SWATCH SPOTLIGHTS YOUNG TALENT AT FESTIVAL DEL FILM LOCARNO

Swatch is back on the road, supporting up & coming young artists. The focus right now is on the Festival del film in Locarno, Switzerland, where the Swiss watchmaker roars into the leopard cage with two major prizes for emerging artists: the CHF 15,000 Swatch First Feature Award and the unconventional (and invaluable) Swatch Art Peace Hotel Award. Swatch has a sharp eye for creative potential and will be offering great opportunities to young filmmakers with something to say – something unexpected, positively provocative, and full of energy and creative smarts. A three-member jury of film industry professionals will select the Swatch First Feature Award winner: the Spanish writer, art historian and museum curator Chus Martinez; British film critic, screenwriter and director Jonathan Romney; and American producer and industry executive Ryan Werner. As Official Partner of the Festival, Swatch will also present one young filmmaker with an invaluable opportunity: an invitation to Shanghai, China, to live and work for six months at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel. Home to the renowned artist-in- residence program, the Swatch Art Peace Hotel will welcome the winning filmmaker into a diverse community of working artists from a variety of disciplines and countries. The 69th edition of the Festival del film Locarno kicks off August 3, 2016 and runs for 11 days, showcasing contemporary film art to a new generation of movie-lovers. The strong ties between Swatch and the Festival extend this year to its Summer Academy: Lei Lei, a Chinese animation artist and former artist-in-residence at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel, will join other young filmmakers in Locarno for the Summer Academy 2016. Celebrating young talents and the cinematic arts, Swatch has created BLACK LACQUERED/LFF 2016 (SUOB101D), a special edition available onsite during the Festival and in general release at Swatch stores around the world from June 30, 2016. #swatchlovesart #Locarno69