58th Locarno International Film Festival

Irene Bignardi’s last festival. The Italian critic who headed the event for five years, returns to Rome (and the editorial staff of the daily La Repubblica). An era ends. Irene Bignardi has made Locarno one of the leading events – if not the leading – taking care of and being curios for worldwide independent cinema, including Third World cinemas. With an admirable enthusiasm, she engaged herself for films which she liked and loved (among others, she adored the cinemas of India). She was also attentive to the history of cinema — at her last edition, she dedicated a retrospective to Orson Welles. Ciao Irene. (k.e.)