Organising a festival: planning, negotiating, travelling

All those who took part in the piazza nostra project agree that festival guests coming to stay in Locarno are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Throughout the year, an immense amount of work takes place behind the scenes. The pace of that work picks up more and more as the festival approaches: human resources, administration, scheduling, hospitality, communication, security, projection, decoration, etc. Although for a long time it was men (the directors and presidents) who were the public face of the festival, a very large proportion of the work has always been done by women. 

Many people work hard for days - right up to the last second - to ensure that every detail of the show is exactly as it should be. Behind its very Swiss brand image (cleanliness, accessibility and professionalism), the festival is made possible by international teams who speak many languages. Despite the stress, the extended schedules, the night-time working and endless travel, taking part in a collective cultural project is a decisive motivation for the witnesses who speak in this video.

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This video is part of the exhibition «We are the festival too! New voices on the history of the Locarno Film Festival».