The Locarno Film Festival will host a retrospective titled 'Red & Black: Hollywood Left and the Blacklist,' featuring 50 films exploring the impact of the era's political intolerance.

The 79th Locarno Film Festival, scheduled for August 5-15, will feature a retrospective titled "Red & Black: Hollywood Left and the Blacklist." Curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht, the program examines the impact of the Hollywood blacklist on filmmakers, writers, and actors. The retrospective includes 50 titles, many presented in 35mm prints, and is supported by partners including the UCLA Film & TV Archive, Cinémathèque suisse, and the BFI.

Curatorial Focus and Historical Context

Curator Ehsan Khoshbakht developed the program to explore the "inner compulsion" of artists who faced professional exile rather than naming names during the McCarthy era. The retrospective highlights the work of figures such as John Garfield, Joseph Losey, Dalton Trumbo, Dorothy Parker, Richard Wright, and Charles Chaplin. Khoshbakht notes that the blacklist resulted in severe personal consequences, including destroyed families, health crises, and the forced deportation of artists like the actress from the film "Salt of the Earth."

Impact on Cinematic Style

Exile forced many blacklisted filmmakers to adapt to foreign industries, leading to an integration of European styles with American dynamism. Khoshbakht cites Joseph Losey’s "Stranger on the Prowl" as an example of blending neorealism with the "man-on-the-run" theme. Other filmmakers, such as Jules Dassin, explored new thematic interests, while some, like Bernard Vorhaus, saw their careers effectively end due to the displacement.

Rare Screenings and Festival Presentation

The program includes films rarely shown in major retrospectives, such as the pro-Soviet "Mission to Moscow" and the Spanish film "España otra vez," written by Hollywood Ten member Alvah Bessie. Additionally, the festival will screen Joseph Losey’s "The Intimate Stranger," a film that remained impossible to show for decades. The screenings will take place at the GranRex venue, with accompanying materials including a book of commissioned essays and a podcast.