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Locarno festival to screen 4K restored extended director’s cut of Kevin Costner’s ‘Dances With Wolves’
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Culture/The Apex Times/Jul 6, 5:08 AM EDT

Locarno festival to screen 4K restored extended director’s cut of Kevin Costner’s ‘Dances With Wolves’

The 79th Locarno Film Festival’s “Histoire(s) du Cinéma” program will premiere a new 4K restoration of the Oscar-winning western for audiences on the Piazza Grande, alongside newly restored works from filmmakers including Isao Takahata and Roger Corman.

3 min readEditor-approved Apex article

The 79th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland will premiere a newly restored 4K edition of Kevin Costner’s 1990 western Dances With Wolves, featuring an extended director’s cut version that festival organizers say will play in a nearly four-hour runtime on the festival’s Piazza Grande screen. Organizers announced the restoration and summer screening as part of the festival’s History-leaning programming under its Histoire(s) du Cinéma banner, which is designed to present “cinema of the past with an eye to the new generations and the audiences of tomorrow.”

Festival organizers said the restored extended edition is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 7, when audiences in the Piazza Grande square will be able to watch the new version. The restoration work was carried out by the Zurich-based laboratory Cinegrell, in collaboration with the Locarno festival through its Locarno Heritage project, and through international sales agent K5 International.

In announcing the edition, Locarno said Costner’s western helped “redefine the western at the turn of the 1990s,” and drew global attention to what the festival described as the historical plight of Indigenous peoples on the American continent. The festival also said the nearly four-hour extended edition incorporates “over half” of additional material, as presented on the giant screen for the open-air audience.

Locarno’s Histoire(s) du Cinéma lineup also includes films from Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, as well as works by filmmaker Roger Corman, according to organizers. The festival said the program, unveiled Monday, pairs restored classics with additional screenings to provide context for contemporary audiences.

Separately, Locarno said it is also showcasing a newly restored title connected to its own preservation efforts. Safi Faye’s Letter From My Village (1975), which Locarno described as the winner of the 2025 Heritage Restoration Contest, will screen in its newly restored form. The festival said the restoration was done by Cinegrell, in collaboration with the Locarno Heritage project and the film’s rights holder, Arsenal FilmInstitut.

The festival said Letter From My Village, recognized in Locarno’s description as the first feature film by a woman from sub-Saharan Africa to receive commercial distribution, is set in Senegal in the Serer region and follows a young couple whose plans to marry are thwarted by drought and the precarious conditions of village life.

Organizers’ announcement framed the program as part of a broader effort to keep older films accessible through modern restorations and festival presentations. The immediate next step for audiences is the Aug. 7 Piazza Grande screening of Dances With Wolves, followed by the rest of Locarno’s Histoire(s) du Cinéma program running during the festival’s 79th edition.

With the restored versions arriving through Locarno Heritage and partner organizations, the screenings also highlight the practical infrastructure behind film preservation: lab restoration work, rights-holder involvement, festival distribution platforms, and international sales support intended to bring archival material back into public view.

Why It Matters

  • Festival restorations can affect public access to major films by presenting upgraded versions in high-profile venues, such as Piazza Grande’s open-air screen.
  • For audiences, the Aug. 7 screening offers a specific, time-bound chance to experience an extended director’s cut newly restored in 4K.
  • Locarno Heritage’s contest and partner-based restoration model can influence how rights holders and restoration labs allocate resources for archival preservation.
  • The program’s mix of restored works by multiple prominent filmmakers underscores how heritage initiatives can broaden cultural programming beyond contemporary releases.
  • By pairing restored classics with festival curation, organizers aim to maintain intergenerational exposure to older cinema while bringing preservation work into public view.

Sources

Key Facts

  • Locarno’s Histoire(s) du Cinéma program includes a 4K restoration of Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves (1990) featuring an extended director’s cut.
  • The restored Dances With Wolves will premiere for audiences on Locarno’s Piazza Grande on Friday, Aug. 7.
  • The restoration was done by Zurich-based laboratory Cinegrell in collaboration with the Locarno festival’s Locarno Heritage project and international sales agent K5 International.
  • Locarno said the film’s Piazza Grande screening will run nearly four hours and includes “over half” of additional material, as described by organizers.
  • The festival said Histoire(s) du Cinéma will also include films from Isao Takahata and Roger Corman.
  • Safi Faye’s Letter From My Village (1975) will screen in a newly restored form; Locarno described it as the winner of its 2025 Heritage Restoration Contest.
  • Locarno said Letter From My Village’s restoration involved Cinegrell, Locarno Heritage, and rights holder Arsenal FilmInstitut.
Locarno festival to screen 4K restored extended director’s cut of Kevin Costner’s ‘Dances With Wolves’ | The Apex Times