Red & Black: Hollywood's Dark Era - A Retrospective on the McCarthy Era at Locarno Film Festival
The Locarno Film Festival will feature a retrospective on the "Red Scare" and the Hollywood blacklist of the McCarthy era. Titled "Red & Black – Hollywood Left and the Blacklist," the festival will explore a politically charged period in American cinema history. From 1947 to the early 1960s, Hollywood professionals suspected of communist ties faced a crackdown, leading to a suppression of free expression and exile for many artists.
Produced in collaboration with the Cinémathèque Suisse and with the support of UCLA Film & Television Archive, the program aims to shed light on the era when creatives faced unprecedented abuse of state and industry power. The festival will showcase films from directors, writers, and stars like John Garfield, Joseph Losey, Dalton Trumbo, Dorothy Parker, Richard Wright, and Charles Chaplin, offering a complex portrait of the era.
The retrospective will feature a diverse selection of films, including fiction, documentaries, newsreels, and shorts from various countries. Digital restorations and archival prints will be presented, accompanied by a book with contributions from film scholars and critics. Additionally, a podcast written by the curator, Ehsan Khoshbakht, will provide historical context on the blacklist era.
Khoshbakht emphasized the importance of exploring the intersection of political consciousness and film during this turbulent period in Hollywood history. The retrospective aims to offer new perspectives on the McCarthy era's witch hunts and the impact of political persecution on the film industry. Artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro described the retrospective as a critical and historical endeavor that will illuminate a dark chapter in Hollywood's past.
The 79th Locarno Film Festival, scheduled for August 5-15, will provide audiences with a unique opportunity to revisit and reflect on the challenges faced by filmmakers during the Red Scare and the Hollywood blacklist era.