The Israeli Palestinian conflict looks set to play out in a spirit of competitive co-existence at the Locarno Film Festival where, despite tensions and the prospect of an Arab boycott, filmmakers from both sides will be in attendance, attesting the prominent role taken by the indie-centric Swiss event as propagator of all cinematographies with a special urgency. Locarno’s announcement in April that Israel’s vibrant film industry would be the focus of its informal market’s Carte Blanche pics-in-post showcase, thanks to a partnership with the Israel Film Fund, sparked immediate protest and a petition with signatories such as Ken Loach, Jean-Luc Godard and Mira Nair alongside prominent Palestinian auteurs Elia Suleiman (“The Time That Remains”), Hany Abu-Assad (“Paradise Now”), Annemarie Jacir (“When I Saw You”) and many other prominent Arab filmmakers, including Egypt’s Khaled Abol Naga and Hala Lotfty.

Read More at  www.variety.com