Seventeen films for the Golden Leopard, jury chaired by Du Welz

The 79th Locarno Film Festival began on 5 August and runs until the 15th. The programme includes 233 films, more than in recent years, chosen from a record 7,759 entries.

Of these, 103 are world premieres. The Swiss presence consists of 28 Swiss films and eight co-productions.

Seventeen titles are competing for the Golden Leopard. The international competition jury is chaired by the Belgian director Fabrice Du Welz.

A Swiss director with a Portuguese base in the running

Among the competition films is "O Jacaré" by the Swiss-Portuguese Basil Da Cunha. It is the final part of a trilogy set in the Lisbon district of Reboleira, where the director has worked for years.

The opening day began at 3.30pm at the Palexpo FEVI with a film concert. The Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, conducted by Philippe Béran, accompanied a live screening of "The General" by Buster Keaton and Clyde Bruckman.

Federal councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider attended the official ceremony. In Piazza Grande, Isabella Rossellini received the Excellence Award.

At 9.30pm came the opening film, "Les yeux verts" by the French duo Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh. It follows an Iraqi girl living in France with her family, whose brother falls into a deep sleep on learning that they face deportation.

The number of entries says something about where the festival stands. Locarno remains the event to which filmmakers send the work that would struggle to find a place elsewhere, and the main competition still consists largely of names not yet established.

The Swiss selection, with 36 titles across productions and co-productions, remains the principal channel through which the national cinema reaches an international audience at home.