The 28th Locarno Film Festival was held from 31 July to 10 August 1975 in Locarno, Switzerland. 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. The festival also featured Legacy, directed by Karen Arthur, which won best first feature.

In years past, the Locarno festival was often accused by the Swiss press of being too left-wing. This time, however, it was attacked by a conservative British critic, Alexander Walker of The Evening Standard. 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. Walker defended his letter in Variety and said the festival was filled with "communist propaganda". 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.

The Golden Leopard, the festival's top prize, was awarded to The Son of Amir is Dead directed by Jean-Jacques Andrien.

Official Sections The following films were screened in these sections:

Main Program

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 Okeev1975 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

Out of Competition (Fuori Concorso) 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'HeritageThe 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

Film Critics Week 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

Special Sections Open ForumEnglish titleOriginal titleDirector(s)YearProduction countryAllonsanfan Vittorio Taviani, Paolo Taviani ItalyFilm About A Woman Who... Yvonne Rainer1974 USAFlaming Creatures Jack Smith 1963 USAFar from Home در غربت Sohrab Shahid-Saless1975 Germany, IranJeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Chantal Akerman1975 BelgiumThe Red Snowball Tree Kalina Krasnaja Vasiliy Shukshin1974 RussiaKaskara Dore O.1974 GermanyMakimono Werner Nekes1974 GermanyMy Little Loves Mes Petites Amoureuses Jean Eustache1974 FranceMoses and Aron Moses Und Aron Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub GermanyThe Travelling Players O Thiassos Theo Angelopoulos1975 GreeceFrench Provincial Souvenirs d'en France André Téchiné1975 FranceThe Honeymoon Killers Leonard Kastle1970 USAThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre Tobe Cooper1974 USASwiss Films For TicinoA Bus Buseto Remo Legnazzi SwitzerlandA Strike is Not a Sunday School Ein Streik Ist Keine Sonntagsschule Nina Stürm, Hans Stürm SwitzerlandTotò, Portrait of An Actor (1898-1967)Destination Piovarolo Destinazione Piovarolo Domenico Paolella 1955 ItalyHands Off Me! Fermo Con Le Mani Gero Zambuto 1937 ItalyCops and Robbers Guardie E Ladri Stefano "Steno" Vanzina 1951 ItalyThe Two Marshals I Due Marescialli Sergio Corbucci 1961 ItalyBig Deal on Madonna Street I Soliti Ignoti Mario Monicelli 1948 ItalyThe Three Thieves I Tre Ladri Lionello De Felice 1954 ItalyThe Gold of Naples - Episode Il Guappo L'Oro Di Napoli Episodio Il Guappo Vittorio De Sica 1954 ItalyTotò in Hell Totò All'Inferno Camillo Mastrocinque 1954 ItalyToto vs. the Four Totò Contro I Quattro Stefano "Steno" Vanzina 1963 ItalyTotò Diabolicus Stefano "Steno" Vanzina 1962 Italy

Official Awards According to the festival's website, the official awards were as follows:

International Jury

Golden Leopard: THE SON OF AMIR IS DEAD by Jean-Jacques Andrien Silver Leopard: VETCHNI VREMENA by Assen Chopov Special Prize: DOWN THE ANCIENT STAIRCASE by Alessandro Bolognini Best First Feature Prize: LEGACY by Karen Arthur International Jury Mention: HUSTRUER by Anja Breien, FLUCHTGEFAHR by Markus Imhoof, LA POMME ROUGE by Tolomouch Okeev

Oecumenical Jury

Oecumenical Jury Prize: NOUA by Adbelaziz Tolbi Oecumenical Jury Mention: HUSTRUER by Anja Breien

FIPRESCI Jury

International Critics Award: LEGACY by Karen Arthur, THE SUSPECT by Francesco Maselli International Critic's special mention: WIR BERGLER IN DEN BERGEN SIND EIGENTLICH NICHT SCHULD, DASS WIR DA SIND by Fredi M. Murer

References

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