Film critic Carlo Chatrian will take over as artistic director of the Locarno International Film Festival on November 1. The decision, announced by the festival’s board of governors on Tuesday, comes just a week after previous director Olivier Père stepped down.
Born in Turin, Italy, in 1971, Chatrian has worked as a film critic for magazines such as Filmcritica, Duellanti and Cineforum since the early 1990s. He is the director of the magazine Panoramiques. Chatrian has run film courses at various schools and institutions. He first worked with the Locarno Film Festival in 2002, and served as a member of its selection committee from 2006 to 2009.
Festival President Marco Solari said he had been “keeping a watchful eye on Carlo Chatrian for several years now. I have always appreciated both his intelligence and professional abilities. (He) knows our event inside out and has the charisma and qualifications required to lead the Locarno Festival. I am sure he is the right person for this important task.”
The festival, which features one of the largest outdoor screens in Europe, completed its 65th season in August 2012. The content was radically transformed in the three years it was headed by outgoing director Père. Critics were puzzled this year by the choice of a low-budget film by an established director for the Golden Leopard award.
On August 28, Père announced that he was leaving Locarno to become Managing Director of Arte France Cinéma.
Previous director Olivier Père, a French national, served from September 2008 to August 2012.
Carlo Chatrian received a degree in Literature and Philosophy from Turin University, and also specialised in journalism and communications.