Reflecting on my time at the Locarno Film Festival, I find that this experience has not profoundly changed the person I am. No revelations, no catharsis, no reinvention of the self. And – setting aside any flowery language and exuberant descriptions – no one would have reasonably expected such an outcome. It is just a film festival after all.
But a good one. For more than a week, Locarno transforms into the world capital of auteur cinema and attracts audiovisual artists and connaisseurs from across the globe. During these days, the festival’s iconic leopard signals the beginning of films that contrast conventional storytelling. Hollywoodian battles of the good against the evil and the spectacles of excessive explosions are replaced with thoughtful reflections on the human condition and address the intricacies of contemporary societal conflicts. By considering diverse perspectives and challenging conventional notions of morality and justice, these films lead audiences to confront uncomfortable truths.
I can’t pretend to have fully understood all the films I attended – some were labeled “experimental” for very good reason. However, the ones I did understand left a lasting impression. I believe these films are truly significant and hold value to society, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have experienced them. Now, you might be wondering where you can watch such films, and I found myself asking the same question after the festival. Unfortunately, many of them are only fleetingly available before vanishing from view. You might want to ask your favorite director for a “link”, but if you don’t have access to such resources, MUBI is a great platform collecting arthouse films – I was told (and no, I’m not sponsored).
The Locarno experience is more than just the festival itself. As science ambassadors of the NCCR MSE, we were embedded in the BaseCamp program – a dynamic hub offering young creatives a unique opportunity to connect, share ideas, and actively contribute to the festival’s creative landscape. But not everything revolves around movies. This year marked the introduction of a library, intended to be a growing collection that will evolve with contributions from participants over the years. Its inaugural addition, Hold The Sound, is a collaborative work by artists and scientists that invites readers to delve into the ephemeral nature of sound, bridging the auditory and material world. In connection with filling the library, the Museo Hermann Hesse Montagnola invited us to discuss which books belong in a universal library – a concept Hesse explored in his 1929 essay Eine Bibliothek der Weltliteratur. Which one would you choose?
As part of the ambassador program, our goal was to reciprocate the insights and discoveries we gained about the audiovisual arts by sharing a piece of our own world with the festival. We aimed to communicate science with participants, and most importantly not to them, by introducing a pipetting robot that printed pixelated art. This served as a catalyst for conversation and exchange, and I am truly grateful for the people I could meet and the team I was with.
I would like to express my gratitude to those who made this project possible: Stefano and Justine Knuchel, along with their dedicated team, who worked tirelessly to shape this experience; Ralf Stutzki from the University of Basel, who invited us to be part of this year’s NCCR MSE program in Locarno; and the lab automation facility and Treutlein lab at ETH Zurich for their support with the robot. I hold these memories dear, and for anyone who managed to read through and arrive at the end of this essay: I highly recommend applying. This experience is an inspiration and worth every second.
Adnan
Hi there! I am a half-German, half-Egyptian biotechnologist from Dresden, a beautiful city located in the eastern part of Germany. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the inventions of nature, and reading about the adventurous expeditions of my childhood heroes Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin motivated me to become a scientist. Through meticulous comparative work, spanning species to ecosystems, they were able to describe fundamental principles at the very core of nature.
Nowadays, scientists typically don’t sail around the world anymore, and my scientific path led me to join the Quantitative Developmental Biology lab at ETH Zurich as a doctoral student. Here, I am working on computational and experimental methods investigating the axolotl, a salamander native to only a few lakes in Mexico. Urbanization has pushed axolotls to the brink of extinction, limiting access to a species with the remarkable ability to fully regenerate injured body parts, including the nervous system. When suffering from damage to the brain, stem cells give birth to new neurons, which replace the lost tissue and reconnect to the correct target regions, ultimately forming functional circuits again. Elucidating the mechanisms involved and identifying obstacles to this process in other species, including us humans, is the focal point of the research our team is conducting here.
My life outside of work is filled with literature, art, and music. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to receive extensive training in piano lessons and art classes, and although I now don’t have time to practice enough to call myself an artist, I can appreciate the virtuosity displayed at art galleries and music performances. Apart from that, I have been fencing for multiple years, which then transitioned to Standard and Latin dances as well as exercising at the gym. The dreams of going to culinary school one day did not quite harmonize with my scientific pursuits, but I am still very passionate about improving my skills as a chef.
Attending the Locarno Film Festival through the NCCR MSE is an exciting opportunity for scientists to explore and connect to the world of the audiovisual arts, and – now that you got to know me – I am looking forward to meeting you there!