USI and the Locarno Film Festival invite applications to become Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts

Today saw the publication of the call for applications to take up the new professorship, whose work will unfold in the context of both the Locarno Film Festival and the Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society at USI, the Università della Svizzera italiana in Switzerland, engaging in new research on film festivals and the future of the cinema. The final appointee will be selected before next summer and will take up the position in the period September 2021 - January 2022. The creation of the new chair, the first professorship of its kind, will strengthen the proactive ties between the Locarno Film Festival and USI, establishing the Canton Ticino as a creative and academic hub for studying the ongoing changes impacting film and cultural events.

At a time when film festivals worldwide are resetting their strategies to adjust to both the disruption of the global pandemic and the challenging scenarios facing the media in the future, the Locarno Film Festival and USI are seeking the right candidate for an entirely new academic profile, entitled Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts.

The new professorship marks a significant convergence between the academic sphere and the actual practice of live events, with both domains set to benefit from the establishment of common cultural ground, drawing on precious resources to face an external environment undergoing profound change. The successful applicant will bring valuable input to the Locarno Film Festival’s strategies for growth, in the shape of data, research and focused studies, while at the same time broadening the spectrum of research and developing new teaching pathways at USI. 

Training for the future

The Locarno Film Festival and USI are not just neighbors in Ticino but have many cultural objectives in common, and the project is premised on these shared aspirations. Its brief will be to further extend the range of Festival initiatives dedicated to film studies, audiovisual education and involvement of the younger audience, complementing the activities of the Locarno Academy and exploring the digitized aspects of film education and dissemination of cinema in all its forms.

On the University side, the new position will encourage growth in an innovative research field that will place USI’s Faculty of Communication, Culture and Society at the center of the international theoretical debate on festivals and their developing relationship with new technologies. The professorship will also contribute research and in-depth analysis towards USI course pathways on audiovisual and image studies.

Candidate profile and terms of the call for applications

Candidates are sought with a background in film and/or cultural production and management in an audiovisual context. The ideal candidate will have professional experience in research and training at international level and will combine his/her academic activities with wide-ranging international involvement in the field of film and/or audiovisual (or related) fields, as curator of events, film or art critic and experimental practitioner in moving image theory and ideas. The candidate’s field of expertise will include the digital environment, defined as the full range of image production practices and distribution modes for film and/or audiovisual content. He/she will also be capable of developing and conducting an interdisciplinary rationale, with the aim of building a platform for planning and study concepts within the Locarno Film Festival and USI, with the involvement of outside partners.

The professorship will be a full-time position, commencing September 2021. Preferential consideration will be given to applications received before the end of January 2021.

For the detailed notice and terms of the call for applications, visit here.