Locarno International Film Festival will lift the curtain on 6 August with Tamara Stepanyan’s Franco‑Armenian drama “In the Land of Arto,” placing the first‑time fiction director on the Piazza Grande and giving Armenian cinema a prominent slot at the 78th edition of the Swiss showcase.
The 104‑minute film stars French actor Camille Cottin and Cannes‑winning Iranian‑French performer Zar Amir Ebrahimi. Cottin portrays Céline, a Parisian who travels to Armenia to register her husband Arto’s death, then learns he fought in recent and older wars under a stolen identity, leaving behind wounded veterans who view him as a deserter.
Stepanyan shot the picture across Armenia in mid‑2024 with acclaimed cinematographer Claire Mathon and a score by guitarist Marc Ribot; production was handled by La Huit, Pan Cinéma and Visan, all backed by French‑Armenian financing. International sales were secured this month by Brussels‑based Be For Films, positioning the title for further festival and market exposure.
A newly released clip shows Cottin and Ebrahimi driving along snow‑lined mountain roads and inspecting abandoned barracks, hinting at a story shaped by unresolved conflict and personal deception.
Stepanyan’s documentaries “Village of Women” and “Those from the Shore” earned prizes from Busan to Boston; critics have cited her focus on displacement and memory, elements that resurface here through Céline’s attempt to untangle her late spouse’s past. The director called the film “a way to confront ghosts that still inhabit the Caucasus” in recent Armenian‑language press.
Following its world premiere the film will reach French cinemas on 7 January 2026 via Pan Distribution, with further territory deals expected during Locarno’s industry program
