Sigurjón Sighvatsson receives Locarno honor, discusses AI's impact on filmmaking

Icelandic producer Sigurjón Sighvatsson will receive the Raimondo Rezzonico Award at the Locarno Film Festival on Friday. The award honours a career that began with the 1990s blockbuster *Wild at Heart* and continued with the 1997 biopic *Basquiat*. He spoke at the ceremony about how artificial intelligence and streaming giants like Netflix are reshaping cinema. He also criticised Cannes, saying it no longer knows what it means to be a film festival.

The film world is in flux. Big studios are shrinking as streaming platforms grow. AI tools can now write scripts, edit footage, and even generate visual effects. Smaller festivals are stepping in to showcase independent work that big studios overlook. Sighvatsson argues that these festivals will survive the “mega cinema” era that dominated the early 2000s. His comments come after Netflix announced a record $10 billion spend on original content in 2023.

Sighvatsson’s career spans more than 30 years. He produced *Wild at Heart* for David Lynch and *Basquiat* for director Julian Schnabel. He also co‑founded the production company that launched the first Icelandic film to win an Oscar. At Locarno, he noted that AI can reduce post‑production time by up to 30 percent and lower costs for indie filmmakers. He said the industry must adapt or risk being left behind. Critics at the festival welcomed his views but warned that AI could threaten jobs in the creative sector.

The award ceremony will finish with a screening of Sighvatsson’s latest project, a documentary about Iceland’s film history. He plans to use the prize money to fund new AI‑driven filmmaking tools. His remarks have sparked a debate among festival organisers about how to balance technology and tradition. The Locarno jury will decide next year’s recipients, and industry insiders will watch closely to see if smaller