| Location | Locarno, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1946 |
| Awards | Golden Leopard: The Son of Amir is Dead directed by Jean-Jacques Andrien |
| Artistic director | Moritz de Hadeln |
| Festival date | Opening: 31 July 1975 Closing: 10 August 1975 |
| Website | Locarno Film Festival |
The 28th Locarno Film Festival was held from 31 July to 10 August 1975 in Locarno, Switzerland. [1] Hungarian director Peter Bacso made a return appearance at the festival with his film Let Go of My Beard!, and Norwegian writer-director Anja Breien's film Wives competed as one of two films from Norway. [2] The festival also featured Legacy, directed by Karen Arthur, which won best first feature. [3]
In years past, the Locarno festival was often accused by the Swiss press of being too left-wing. [2] [4] This time, however, it was attacked by a conservative British critic, Alexander Walker of The Evening Standard . [2] [4] Walker wrote a letter of protest to festival director Moritz de Hadeln himself, which garnered some criticism in the press and annoyance from De Hadeln. [2] [4] Walker defended his letter in Variety and said the festival was filled with "communist propaganda". [4] Walker complained about films which depicted the communist resistance to the fascist government of Mussolini and Italian fascism specifically in The Suspect, Down the Ancient Staircase and especially in ABCinema, a documentary on the making of Bernardo Bertolucci's film 1900 . [4]
The Golden Leopard, the festival's top prize, was awarded to The Son of Amir is Dead directed by Jean-Jacques Andrien. [3] [5]
The following films were screened in these sections: [6]
Main Program / Feature Films In Competition
| Original Title | English Title | Director(s) | Year | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamula | Archibaldo Burns | Mexico | ||
| Ereszd El A Szakallamat | Let Go of My Beard! | Peter Bacso | 1975 | Hungary |
| Fluchtgefahr | Escape Risk | Markus Imhoof | 1974 | Switzerland |
| Fru Inger Til Ostrat | Mrs. Inger to Ostrat | Sverre Udnaes | 1975 | Norway |
| Hustruer | Wives | Anja Breien | 1975 | Norway |
| In Gefahr Und Grösster Not Bringt Der Mittelweg Den Tod | In Danger and Deep Distress, the Middleway Spells Certain Death | Alexander Kluge, Edgar Reitz | 1974 | Germany |
| India Song | Marguerite Duras | 1975 | France | |
| Kind Van De Zon | Children of the Sun | René van Nie | 1975 | Netherlands |
| Kochajmy Sie | Love Thy Neighbor | Krzysztof Wojciechowski | 1975 | Poland |
| Konfrontation | Assassination in Davos | Rolf Lyssy | 1975 | Switzerland |
| La Pomme Rouge | The Red Apple | Tolomouch Okeev | 1975 | Russia |
| Le Fils D'Amr Est Mort | The Son of Amir is Dead | Jean-Jacques Andrien | 1975 | Belgium |
| Legacy | Karen Arthur | 1975 | USA | |
| Looping | Kurt Tetzlaff | 1975 | Germany | |
| Per Le Antiche Scale | Down the Ancient Staircase | Alessandro Bolognini | 1975 | Italia |
| Silna Voda | High-Water | Ivan Terziev | 1975 | Bulgaria |
| Spomen | Remembrance | Ivan Nitchev | 1974 | Bulgaria |
| The Mourning Suit | Leonard Yakir | 1975 | Canada | |
| Vetchni Vremena | Eternal Times | Assen Chopov | 1974 | Bulgaria |
| Xala | Ousmane Sembène | 1975 | Senegal | |
Main Program / Feature Films Out of Competition
| Original Title | English Title | Director(s) | Year | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C'Eravamo Tanto Amati | We Were so Loved | Ettore Scola | 1974 | Italy |
