Film festival in Locarno, Switzerland
The 38th Locarno Film Festival was held from 8 to 18 August 1985 in Locarno , Switzerland.[1] [2] The opening film was the Cannes Palme D'or winner When Father Was Away on Business Emir Kusturica .[1] It was shown in the Piazza Grande, the 5,000 seat open-air theater, along with films such as The Official Story Desperately Seeking Susan [1] [3] The festival also screened all 16 hours of the German film Heimat Edgar Reitz .[4]
It was a record year for Locarno with the highest levels of attendance in its history, over 50,000 people, and a budget of around $600,000. Most of the money came from the local and state government. The only non-state sponsor was the Swiss Bank Union. In response to this growth, the Locarno festival organization expressed a desire to build a new 950-seat theater for future festivals. Artistic director David Strieff also wanted to add one day to the festival in order to re-screen all the winning films, as the festival did this year.[5]
The TV competition also grew with 17 television films in competition, another 77 in an information section, and 23 countries represented. Two additional screening rooms were needed, along with the original three, to accommodate the audience.[6]
One noteworthy attendee was guest of honor Elisabeth Kopp , the first woman to serve in the Swiss Federal Council the executive governing body of Switzerland.[4]
The Golden Leopard , the festival's top prize, was awarded to Alpine Fire Fredi M. Murer .[7] [8] The film also won the Ecumenical award for best film, but Murer rejected that award saying that the ecumenical jury didn't understand the movie.[3]
Official Sections The following films were screened in these sections:[9]
Main Competition
Feature films
Television Movies Television Movies In Competition Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country Contact Alan Clarke 1985 Great Britain Cztery Pory Roku Four Seasons Andrzej Kondratiuk 1985 Poland Die Abschiebung The Deportation Marianne Lüdcke 1985 Germany Do You Remember Love Jeff Bleckner 1985 USA Finnegan Begin Again Joan Micklin Silver 1984 Great Britain Forbidden Anthony Page 1985 USA Gentle Sinners Eric Till 1985 Canada Go Tell It On The Mountain Stan Lathan 1985 USA Kids Don'T Tell Sam O'Steel 1985 USA La Città Di Miriam The City of Miriam Aldo Lado 1983 Italia Malkiyat Sodom Little Sodom Dimitar Avramov 1985 Bulgaria Meurtres Pour Memoire Memory Murders Laurent Heynemann 1985 France Queen Of The Road Bruce Best 1985 Australia Summer Lghtning Paul Joyce 1985 Iceland Testament Lynne Littman 1984 USA The Joy That Kills Tina Rathborne 1985 USA
Fuori Concorso )Out of Competition — Main Program / Feature Films Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country A Test Of Love Gil Brealey 1985 Australia Desperately Seeking Susan Susan Seidelman 1985 USA Gyakufunsha-Kazouku Reverse Injection is Floating Sogo Ishii 1984 Japan Heimat Hometown Edgar Reitz 1984 Germany Hurlevent Howl Jacques Rivette 1985 France Il Giocatore Invisibile The Invisible Player Sergio Genni 1985 Switzerland La Historia Oficial The Official History Licia Punzo 1984 Argentina Les Enfants Children Marguerite Duras, Jean Marc Turin 1984 France Mask Peter Bogdanovich 1985 USA Maya Miriga Nirad N. Mohapatra 1984 India Mishima Paul Schrader 1985 USA Moj Otac Na Sluzbenom Putu My Father on the Official Path Emir Kusturica 1985 Yugoslavia My First Wife Paul Cox 1984 Australia Notre Mariage Our Marriage Valeria Sarmiento 1984 France Redl Ezredes Colonel Redl Istvan Szabo 1985 Hungary, Austria Segreti Segreti Secret Secrets Giuseppe Bertolucci 1985 Italia Wetherby David Hare 1985 Great Britain
Special Sections
