TEHRAN – The 69th Locarno Film Festival, which is currently underway in the Swiss city, is scheduled to pay tribute to the recently deceased filmmakers Abbas Kiarostami and Michael Cimino.

“I dedicate this year’s festival to Abbas Kiarostami and Michael Cimino,” Carlo Chatrian, the artistic director of the festival, said in the schedule of the event.

“Not just in gratitude for the emotions they gave to us, but also because both filmmakers are representative of the kind of cinema for which Locarno is home away from home,” he added. 

Kiarostami’s “The Traveler” and “Where Is the Friend’s Home?” have been selected to be screened at the festival. In addition to be shown is “Filming in Cuba with Abbas Kiarostami”, a series of shots developed from a workshop that Kiarostami held earlier this year in Cuba.

Kiarostami, whose 1997 film “Taste of Cherry” was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, achieved global recognition for his homeland cinema after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Suffering from a severe gastrointestinal disease, Kiarostami passed away in Paris earlier in June at the age of 76. He had travelled to France for further treatment.

The 4th Locarno Filmmakers Academy is also currently organizing some workshops on the sidelines of the festival. Iranian filmmaker Ali Asgari and several other young film talents from around the world have been selected to attend the workshops. 

Participants will receive specialized trainings from world-class cinema icons such as Roger Corman, Gaspar Noé, Albert Serra, Douglas Gordon, Jonas Mekas, Howard Shore, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Ken Loach.

The Locarno Film Festival opened on August 3 and will run until August 13. 

Photo: A scene from Abbas Kiarostami’s acclaimed film “Where Is the Friend’s Home?”

AFM/YAW