The 34th Locarno Film Festival was held from 31 July to 10 August 1981 in Locarno, Switzerland. This was Jean-Pierre Brossard's last year as festival director. It included a popular retrospective of 1950s U.S. films and midnight showings of films such as Polyester directed by John Waters.
The screening of Pier Palo Pasolini's Salo was so crowded that it was screened twice due to audience demand. There was a planned surprise showing of jury member Andrzej Żuławski's 1972 film The Devil , which had been banned by the Polish government, but the print never arrived causing Zulawski to wonder at the time if it was still banned. Indeed, the film was banned in Poland until 1987.
The Golden Leopard, the festival's top prize, was awarded to Chakra directed by Rabindra Dharmaraj.
Jury Assia Djebar, Algerian filmmaker and author Jean Douchet, French film critic Paul Morrissey, American filmmaker Andrej Zulawski, Polish director George Radonowicz, Swiss director and producer Source: Official Sections 1981
The following films were screened in these sections: Main Program
Feature Films In Competition English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country Trances Al Hal Ahmed El Maanouni Morocco Beto Nervio and Super-Super, Against the Black Night Beto Nervio Y Super-Super, Contra La Noche Negra Miguel Bejo ArgentinaThe Loveless (originally titled Breakdown) Kathryn Bigelow, Monty Montgomery USACeleste Percy Adlon GermanyChakra Rabindra Dharmaraj India Diana and Django Diana E Django Solveig Nordlund PortugalDiva Jean-Jacques Beneix France Djeli Djeli, Conte D'Aujourd'Hui Fadika Kramo-Lanciné Ivory Coast Duet Duetto Tomao Sherman Italy Childish Questions Dziecinne Pytani Janus Zaorski Poland Land of Fire All Night Long E Nachtlang Füürland Clemens Klopfenstein, Remo Legnazzi Switzerland Fear Not, Jacob! Fürchte Dich Nicht, Jakob! Radu Gabrea Germany Death of a Tycoon Muerte De Un Magnate Francisco Jose Lombardi PeruNarcissus and Psyche Narcisz Es Psyche Gabor Body HungaryOne More Chance Sam Firstenberg USAPixote Hector Babenco Brazil Alone Seuls Francis Reusser SwitzerlandThe Dark End Of The Street Jan Egleson USA A One-Way Ticket Un Aller Simple Hadj Rahim AlgérieThe Option, Roses of the RoadOpçao, As Rosas Da EstradaOzualdo Ribeira CandeiasBrazil*
Out of Competition Feature Films - Out of Competition Original Title English Title Director(s) YearProduction country Akaler Sandhane Lonely Mrinal Sen1981India Czlowiek Z Zelaza Iron Man Andrzej Wajda1981Poland Francisca Manoel de Oliveira1981Portugal La Femme De L'Aviateur The Aviator's Wife Éric Rohmer1981France Looks And Smiles Ken Loach1981Great Britain Mephisto Istvan Szabo1981Hungary Ricomincio Da Tre I Start Again from Three Massimo Troisi1981ItalySpecial Section / Out of ProgramL'Erroneo FuThe Erroneous WasBrenno Martignoni1981SwitzerlandMadame WangPaul Morrissey1980USAPossessionAndrzej Zulawski1981France, Germany
Algerian Special Sections Algerian Special Sections / Week Original Title English Title Director(s) Year Production Country Boualem Zi El Gouden Boulmem Zi-Elements Moussa Haddad 1980 Algérie Chebka Ghaouti Bendeddouche 1976 Algérie El Faham El Understands Mohamed Bouamari 1972 Algérie La Nouba Des Femmes Du Mont Chenoua The Nouba of the Women of Mount Chenoua Assia Djebar 1978 Algérie Le Retour The Return Benamar Bakhti 1980 Algérie Omar Gatlato Merzak Allouache 1976 Algérie Ouled Er Rih T Brahim Tsaki 1979 Algérie Rakem 49 Rakem Mohamed Rachid Benhadj 1980 Algérie Rih El Aures House and Mohamed Lakhdar-Hamina 1966 Algérie
Special Sections
