Kairat

The 45th Locarno Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 August 1992 in Locarno, Switzerland. All 19 films in competition were premieres, 14 were world premieres and the rest European premieres. Ten film in competition were first time features from directors. This was Marco Mueller's first year as festival head and artistic director following the departure of David Strieff. Mueller wished to refocus the festival as a "market festival" in order to compete in the mid-level film festival circuit. Under his leadership, the festival adjusted to attract more market buyers. Utilizing its $3.5 million budget, the festival paid for the hotels and food for around 50 distributors and buyers to entice them to attend. In addition, 30 buyers trips were paid for by the European Film Distribution Office (EFDO), which held its annual meeting in Locarno. In total, around 100 market buyers and distributors attended the festival. The festival also upped its prize money to $50,000 for first prize, the Golden Leopard, $30,000 for the runner up Silver Leopard and $20,000 for the Bronze Leopard. Mueller also launched his pet project and entered into film production. Through the Montecinemaverità Foundation, he created a program to fund new films in exchange for the right to premiere the films at the Locarno festival upon completion. The opening film of was the newly restored The Leopard directed by Luchino Visconti. Some world premieres included, Daniel Schmid's Off Season in the Piazza Grande and Wolfgang Becker's Child's Play in competition. The Golden Leopard, the festival's top prize, was awarded to Autumn Moon directed by Clara Law.