Out-of-Program Out-of-Program Films Original title English title Director(s) Year Production country Biancheng BI Ancheng Ling Zifeng China Die Büchse Der Pandora The Pandora's Box Georg Wilhelm Pabst 1929 Germany El Pueblo Nunca Muere The People Never Die Mathias Knauer Switzerland L'Ecole Du Flamenco The Flamenco School Walter Marti, Reni Mertens Switzerland Schlangenzauber Snake Magic Isa Hesse-Rabinovitch Switzerland Trains Speciaux Special Trains Krsto Papic Yugoslavia
Special Program Special Program Original title English title Director(s) Year Production country Borderline Kenneth Macpherson 1930 Switzerland De Tijd Time Johan van der van der Keuken 1984 Netherlands Diles Que No Me Maten Tell Them not to Kill Me Freddy Siso 1984 Venezuela Gregorio Fernando Espinosa, Stefan Kaspar 1984 Peru Han Ye Han Y'E Que Wen 1984 China Kaiser Und Eine Nacht Emperor and One Night Markus Fischer 1985 Germany, Switzerland Laska V Pasazi Laska in the Passage Jaroslav Soukup 1984 Czech Republic Le Thé au harem d'Archimède Tea in the Harem Mehdi Charef 1985 France Lily In Love Karoly Makk 1985 USA Mister Mirror Franco Cavani 1985 Switzerland Pier Paolo Matteo Emery 1985 Switzerland The Time Of Harvey Milk Robert Epstein, Richard Schmiechen 1984 USA Tokyo Melody Elisabeth Lennard 1984 France Tokyo-Ga Wim Wenders 1985 Germany Vakantie Van De Filmer Holiday from the Filmmaker Johan van der van der Keuken 1974 Netherlands
Carte Blanche to Umberto EcoCarte Blanche Selections from Umberto Eco Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country Bad Day At Black Bock John Sturges 1954 USA Paisà Countryman Roberto Rossellini 1946 Italia Stagecoach John Ford 1939 USA The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers Don Siegel 1956 USA Way Out West James W. Home 1937 USA Yankee Doodle Dandy Michael Curtiz 1942 USA You Can'T Take It With You Frank Capra 1938 USA
Retrospective - Boris Barnet Retrospective Boris Barnet (1902-1965) - Boris Barnet Actor Original title English title Director(s) Year Production Country Chakhmatnaïa Goriatchka Chakhmatnaïa Goriachka Vsevolod Poudovkine 1925 Russia Neobytchaïnye Priklutcheniya Mistera Westa V Strnye Bolschevikov Lev Kouléchov 1924 Russia Retrospective Boris Barnet (1902-1965) - Boris Barnet Director Alienka Boris Barnet 1962 Russia Annouchka Boris Barnet 1959 Russia Borietz I Klooun Boripet the Clown Boris Barnet 1957 Russia Dievouchka S Korobkoï DIEVOCHKA S Korobkoï Boris Barnet 1927 Russia Dom Na Troubnoï House on the Troubno Boris Barnet 1928 Russia I Podvig Razv Edtchika And a Feat in the Edcechika Boris Barnet 1947 Russia Miss Mend Boris Barnet 1926 Russia Okraïna Zokraïna Boris Barnet 1933 Russia Ou Samovo Sinevo Moria Silence Has a Blue Sea Boris Barnet 1936 Russia Poet Boris Barnet 1957 Russia Poloustanok Pelustanok Boris Barnet 1963 Russia Starii Naezdnik Old Rider Boris Barnet 1959 Russia
Tribute To Cinecittà from 1935-1985 Original title English title Director(s) Year Production country Cleopatra Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1961 USA I Promessi Sposi Mario Camerini 1941 Italia Il Casanova Di Federico Fellini Federico Fellini's Casanova Federico Fellini 1976 Italia
Yugoslavian National Cinema Week Yugoslavia National Week Original title English title Director(s) Year Production country Covek Nije Tica Covek is not a Tick Dusan Makavejev 1964 Yugoslavia Davitel Y Protiv Davitelja Davitel Y Against the Donor Slobodan Sijan 1984 Yugoslavia Drouga Generacija The Second Generation Zelimir Zilnik 1983 Yugoslavia Nesto Izmedu Something Between Srdan Karanovic 1982 Yugoslavia Rdeci Boogie Ali Kaj Ti Je Deklica Red Boogie or What is your Girlfriend Karpo Acimovic-Godina 1982 Yugoslavia Samo Jednom Se Ljubi Only Once Kisses you Rajko Grlic 1981 Yugoslavia Sjecas Li Se Dolly Bell Do you Remember Dolly Bell Emir Kusturica 1981 Yugoslavia Slike Iz Zivota Udarnika Images from the Life of the Striker Bahrudin Cengic 1972 Yugoslavia Zaseda Ambush Zivojin Pavlovic 1969 Yugoslavia
