Born from a pressing need to forge new ties between the Locarno Film Festival and the next generation of creators, BaseCamp turns a familiar obstacle into a fertile possibility. In an era when the cost of participation often outweighs enthusiasm, it offers more than just attendance: here, culture is created, explored, and discussed in real time.

Each August, for eleven days, over two hundred emerging artists—filmmakers, designers, musicians, writers, performers, thinkers—come together to live, work, and exchange ideas under one roof. Shared accommodation and meals dissolve logistical barriers, while unrestricted access to all Festival screenings and events ensures that inspiration flows freely.

Envision BaseCamp as a temporary society—equal parts sanctuary and stage—where participants live, collaborate, and create side-by-side. This is no static residency but a living democratic ecosystem.

By night, the BaseCamp Pop-Up awakens: open to the public with free access and affordable food and drinks, it hosts installations, performances, conversations, and concerts that invite informal exchange.

BaseCamp is also about education. In 2022, the BaseCamp Academy was created—a daily program of meetings, masterclasses, conversations, and roundtables. What sets the BaseCamp Academy apart is its multidisciplinary approach which, although part of a Film Festival, goes beyond the boundaries of cinema as a classical art form and embraces new languages, formats, and artistic and scientific expressions, fostering constant cross-pollination between them. Over the years, several internationally renowned guests have helped make the Academy’s program truly unique.

Within the educational journey offered by BaseCamp, the annual event “Future of…” stands out—an initiative created in collaboration with Professor for the Future of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, Kevin B. Lee. Through meetings, lectures, and artistic performances, the “Future of…” event creates cultural, political, social, and ethical scenarios imagining the world of tomorrow.

From the outset, BaseCamp was never intended to be a fixed entity; it’s a living experiment, evolving each year as a creative laboratory and cultural epicentre. BaseCamp reminds us that festivals need not be passive showcases but active arenas where new ideas emerge, are tested, and take shape.

This must be the place!

Born from a pressing need to forge new ties between the Locarno Film Festival and the next generation of creators, BaseCamp turns a familiar obstacle into a fertile possibility. In an era when the cost of participation often outweighs enthusiasm, it offers more than just attendance: here, culture is created, explored, and discussed in real time.

Each August, for eleven days, over two hundred emerging artists—filmmakers, designers, musicians, writers, performers, thinkers—come together to live, work, and exchange ideas under one roof. Shared accommodation and meals dissolve logistical barriers, while unrestricted access to all Festival screenings and events ensures that inspiration flows freely.

Envision BaseCamp as a temporary society—equal parts sanctuary and stage—where participants live, collaborate, and create side-by-side. This is no static residency but a living democratic ecosystem.

By night, the BaseCamp Pop-Up awakens: open to the public with free access and affordable food and drinks, it hosts installations, performances, conversations, and concerts that invite informal exchange.

BaseCamp is also about education. In 2022, the BaseCamp Academy was created—a daily program of meetings, masterclasses, conversations, and roundtables. What sets the BaseCamp Academy apart is its multidisciplinary approach which, although part of a Film Festival, goes beyond the boundaries of cinema as a classical art form and embraces new languages, formats, and artistic and scientific expressions, fostering constant cross-pollination between them. Over the years, several internationally renowned guests have helped make the Academy’s program truly unique.

Within the educational journey offered by BaseCamp, the annual event “Future of…” stands out—an initiative created in collaboration with Professor for the Future of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts, Kevin B. Lee. Through meetings, lectures, and artistic performances, the “Future of…” event creates cultural, political, social, and ethical scenarios imagining the world of tomorrow.

From the outset, BaseCamp was never intended to be a fixed entity; it’s a living experiment, evolving each year as a creative laboratory and cultural epicentre. BaseCamp reminds us that festivals need not be passive showcases but active arenas where new ideas emerge, are tested, and take shape.

This must be the place!