The 44th Locarno Film Festival was held from 7 to 17 August 1991 in Locarno, Switzerland. Of the 19 film in competition, ten were world premieres, and eight were first pictures from directors, as Locarno has a focus on discovering new talent.
The opening film was a brand new print of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and the closing film was a new print of Yasujiro Ozo's Late Autumn. Artistic director, David Strieff paid for the Ozo print personally as a parting gift to the festival. This was his last year as head of the festival after over a decade in the role.
A surprise screening was held for A Brigther Summer Day directed by Edward Yang, which was a big get for the festival. Yang attended the festival along with every director in competition, apart from Sean Pean.
The Golden Leopard, the festival's top prize, was awarded to Johnny Suede directed by Tom DiCillo. Jury International Jury – Main Competition (Incomplete) Xavier Koller, Swiss director Michael Ballhaus, German cinematographer Arielle Dombasle, Gaelic actress Official Sections
The following films were screened in these sections: Competition
Feature Films English Title Original Title Director(s) Year Production Country Barbed Wire Alambrado Marco Bechis 1991 Italy, Argentina Anna Göldin - Last Witch Anna Göldin - Letzte Hexe Gertrud Pinkus 1991 Switzerland, GermanyCheb Rachid Bouchareb 1991 France, Algérie Erwin and Julia Erwin Und Julia Götz Spielmann 1990 AustriaH Darrell Wasyk 1990 Canada The Knot in the Tie Il Nodo Alla Cravatta Alessandro Di Robilant 1991 ItalyIndian Runner Sean Penn 1991 USAJohnny Suede Tom DiCillo 1991 USA The Year of Awakening L'Annee De L'Eveil Gérard Corbiau 1991 France Cloud-Paradise Oblako-Rai Nikolaï Dostal 1990 RussiaOstkreuz Michael Klier 1991 Germany Hey, Lads and Lasses Oy, Vy Gousi Lidia Bobrova 1991 RussiaPoison Todd Haynes 1991 USASprung Aus Den Wolken Nancy Rivas, Stefan Schwieter 1991 Germany, SwitzerlandFire! Ta Dona Adama Drabo 1991 Mali, France Days of Doubt Tage Des Zweifels Bernhard Giger 1991 Switzerland The Dove's Lost Necklace Tawk Al Hamama Al Mafkoud Nacer Khemir 1991 Tunisia, FranceTinpis Run Pengau Nengo 1990 Papua New Guinea The Funeral Zazambo Fumiki Watanabe 1991 Japan Leopards of Tomorrow (Pardi di Domani) Leopards of Tomorrow (Pardi di Domani) Program Number 1 Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country El Saad El Sad Saber Akeed 1988 Egypt Katok I SkripkaThe Steamroller and the Violin Andrei Tarkovsky 1960 Russia La Vie Des Morts The Life of the Dead Arnaud Desplechin 1990 FranceProgram Number 2 Fa Minor André Tchernykh 1991 Russia Koncert Zyczen Wishes Concert Krzysztof Kieślowski 1967 Poland Life In A Day Gerhard Schirlo 1990 Great Britain That Burning Question David Hamblin 1990 USAProgram Number 3 Cadillac Dreams Matia karrell 1989 USA Ouagadougou Idrissa Ouédraogo 1984 France Palingenesis Carlos Martinez 1990 USA Pourquoi? For What? Idrissa Ouédraogo 1981 France The Thruth Game Jeff Cole 1990 Great Britain This & That David Hamblin 1990 Great BritainProgram Number 4 Eating The Last Supper Alexandra Hooper 1990 Canada Face Facts Linda Hugues 1990 Great Britain Last Year In Vietnam Oliver Stone 1970 USA Sparks Robert Klenner 1989 Australia Swimming Belinda Chayko 1990 AustraliaProgram Number 5 It'S Not Just You Murry Martin Scorsese 1964 USA Les Loukoums Blaise Piguet 1990 Belgium Pierwsza Projekcja Filmowa W Powszechnej Historii Kina The First Film Screening in the Universal History of Cinema Jaroslaw Falinski 1990 Poland The Brooch Pin And The Sinful Clasp Jonna Woodward 1989 Great BritainProgram Number 6 Demoniad Yelena Yershova 1989 Russia Janez Pavarotti Pavarotti Vinci Vogue Anžlovar 1990 Yugoslavia Koncert Concert István Szabó 1961 Hungary Mella'S Shoes Pamela Falk 1989 USA The Green Beret Stephen Hillenburg 1991 USA Transit Igor Shkourine 1990 RussiaProgram Number 7 A Broken Horse Mike Cahill 1990 USA Electronic Labyrinth George