Parallel Sections
Film Critics Week FIPRESCI - International Federation of Film Critics Week Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country Lieber Karl Dear Karl Maria Knilli 1984 Germany Los Motivos De Berta Berta's Reasons José Luis Guerin 1983 Spain Noah Und Der Cow-Boy Noah and the Cow-Boy Hansueli Schenkel, Felix Tissi 1985 Switzerland Orinoko - Nuevo Mundo Orinoko - New World Diego Risquez 1984 Venezuela Qingmei Zhuma Taipei Story Edward Yang 1985 Taiwan Szirmok, Viragok, Koszoruk Petals, Virags, their Wreaths Laszlo Lugossy 1984 Hungary Windy City Armyan Bernstein 1984 USA
Swiss Information - Feature Films Original title English title Director(s) Year Production country After Darkness Sergio Guerrez, Dominique Othenin-Girard 1985 Switzerland Akropolis Now Hans Liechti 1984 Switzerland Der Ruf Der Sibylla The Call of the Sibylla Clemens Klopfenstein Switzerland Derborence Francis Reusser 1985 Switzerland Er Moretto: Von Liebe Leben He Moretto: Live of Love Simon Bischoff 1984 Switzerland Freeze: Videoladen Z!Urich, 1976-1985 Dokumentation Einer Geschichte Freeze: Video Show! Urich, 1976-1985 Documentation of a Story René Baumann, Marcel Müller Switzerland Je Vous Salue Marie I Greet you Marie Jean-Luc Godard 1985 Switzerland The Land Of William Tell 1984 Switzerland Swiss Information - Short And Medium-Length Films 78 Tours Georges Schwizgebel 1985 Switzerland Aelia Dominique De Rivaz 1985 Switzerland Altmanns Regel Altmann's Rule Manuel Siebenmann, Benno Wenz 1984 Switzerland Ave & Maria Bianca Conti Rossini 1984 Switzerland Cachemire Cashmere Eva Ceccaroli 1985 Switzerland Futur Interieur Anterior Future Alain Nicolet 1985 Switzerland La Quatrième Veille The Fourth Watch José Michel Buhler 1985 Switzerland Le Livre De Marie Marie's Book Anne-Marie Miéville 1985 Switzerland Lettre Mortelle Mortal Letter Pier Blattner 1985 Switzerland
Official Awards
International Jury
FIPRESCI Critics Jury FIPRESCI Prize: Taipei Story Edward Yang Special Mention: The Doctor from Gafire directed by Mustapha Diop
Ecumenical Jury Source:[8] [7] [10]
References ^ a b c "Pictures: LOCARNO FILM FEST BOWS THIS THURSDAY". Variety . Vol. 320, no. 2. 7 August 1985. pp. 7, 26. ^ "International calendar of film festivals and markets". The Hollywood Reporter . Vol. 286, no. 1. 5 March 1985. pp. 74, 76, 79. ^ a b c Lane, John Francis (31 August 1985). "EUROPEAN NEWS: Swiss enjoy salad days after locarno closes on high note. (1985, Aug 31)". Screen International . No. 512. London. p. 10. ^ a b "Pictures: Learned at locarno". Variety . Vol. 320, no. 5. 28 August 1985. p. 30. ^ Fainaru, Edna (21 August 1985). "Pictures: Locarno fest attendance soars; overcrowding mars new success". Variety . Vol. 320, no. 4. pp. 5, 29. ^ Fainaru, Edna (21 August 1985). "Radio-television: TV films A hit at locarno fest, but has event grown too big?". Variety . Vol. 320, no. 4. p. 103. ^ a b "The Festival - Palmarès". Locarno Film Festival . Retrieved 15 April 2025 . ^ a b "1985 Locarno Film Festival". Locarno Film Festival . Retrieved 8 April 2025 . ^ "Locarno Film Festival · All the films of the Locarno Film Festival..." Locarno Film Festival . Archived from the original on 7 April 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025 . ^ "Pictures: Locarno fest prizewinners". Variety . Vol. 320, no. 4. 21 August 1985. p. 5.
External links
Awards
Main competition Retired categories
By year
