Kevin Costner 1990 Western Dances with wolves It contains an expanded director’s cut, now restored in 4K, which will premiere at the 79th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland this summer.
Organizers unveiled the Histoire(s) du Cinéma program on Monday, offering restorations and screenings of classics.
On Friday, August 7, the public in Locarno’s Piazza Grande will be able to experience the new version of… Dances with wolvesIt has been restored by the Zurich-based Cinegrell Laboratory in collaboration with the Locarno Festival through the Locarno Heritage Project and its international sales agent K5 International. “Costner’s Western epic, which won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, helped redefine the West in the early 1990s and drew global attention to the historical plight of indigenous peoples on the American continent,” Locarno said. “As presented on the giant screen of the Piazza Grande in a nearly four-hour extended edition – including more than half an hour of previously unseen bonus material – this restoration offers audiences the opportunity to rediscover Costner’s widely popular masterpiece as it was originally intended to be seen by the director himself.”
net fi A message from my village (1975), winner of the 2025 Heritage Restoration Competition mixing documentary and fiction, has also been recently restored by Cinegrell, the Locarno Heritage Project and its rights holder, the Arsenal Film Institute. “It is recognized as the first feature film by a woman from sub-Saharan Africa to receive commercial distribution, A message from my village Locarno pointed out that the film takes place in the Serer region in rural Senegal and follows a young couple whose plans to marry are thwarted by drought and unstable life conditions in the village.
Giona Nazzaro, Locarno Artistic Director, said: “The Locarno Film Festival’s connection with the history of cinema is deep and extends to all its eras and forms. From the tradition of grand and innovative retrospectives – enriched every year by exciting new additions – to the world-renowned restorations of Locarno’s heritage, the Festival has fostered a meaningful and multifaceted dialogue with world-renowned masterpieces of cinema and with those chapters of cinema yet to be discovered or preserved.”
He concluded: “From Kevin Costner to Safi Faye, the Locarno Film Festival engages with the cinema of the past while focusing on new generations and audiences of tomorrow, who are already preparing today to face the challenges posed by new technologies.”
In a special tribute to the centenary, History of Cinema will also screen Roger Corman’s final film as director. Frankenstein Unbound (1990), starring John Hurt, Raúl Julia and Bridget Fonda, which organizers described as “a bold mix of science fiction and gothic horror that creatively reconfigures the Frankenstein myth for the late twentieth century.” Locarno said the show will honor “the legacy of the courageous and prolific director and producer.”
“In the spirit of previous editions, this year’s Heritage Selection brings together a rich array of filmmakers and perspectives – from Isao Takahata to Roger Corman – to ensure the cinema of the past continues to live on in the present,” Locarno said.
As part of the festival’s long-term partnership with Cinémathèque Suisse, two films by Swiss director Issa Hesse-Rabinovich were screened: Sirinen-Eland (1981) and Geister and Gäste (1989), will be shown in the Cinéma Suisse Redécouvert section, showcasing rediscovered Swiss cinema from the past. The painter and graphic artist turned film director at the age of 50.
The Locarno Museum and MODAK – the Cantonal Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts in the Arts Platform 10 area are also collaborating to celebrate the works and legacy of the late Isao Takahata, one of the founders of Japan’s Studio Ghibli and “one of the greatest masters of animation,” the festival highlighted. Locarno79 will check out GThe rave of fireflies (1988) was presented in tribute to the director on Friday, August 7, by his son, Kosuke Takahata. The legendary Takahata visited Locarno in 2009 to receive the Cheetah Medal of Honor.
The 79th Locarno Festival is scheduled to take place from August 5 to 15.