Lucas 1967 USA Konservfilm Conserved Film Zlatin Radey 1990 Bulgaria Sezon Pokhoron The Season of the Funeral Gorgij Paradzanov 1991 Russia Sognando A Scatola Aperta Dreaming of an Open Box Sarah Webster 1990 ItalyProgram Number 8 Balloon Ken Lidster 1991 Great Britain Divertissement Or An Isolated Apartment For Chorus Line Dancer Nino Lapiashvili 1988 Russia Elegie Bitterfeld Horst Markgraf 1991 Germany Honeymoon Bernd Löhr, Mark Schlichter 1991 Germany Kegyelmesek Gracious Klara Pöter 1990 Hungary Miriam Daniel Schmid 1967 GermanyProgram Number 9 E.Q.Te Stefano Argentero 1991 Italy Ginepro Fatto Uomo Juniper Made Man Marco Bellocchio 1962 Italy Ragout Thomas Bartels, Martin Hasen 1990 Germany Sugarblues Nadia Anliker 1990 USA Teena And Simon Ricardo Parilla 1990 Great BritainProgram Number 10 Another Damaging Day Stacy Cochran 1990 USA Diplomafilm Béla Tarr Hungary Ellie Gill Wilkinson 1991 Great Britain Favagok Wood Members Istvan Szaladjak 1989 Hungary Hogyan Verekedett Meg Jappe Es Do Escobar Utan A Vilag How Did you Fight Jappe and Do Escobar after the World Gábor Bódy 1974 Hungary Toxic Andrew McEwan 1990 Great Britain
Out of Competition
Out of Competition (Hors compétition) Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country Barton Fink Joel Coen, Ethan Coen 1991 USA Bianzou Bianchang Life on a String Chen Kaige 1991 China Boyz N The Hood John Singleton 1991 USA Caido Del Cielo Fallen from Heaven Francisco José Lombardi 1990 Spain, Peru Citizen Kane Orson Welles 1941 USA Dandan-E Mar Download Masoud Kimiai 1990 Iran Es Megis It is Megis Zsolt Dézdi-Kovacs 1991 Hungary Goudouldo Ouricherom Goudouldo Uricherom Park Kwang-su 1990 South Korea Il Portaborse The Door Holder Daniele Luchetti 1991 Italy, France Kohayagawa-Ke No Aki Autumn in Kobayakawa Yasujirō Ozu 1961 Japan L'Homme Qui A Perdu Son Ombre The Man Who Lost His ShadowAlain Tanner 1991 Spain, Switzerland La Belle Noiseuse Jacques Rivette 1991 France, Switzerland Nazar Mani Kul 1990 India Pegnij Pes Begushij Kraem Moria Karen Guevorkian 1990 Russia Riff-Raff Ken Loach 1991 Great Britain The Adjuster Atom Egoyan 1991 Canada Toto Le HerosToto the Hero Jaco Van Dormael 1991 Belgium, France
Special Programs Roman Polanski in Łódź Original titleEnglish titleDirector(s)YearProduction countryDwaj Ludzie Z SzafaTwo People with a WardrobeRoman Polanski1958PolandKieidi Spadaja AniolyWhen Angels FallRoman Polanski1958PolandLampaLampRoman Polanski1959PolandMordertswoMorerttswoRoman Polanski1957PolandRozbijemy ZabaweWe will Break the FunRoman Polanski1957PolandUzmiech ZebicznyZeboRoman Polanski1957Poland Anka Schmid In Berlin (DFFB) Die Reise Zur Südsee The Trip to the South Pacific Anka Schmid 1986 Germany Habibi - Ein Liebesbrief Habibi - a Love Letter Anka Schmid 1986 Germany Herzens-Freude Heart Joy Anka Schmid 1986 Switzerland Mailma - Eine Improvisation Mailma - An Improvisation Anka Schmid 1988 Germany Rondo - Gravitat Rondo - Weights Anka Schmid 1986 Germany Transparenz Transparency Anka Schmid 1983 Germany Christine Carrière In Paris (FEMIS) Brouhaha Christine Carrière 1988 France Les Pieds Humides The Damp Feet Christine Carrière 1990 France Mariage Blanc White Wedding Christine Carrière 1989 France Entrants from Moscow (VGIK) Le Jeu The Game Abderrahmane Sissako 1990 Mauritania Sanos Y Sanitarios Healthy and Health Xavier Berrios 1990 Cuba Örült De Angyal Rejoiced De Angel Tamas Toth 1991 Hungary New York Special Amore Eterno Eternal Love Massimo Ciccioriccio 1990 USA Coyote Mountain Stacy Cochran USA Gold Mountain Rachel Saltz, Kryssa Schemmerl 1990 USA Red Herring Isabel Henger 1991 USA The Whole Latest Selection (La toute dernière sélection) Desimt Municiu Pries Ikaro Skrydi A Minute of a Minute Before the Icaro Flight Arunas Mateils 1990 Russia Elossa Alive Jukka-Pekka Siili 1990 Finland Killers Connections Olivier Zimmermann 1991 Switzerland Malchik I Golub Boy and Dove Andrei Konchalovsky 1962 Russia Midnight Barbeque