At the initiative of the Swiss Women’s Audiovisual Network (SWAN) Locarno Festival President Marco Solari and Vice President Carla Speziali will gather on August 5th during the 71st Locarno Festival to sign the Programming Pledge for Parity and Inclusion in Cinema Festivals for new commitments for parity and equality in the industry. Locarno will be the first A list Festival after Cannes Film Festival to sign the Pledge, as well as the first Swiss film festival. Journalists are invited to witness the event.

The signing of the Programming Pledge for Parity and Inclusion in Cinema Festivals takes place on August 5, 9:45 am, at the Spazio Cinema in Locarno, with:

• Marco Solari - President of Locarno Festival
• Carla Speziali - Vice-President of Locarno Festival
• Ursula Meier, director - Pledge Godmother & SWAN Creative Council
• Pauline Gygax, producer - Pledge Advisor & SWAN Advisory Council
• Gabriel Baur, Laura Kaehr (authors directors) and Stéphane Mitchell (screenwriter) - Co-Presidents of SWAN

The ceremony will start with welcoming words by SWAN Co-President Laura Kaehr and Federal Office of Culture Director Isabelle Chassot.

The Pledge commitments:

• To compile statistics according to gender, especially those regarding the number of films submitted, in order to support SWAN with reliable data.

• To disclose the list of the appointed members of selection committees and programmers, the aim being to eliminate any suspicion of a lack of diversity and parity while allowing the festivals to fully pursue their editorial and strategic choices.

• To commit to a transformation schedule of the executive bodies of festivals to reach parity progressively and at the earliest opportunity.

• This will enable SWAN to produce an annual report allowing an assessment of progress made.

Locarno will be the first A list Festival after Cannes Film Festival to sign the Pledge, as well as the first Swiss film festival. The Pledge was initiated by the French sister’s movement, 5050x2020 this May 2018 at the Cannes Film Festival.

About SWAN

SWAN, the Swiss Women’s Audiovisual Network, was created as a network group for Swiss women in 2016, first organized as a social media group. It brings together 1300 people coming from all fields in the cinema and audiovisual industry. On June 14th 2018, its association was founded on «national equality day», with a new Praesidium and Executive committee. SWAN aims for diversity and gender equality in the Swiss audiovisual industry. SWAN commits fully to its French sisters 5050x2020 and Le Deuxième Regard’s values:

• Equality restores the balance of power. 

• Diversity deeply changes representations.

• The opportunity to work in an egalitarian and inclusive environment must be seized because we are certain that the equal sharing of power will promote profound creative renewal.

accreditation HERE