Strong German showing at 77th Locarno Film Festival

Five German films or films made with German involvement will compete for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival in August.

Seventeen films from around the world will vie for the top prize in the international competition, according to Locarno organizers.

The 77th edition of the festival will take place from August 7 to 17 in the famous Swiss holiday resort on Lake Maggiore.

German filmmakers and actors will be represented in various sections in domestic, international and co-productions.

For example, actresses Maren Eggert and Luise Heyer can be seen in "The Sparrow in the Chimney" by Swiss director Ramon Zürcher, and Helena Zengel in "Transamazonia" by German director Pia Marais.

Munich-born director Christoph Hochhäusler, awarded at the Berlinale 2023 for the thriller "Till the End of the Night," will present his gangster drama "Death Will Come" ("La Mort viendra").

Locarno, a major European film festival alongside Cannes, Berlin and Venice, will screen 225 short, feature and documentary films over its customary 11-day duration.

Swiss businesswoman and arts patron Maja Hoffmann will act as President of the festival for the first time.

At the programme presentation in Zurich, Hoffmann, described her vision for the festival's 2024 edition as "a home for transformative thinking."