At the Locarno Film Festival, two standout doc-fiction hybrids from Barcelona—“Dream of Another Summer” and “Downriver, a Tiger”—were celebrated on Sunday as part of the festival’s First Look pix-in-post strand, which highlights Spanish cinema.
In other awards from Locarno Pro, the festival’s industry division, Liliana Cavani’s 1970 film “The Year of the Cannibals” won the Historical Restoration Contest.
The European co-production initiative Alliance 4 Development recognized several projects, including Lukas Nathrath’s “Bourgeois Paranoia,” which had previously won at Locarno’s First Look. Irene Bartolomé’s “Dream of Another Summer” portrays a woman’s return to Beirut following Lebanon’s 2020 financial crisis and a devastating explosion.
The film, produced by Colibri Studio, presents an emotionally intense narrative about Beirut’s collapse and the woman’s personal turmoil. Bartolomé described the film as an “intimate thriller” depicting both a personal and urban crisis, focusing on the relationship between a woman and the city of Beirut.
Víctor Diago’s “Downriver, a Tiger” tells a compelling love story between Júlia, a Barcelona photographer, and Shubham, an Indian from Goa whom she meets in Glasgow. The film also explores Júlia’s research on Glasgow’s Scottish highland immigrant history.
Producer Montse Pujol Solá praised “Downriver, a Tiger” as a self-funded project that uses its freedom to explore migration and melancholy through a unique love story.
Both “Dream” and “Downriver” emerged as the top winners at First Look, with “Downriver” securing two major prizes. The Alliance 4 Development awards were distributed among Nathrath, Michale Boganim’s “6 Months 6 Days,” Hakim Mao’s “Atlantic Mirage,” and Alessandro Grande’s “Ithaca.”
Nathrath’s “Bourgeois Paranoia” explores a week-long café encounter where tensions rise dramatically. “We aim for a tragicomic tone with darker elements,” Nathrath explained.
“6 Months, 6 Days” will delve into characters’ personal confrontations with history, according to producer Mathilde Leite. The film follows Juliana Kant’s encounter with Raphaël, who forces her family to face their past. Mao’s “Atlantic Mirage” aims to create a bold queer genre film set in Agadir, rich with history and mystery.
Grande’s “Ithaca” explores a true story from the 1990s in Italy, where a teenager discovers that his parents are accused of his kidnapping. “The Year of the Cannibals” will be fully restored by film lab Cinegrell and is scheduled to be showcased at the Locarno Film Festival in 2025.