by Elisa Giudici

Heavens Above, a new Serbian film

Locarno has been in, let's say a strange transition period. I first started going when Carlo Chatrian was the Artistic Director (back in 2012). He left for the same position at Berlinale and his successer Lili Hinstin wasn't there long -- under two years which generated a lot of gossip. Giona A Nazzaro is the new director but because of COVID-19 this is his first edition. Maybe I was just lucky or my tastes align more with Nazzaro's than previous directors but this festival started with more energy and verve. (Until now my perception of Locarno was that it held a small number of amazing discoveries diluted in a pull of dull old fashioned auteurial selections.)

I choose today's two movies following my gut instinct and I especially liked how the films were having almost having a dialogue between themselves, despite major differences in tone and setting. Both of them are about the end of the world as known for the male protagonist. Hinterland and Nebesa (Heavens Above) try to describe how men struggle with change and the death of their previous idealogies...