Heritage Monday at the Locarno Film Festival Sees a Future in the Past

This year’s edition was specifically devoted to the challenge of gaining new young audiences for older films. The panel, moderated , featured contributions from Leslie Vuchot of Timeless Cinema from France, Amy Homma from the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and Academy Collection in the U. S., Arsenal Filminstitut’s Stefanie Schulte Strathaus from Germany and American author and programmer Eddie Muller from the Film Noir Foundation. A virtuous circle is created as the proceeds from festivals are poured into restoring films which can then be shown at festivals. His role as a host on Turner Classic Movies has also proved a turning point, increasing his visibility. He has brought school classes into his festivals and followed it up with lessons in schools and seen how students who had never seen a black and white film before on the big screen reacted to Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in “To Have and Have Not.” Muller says: “In a class of 35 students, if you’re lucky, you’re going to connect with six that are really into it, and the other kids are using social media to ignore everything that you’re talking about. Likewise, securing and even identifying rights continues to be a problem, which can even extend to subtitles, which might be copyrighted and need to be duplicated, causing unnecessary expenses. The solution proposed was more cooperation and coordination between archives, cinematheques and organizations internationally. Climate controlled archives are closing and even an internationally famous body such as the Motion Picture Academy is being overwhelmed by a growing amount of material while operating with the same number of staff and financial resources. “I’m a forever optimist,” Homma says. “We are seeing more people care about the films.” For Schulte Strathaus, who specializes in avant-garde film, the solution is to build communities who are not just audiences but who can creatively participate in the restorations, either for educational purposes or as artists helping in the preservation of filmmakers’ work. Peacock to Be Included in YouTube Premium Subscription Bundle Starting in 2027 Content Creators vs. Emmys: Dropout Shut Out Again, ‘Subway Takes’ Lands First Nomination Dan and Phil on Going Back on Tour After Finally Revealing Their Relationship: ‘We Just Want to Go on Stage and Be Completely Ourselves’ (EXCLUSIVE) YouTube Ad Sales Keep Growing at Healthy Clip, Rising 13% to $11 Billion in Q2 Gen Z Leans Hard into Nostalgia to Spur Music and Content Discovery: Study YouTube India Positions Connected TV as New Prime-Time Screen, Unveils Three-Lever Strategy for M&E Partners at APOS JavaScript is required to load the comments.