| French Connection II | John Frankenheimer | 1975 | United States | |
| Il Sospetto | The Suspect | Francesco Maselli | 1975 | Italy |
| L'Heritage | The Legacy | Mohamed Bouamari | 1975 | Algeria |
| Pas Si Mechant Que Ca | Not so Nasty | Claude Goretta | Switzerland | |
| Pas Si Mechant Que Ça | Not so Bad as that | Claude Goretta | 1974 | Switzerland |
| Quing Song Ling | Liu Guoquan, Jing Shusen | 1973 | China | |
| The Street Fighter | Walter Hill | USA | ||
| Ziemia Obiecana | Promised Land | Andrzej Wajda | 1975 | Poland |
| FIPRESCI - International Federation of Film Critics Week | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Title | English Title | Director(s) | Year | Production Country |
| ABiCinema | ABCinema | Giuseppe Bertolucci | Italy | |
| Falsche Bewegung | False Movement | Wim Wenders | Germany | |
| Noua | Nine | Adbelaziz Tolbi | Algeria | |
| The Family | Lodewijk de Boer | Netherlands | ||
| Vegul | End | Gyula Maar | Hungary | |
| Wir Bergler In Den Bergen Sind Eigentlich Nicht Schuld, Dass Wir Da Sind | We Who Dwell In The Mountains Cannot Be Blamed For Being There | Fredi M. Murer | Switzerland | |
| Zair El Fagre | Mamduh Shukry | Egypt | ||
| Open Forum | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Year | Production Country |
| Allonsanfan | Vittorio Taviani, Paolo Taviani | Italy | ||
| Film About A Woman Who... | Yvonne Rainer | 1974 | USA | |
| Flaming Creatures | Jack Smith | 1963 | USA | |
| Far from Home | در غربت | Sohrab Shahid-Saless | 1975 | Germany, Iran |
| Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles | Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles | Chantal Akerman | 1975 | Belgium |
| The Red Snowball Tree | Kalina Krasnaja | Vasiliy Shukshin | 1974 | Russia |
| Kaskara | Dore O. | 1974 | Germany | |
| Makimono | Werner Nekes | 1974 | Germany | |
| My Little Loves | Mes Petites Amoureuses | Jean Eustache | 1974 | France |
| Moses and Aron | Moses Und Aron | Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub | Germany | |
| The Travelling Players | O Thiassos | Theo Angelopoulos | 1975 | Greece |
| French Provincial | Souvenirs d'en France | André Téchiné | 1975 | France |
| The Honeymoon Killers | Leonard Kastle | 1970 | USA | |
| The Texas Chain Saw Massacre | Tobe Cooper | 1974 | USA | |
| Swiss Films For Ticino | ||||
| A Bus | Buseto | Remo Legnazzi | Switzerland | |
| A Strike is Not a Sunday School | Ein Streik Ist Keine Sonntagsschule | Nina Stürm, Hans Stürm | Switzerland | |
| Totò, Portrait of An Actor (1898-1967) | ||||
| Destination Piovarolo | Destinazione Piovarolo | Domenico Paolella | 1955 | Italy |
| Hands Off Me! | Fermo Con Le Mani | Gero Zambuto | 1937 | Italy |
| Cops and Robbers | Guardie E Ladri | Stefano "Steno" Vanzina | 1951 | Italy |
| The Two Marshals | I Due Marescialli | Sergio Corbucci | 1961 | Italy |
| Big Deal on Madonna Street | I Soliti Ignoti | Mario Monicelli | 1948 | Italy |
| The Three Thieves | I Tre Ladri | Lionello De Felice | 1954 | Italy |
| The Gold of Naples - Episode Il Guappo | L'Oro Di Napoli Episodio Il Guappo | Vittorio De Sica | 1954 | Italy |
| Totò in Hell | Totò All'Inferno | Camillo Mastrocinque | 1954 | Italy |
| Toto vs. the Four | Totò Contro I Quattro | Stefano "Steno" Vanzina | 1963 | Italy |
| Totò Diabolicus | Stefano "Steno" Vanzina | 1962 | Italy | |
According to the festival's website, the official awards were as follows: [5] [3]