Bowfinger and The Full Monty - two films “with an edge” that Locarno helped launch.

What Müller has achieved is the synthesis that all major film festivals strive for: a balance between the big-name titles which will form the core of the open-air evening screenings in the Piazza Grande, and the innovative fare from Europe, Latin America, Africa and (especially) Asia for which the Festival is justly famous. Due to open the Festival in the Piazza Grande this year is Bryan Singer’s movie, X-Men (featured on page 8 of this issue), and there will also be a screening of Hollow Man - which opens in the US in the same week - as part of the awarding of a ‘Leopard of Honour’ to Dutch-born director Paul Verhoeven.

Attending a screening in the Piazza Grande is something which is better experienced than described. With an official seating capacity of 7,500, the auditorium basically consists of the town’s most beautiful square converted into a cinema. But anyone expecting a larger-scale version of those southern European beach-town movie shows which use a sheet strung between the trees and a projector with a beam barely able to make it through the night is in for a shock. Enormous care is taken, not only with the projection equipment - which could compete with any major city-centre showcase in the world - but also with the sound.

Gadjo Dilo: Müller is particularly proud of having set Tony Gatlif’s film on its way via a screening at the Festival.

Acoustics pose a particular problem, not just because there are no ‘roof-tiles’ to reflect back the sound, but because those near the rear are a lot further away from the screen than they would be in any normal cinema. But years of experiment and improvement have resulted in a sound system which led Canadian director Atom Egoyan to comment that he was hearing things in his own soundtrack that he hadn’t heard since mixing. Not surprisingly, therefore, the 7,500-capacity is often considerably exceeded, as those in the surrounding restaurants and on balconies join the show.

What really seals the appeal of Locarno, however, is the fact that, in addition to a track record which has seen the international début of any number of top cinéastes (the Festival’s own ‘honour roll’ can be found at the foot of the page), Locarno has also established itself as the get-together for those who make a major contribution to cinematic culture - and carve out a precarious living for themselves in the process - by distributing the films that the majors can’t reach. The Locarno Industry Office, run by Nadia Dresti, provides a relaxed meeting-place for distributors and other industry professionals and has become an established date in their diaries.