American Cinema of the 1950s American Cinema of the 1950s Title Director(s) Year Production Country A Place In The Sun George Stevens 1951 USA A Touch Of Evil Orson Welles 1958 USA Asphalt Jungle John Huston 1950 USA Baby Doll Elia Kazan 1956 USA Bigger Than Life Nicholas Ray 1956 USA Born Yesterday George Cukor 1950 USA Bus Stop Joshua Logan 1956 USA Elmer Gantry Richard Brooks 1959 USA From Here To Eternity Fred Zinnemann 1953 USA Hollywood On Trial David Helpern 1976 USA Jet Pilot Josef von Sternberg 1951 USA North By Northwest Alfred Hitchcock 1959 USA Pick Up On South Street Samuel Fuller 1952 USA Ruby Gentry King Vidor 1955 USA The Hollywood Ten John Berry 1950 USA The Quiet American Joseph L. Mankiewicz 1958 USA The Searchers John Ford 1956 USA The Thing Howard Hawks, Christian Nyby 1951 USA The Wild One Laslo Benedek 1954 USA Wild River Elia Kazan 1959 USA Written On The Wind Douglas Sirk 1957 USA
Carte Blanche to Daniel Schmid A Daniel Schmid organized screening of films he selected. Carte Blanche to Daniel SchmidOriginal titleEnglish titleDirector(s)YearProduction country Gertrud Carl-Theodor Dreyer 1946 Denmark Le Charme Discret De La Bourgeoisie The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Luis Buñuel 1972 France Le Diable Probablement The Devil Probably Robert Bresson 1977 France Neskol'Ko Dnej Iz Zizni I.I. Oblomova Several Days of the Life of I.I. Oblomova Nikita Mikhalkov 1979 Russia Salò O Le Centoventi Giornate Di Sodoma Salò or the One Hundred and Twenty Days of Sodoma Pier Paolo Pasolini 1976 Italy The Shangai Gesture Josef von Sternberg 1941 USA
Swiss Information Swiss Information - Feature FilmsOriginal titleEnglish titleDirector(s)YearProduction country Das Boot Ist Voll The Boat is Full Markus Imhoof Switzerland Der Erfinder The Inventor Kurt Gloor Switzerland Die Rückkehr (Stolz) The Return (Proud) Friedrich Kappeler Switzerland Eine Vo Dene A Vo Dene Bruno Nick Switzerland Heritage Walter Marti Switzerland Light Years Away Alain Tanner Switzerland Max Frisch, Journal I-Iii Richard Dindo Switzerland Moon In Taurus Steff Gruber Switzerland Nestbruch Beat Kuert Switzerland Reisender Krieger Traveler Warrior Christian Schocher Switzerland Samba Lento Samba Bruno Moll Switzerland Sirenen-Eiland Sirenen Island Isa Hesse-Rabinovitch Switzerland Zur Besserung Der Person To Improve the Person Heinz Bütler Switzerland Züri Brännt Brush Brushes SwitzerlandSwiss Information - Short And Medium-Length Films Beredino Danilo Catti Switzerland Go West, Young Man Urs Egger Switzerland La Facture D'Orgue The Organ Bill Frédéric Gonseth Switzerland Le Cours Des Choses The Course of Things Jean-Bernard Menoud Switzerland Poursuite Pursuit Robi Engler Switzerland Pssst B. Willy Nussbaum Switzerland Revol Mona Etter-Faloughi, Charles Herberger Switzerland Räume Sin Hüllen, Sind Häuten, Sind Cocons Rooms are Covers, are Skinning, are Cocons Lukas Strebel Switzerland Schnürz Und Schnörz Schnürz and Schnörz Tassilo Dellers, Sebastian Dellers Switzerland Sweet Reading Michel Rodde Switzerland
Film Critics Week FIPRESCI - International Federation of Film Critics WeekOriginal titleEnglish titleDirector(s)YearProduction country Cserepek Pots Istvan Gaal Hungary Gregory'S Girl Bill Forsyth Great Britain Indeks Index Janusz Kijowski 1978 Poland Laufen Lernen Learn Jutta Brückner Germany Le Sang Du Flamboyant The Blood of the Flamboyant François Migeat France Winterstadt Bernhard Giger Switzerland
Official Awards International Jury
Golden Leopard: Chakra directed by Rabindra Dharmaraj Silver Leopard: Pixote directed by Hector Babenco Bronze Leopard: Opçao, As Rosas Da Estrada directed by Ozualdo Ribeira Candeias Ernst Artaria Prize: Narcissus and Psyche directed by Gabor Body Source:
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