 | This article contains close paraphrasing of a non-free copyrighted source, https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/72-locarno-film-festival_where-everything-began/45167526 ( Copyvios report ).(May 2024) |
| Grand Hotel | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland |
| Coordinates | 46°10′N8°48′E / 46.167°N 8.800°E |
| Inaugurated | 1876 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Francesco Galli |
The Grand Hotel is a hotel in Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland, first opened in 1876.
The Grand Hotel was opened in the Swiss resort town of Locarno in 1876, [1] following the opening of the Gotthard Tunnel and the railway station in Locarno. It was built to a design by Francesco Galli. [2] Until the hotel closed in 2005, it had a station on the Locarno-Madonna del Sasso funicular. [3]
From 5 to 16 October 1925, the hotel hosted the negotiations of the Locarno Treaties, that were intended to guarantee peace after the First World War. [1]
A new film festival in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland was planned, to counter the one begun in 1932 in Venice as being too closely related to the Fascist regime. [1] In 1934 this took place in Lugano. [4] In 1946 some trees needed to be cut down to create an open-air theatre in Lugano for the screen, but local opposition meant that the film festival was moved to the garden of the Grand Hotel in Locarno. [4] [1] After the last screening of the evening, parties would continue by the swimming pool late into the night. [1] The screen was eight by seven metres, and there was seating for 1,200, subsequently increased to 1,500 and then 2,000. [4] The hotel remained the location of the film festival until 1971, when it was moved to the Piazza Grande in the centre of town. [1]
In 2005 the hotel closed. The furniture was sold, with exception of the gigantic Murano chandelier in the hall, long considered to be the biggest in Europe. Six restoration projects were proposed, without implementation. [2] [1] In 2022 the Artisa real estate group of Stefano and Alain Artioli commenced a comprehensive renovation, [2] costing 100 million Euros. [5] With the renovations, the hotel will become 5-star, with three restaurants. Reopening is due to occur in 2025. [2]
The hotel was the subject of the short film Grand Hotel by Giulio Pettenò in 2019. [1]
The Eurovision Song Contest 1956 was the first edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio svizzera italiana (RSI) on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. The contest, originally titled the Gran Premio Eurovisione 1956 della Canzone Europea, was held on Thursday 24 May 1956 at the Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland, and hosted by Swiss television presenter Lohengrin Filipello, which remains the only time that the contest has been hosted by a solo male presenter.
Ticino, sometimes Tessin, officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts and its capital city is Bellinzona. It is also traditionally divided into the Sopraceneri and the Sottoceneri, respectively north and south of Monte Ceneri. Red and blue are the colours of its flag.
Lugano is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population of 62,315, and an urban agglomeration of over 150,000. It is the ninth largest Swiss city.
Locarno is a southern Swiss town and municipality in the district Locarno, located on the northern shore of Lake Maggiore at its northeastern tip in the canton of Ticino at the southern foot of the Swiss Alps. It has a population of about 16,000 (proper), and about 56,000 for the agglomeration of the same name including Ascona besides other municipalities.
The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about 4.2 mi (6.8 km) long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester, but is often referred to simply as "Las Vegas".
The Locarno Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, short, avant-garde, and retrospective programs. The Piazza Grande section is held in an open-air venue that seats 8,000 spectators.
Lugano railway station is the main railway station of the city of Lugano, in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The station is on the Gotthard railway and is also the terminus of the Lugano Città–Stazione funicular. The metre gauge Lugano–Ponte Tresa Railway (FLP) has a separate station at Lugano FLP railway station across the station forecourt from the main line station.
Bellinzona railway station serves the town of Bellinzona, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is on the Swiss Federal Railways' Gotthard line. The station is nicknamed Porta del Ticino since the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in 2016.
Jannuzzi Smith is a design studio founded in 1993 by Michele Jannuzzi (1967) and Richard Smith (1967) in London. They now have offices in London and Lugano, Switzerland.
The Lugano Città–Stazione funicular, Funicolare Lugano Città–Stazione, or Sassellina, is a funicular railway in the city of Lugano in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The line's upper station is located within the main railway station of Lugano, and the lower station is on Piazza Cioccaro in the historic city centre below. It is one of the busiest funicular lines in Switzerland, carrying 2.4 million passengers in 2007.
Denis Côté is an independent filmmaker and producer living in Quebec, of Brayon origin. His experimental films have been shown at major film festivals around the world.
The Lugano–Cadro–Dino railway was a Swiss metre gauge suburban railway that linked the towns of Lugano, Cadro and Dino, in the canton of Ticino.
Longwave is a 2013 Swiss-French-Portuguese comedy-drama film directed by Lionel Baier. The film's principal cast are Valérie Donzelli, Michel Vuillermoz, Patrick Lapp, and Francisco Belard.
Thomas Imbach is an independent filmmaker based in Zürich, Switzerland. With his production company Bachim Films, Imbach produced his own work until 2007. He then founded Okofilm Productions together with director/producer Andrea Staka. All of his films have been released theatrically and Imbach has won numerous awards for his work, both in Switzerland and abroad. With Well Done (1994) and Ghetto (1997) Imbach established his trademark audio-visual style, which is based on a combination of cinema- verité camera-work and fast-paced editing. His fiction features Happiness is a Warm Gun, as well as Lenz (2006), I Was a Swiss Banker (2007) and the fictive autobiography Day is Done (2011) all premiered at the Berlinale. His latest feature film Mary Queen of Scots celebrated its premiere in Locarno and at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. His latest documentary Nemesis celebrated its international premiere at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2020, where it received the Prize for Best Cinematography. Thomas Imbach is currently considered one of the most unconventional and consistent Swiss filmmakers.
Kamar Ahmad Simon is a Bangladeshi filmmaker. He was featured as red carpet director in Piazza Grande at Locarno and has won various awards including the prestigious Harrell Award at CIFF (Camden), Grand Prix at Cinéma du Réel (Paris), Open Doors Award and Arte International Prix at Locarno, Golden Conch at MIFF (Mumbai), grants from Sundance, IDFA-Bertha and WCF/ Berlinale. He has been a jury member of the Sydney International Film Festival for the Australian segment, La Bibliothèque publique d’information (BPI) France, Johns Hopkins University USA has acquired his film and Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) have exhibited his work.
Lionel Baier is a Swiss film director.
The 69th Festival del film Locarno was held 3–13 August 2016 in Locarno, Switzerland. Carlo Chatrian was the festival’s Artistic Director.
The 74th annual Locarno Festival was held from 4 August to 14 August 2021 in Locarno, Switzerland. The opening film of the festival was Beckett by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, which had its world premiere on 4 August. The 74th edition of Locarno Film Festival hosted 14 films including 7 world premieres in Piazza Grande among which half were European productions. More than 75,000 spectators attended the festival. 50% less than the attendance rate in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 75th annual Locarno Festival opened on 3 August 2022 in Locarno, Switzerland with film Bullet Train by David Leitch. The 75th edition of Locarno Film Festival celebrated as diamond jubilee edition screened 226 films including 105 world premieres and 3 international premieres. It hosted retrospective screenings of Douglas Sirk's films in its Retrospettiva section.