Ruedi Gerber 1991 USA Tanulmany A Fografiarol Study is the Photografiarol Vilmos Thernesz 1990 Hungary Aspects of the Formation (ESAV) Au Fond Du Couloir At the Bottom of the Corridor Atelier A. Arnold 1990 Switzerland Deux Frères Two Brothers Olivier Moeckli Moeckli 1990 Switzerland Face Detector Vidéo-atelier M. Kaufmann 1990 Switzerland Heroic Death By Smoking Travail collectif dirigé par K. Jacobs 1989 Switzerland La Belle Au Bois Dormant Sleeping Beauty Sybille Bühler, Catrina Ganzoni 1991 Switzerland Neuf Fois Saint-Antoine Nine Times Saint-Antoine Atelier D. Comtat 1990 Switzerland Situation General Richard Vetterli 1990 Switzerland Mona Hoel in Stockholm BlueMona Hoel1987SudanBrief Encounters IiMona Hoel1986SudanHusetThe HouseMona Hoel1989SudanLuciana'S MorningMona Hoel1984SudanNora'S SecretMona Hoel1985Sudan
Tribute To Les Films Du Losange Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country Celine Et Julie Vont En Bateau Celine and Julie Go by Boat Jacques Rivette 1974 France La Marquise D'O The Marquise d'O Éric Rohmer 1975 France Le Jour Des Rois Kings Day Marie-Claude Treilhou 1991 France Une Sale Histoire A Dirty Story Jean Eustache 1977 France Riccardo Freda Beatrice Cenci Riccardo Freda 1956 Italy I Miserabili The Miserable Riccardo Freda 1947 Italy I Mosaici Di Ravenna The Mosaics of Ravenna Riccardo Freda Italy Il Cavaliere Misterioso The Mysterious Knight Riccardo Freda 1948 Italy Lo Spettro The Spectrum Riccardo Freda, Robert Hampton 1963 Italy Teodora Imperatrice Di Bisanzio Teodora Imperatrice of Byzantium Riccardo Freda 1954 Italy Vittorio Cottafavi I Cento Cavalieri The Hundred Knights Vittorio Cottafavi 1965 Italy La Donna Libera The Free Woman Vittorio Cottafavi 1954 Italy La Fiamma Che Non Si Spegne The Flame that Does not Turn Off Vittorio Cottafavi 1949 Italy Maria Zeef Maria Seef Vittorio Cottafavi 1981 Italy Traviata '53 Vittorio Cottafavi 1953 Italy
Retrospective – Jacques Becker Retrospective Jacques Becker Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country Ali Baba Et Les Quarante Voleurs Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Jacques Becker 1954 France Antoine Et Antoinette Antoine and Antoinette Jacques Becker 1947 France Casque D'Or Gold Helmet Jacques Becker 1952 France Dernier Atout The Trump Card Jacques Becker 1942 France Edouard Et Caroline Edward and Caroline Jacques Becker 1951 France Falbalas Paris Frills Jacques Becker 1945 France Goupi-Mains Rouges Red Goupi-Mayors Jacques Becker 1943 France L'Or Du Cristobal Cristobal's Gold Jacques Becker 1940 France La Grande Esperance The Great Expense Jacques Becker 1936 France La Vie Est À Nous Life is Us Jean Renoir 1936 France Le Commissaire Est Bon Enfant The Commissioner is Good Child Jacques Becker 1935 France Le Trou The Hole Jacques Becker 1960 France Les Aventures D'Arsene Lupin The Adventures of Arsene Lupine Jacques Becker 1957 France Montparnasse 19 Jacques Becker 1958 France Rendez-Vous De Juillet July Meeting Jacques Becker 1949 France Rue De L'Estrapade T Jacques Becker 1953 France Touchez Pas Au Grisbi Do not Touch Grisbi Jacques Becker 1954 France
The Trump Card
Special Sessions Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country Family Express George Nicolas Hayek 1990 Switzerland, France Le Film Du Cinema Suisse The Film of the Swiss Cinema Jean-Francois Amiguet, Ernest Ansorge 1991 Switzerland Visages Suisses Swiss Faces Matteo Bellinelli, Simon Edelstein 1991 Switzerland
Out of Program Original Title English Title Director(s) Production Country Roma Intorno A Roma Rome Around Rome Carlo Sparanero Italy Film Surprise Original Title English Title Director(s) Production Country Guling Jie Shaonian Sharen Shijian A Brighter Summer Day Edward Yang Taiwan
Independent Sections Critics Week The Semaine de la Critique is an independent section, created in 1990 by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists in partnership with the Locarno Film Festival.