The feature film “Regra 34” (“Rule 34”) by Brazilian filmmaker Julia Murat won the Golden Leopard at the 75th Locarno Film Festival. It’s a film about the ubiquity of sex and its rules. The prizes were presented at the closing ceremony of the festival on the Piazza Grande on Saturday evening.
Julia Murat (42) reflects on the often bold statement that there is a porn version of everything you find on the internet. In her third feature film, she explores the question of how desire, freedom and protection can be reconciled. Specifically, the drama is about a law student (23) who defends women in abuse cases during the day and appears in front of a live sex cam at night. Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the festival, spoke of a “daring, political work that will set an important example”. The Viennese director Nikolaus Geyrhalter (50) did not receive the Golden Leopard for his film “Matter out of Place”, in which he vividly describes how our planet is slowly growing together with the mountains of human garbage, but he did receive the Pardo Verde environmental film award WWF, a green version of the grand prize. The international trade press praised “the fascinating and strangely beautiful film” (US trade journal Variety).
A second Austrian competition production, the religious drama “Serviam” by Viennese Ruth Mader (48), which deals with pressure and violence in a convent school, went empty-handed.
“Tengo Suenos Electricos”, a family drama by French-Costa-Rican director Valentina Maurel (34), won three prizes. Maurel was awarded for best direction, her leading actors Daniela Marín Navarro and Reinaldo Amien Gutiérrez for best actress and best actor. The father-daughter film is about a 16-year-old torn between her parents’ divorce and her awakening sexuality.
This year’s festival was attended by 128,500 spectators, which corresponds to an increase of a good 60 percent compared to 2021. According to this, 56,500 spectators visited the Piazza Grande and 72,000 the cinemas in the city. After two years of pandemic, the 75th edition of the most important Swiss film festival could be held largely unaffected. (nb)
Source: Nachrichten
