documentaries, animation, adventure, and coming-of-age stories, from filmmakers around the globe, spanning Switzerland, France, Colombia, Mexico, Germany, and Denmark. Among the selected titles is the Italian film L’estate che finì due volte by Matteo Incollu. The winner will be chosen by the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare, judged by a jury of young festival-goers aged 11 to 15. Two special out-of-competition titles round out the section: the Italian-Swiss co-production Cercatori d’angeli by Leopoldo Pescatore, and the French animated film Carmen, l’oiseau rebelle by Sébastien Laudenbach. Young viewers aged 8 to 16 can attend all Locarno Kids screenings with the Locarno Kids Screenings Pass.
For more information: locarnofestival.ch
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Televerse Festival (August 14–16, 2026, Los Angeles)
