The Locarno Film Festival will celebrate Italian-American actress, model and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini with the Excellence Award at its upcoming 79th edition. Rossellini will be honoured on the opening night of the festival on Wednesday 5 August, in Piazza Grande. “An icon of contemporary cinema, television, and fashion whose name is virtually synonymous with artistic … Read more
The Locarno Film Festival will celebrate American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky with the Pardo d’Onore, presented by Manor, at its 79th edition. Aronofsky will receive the festival’s honorary leopard on Friday 14 August in Piazza Grande, as well as present, in the programme, two of his most “outstanding and singular” works from his career: The Fountain … Read more
The poster for the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival has been unveiled, featuring a character created by Cindy Sherman, rendered in stark black and white and wrapped in a yellow leopard-spotted headscarf. It was produced exclusively for the festival by the renowned American artist. “Through a practice rooted in staging, transformation and role‑play, … Read more
The Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors initiative has announced the winners of its 2025 co-production platform and talent development programme
The selection for the 78th Locarno Film Festival was unveiled at the official press conference, featuring highly anticipated titles from the three feature competitions – including 99 world premieres – alongside a rich selection from the non-competitive sections. Between August 6-16, 2025, the Swiss city of Locarno will transform into a bustling crossroads for the … Read more
The Locarno Film Festival’s honorary leopard, presented by Manor, will be given to the internationally recognised and celebrated American filmmaker during Locarno78, on the night of Friday, August 15, 2025. Payne will also present his films The Descendants (2011) and Nebraska (2013) and participate in a public discussion with the festival audience. The distinctive voice behind a slate … Read more
Widely celebrated for her iconic performances across film, television, and stage, Lucy Liu will be honoured with the prestigious Career Achievement Award at the Locarno Film Festival on Thursday, August 14, 2025. Following the award ceremony, Liu will present the international premiere of Rosemead (2025), directed by Eric Lin, alongside the film’s cast and crew on … Read more
The Locarno Film Festival’s prestigious career achievement award, presented by Ascona-Locarno Tourism, will be given to the iconic superstar on the evening of Saturday, August 9. The actor will also introduce his films Project A (1983) and Police Story (1985), both directed and starring Jackie Chan, as part of the tribute. The audience will have an opportunity to meet … Read more
The poster for the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, depicting a leopard on a tree branch amid an acid trance of yellow and purple abstraction, was exclusively created by Turner Prize-winning German artist Wolfgang Tillmans for the Festival. Internationally regarded as one of the most influential and prolific artists of our time, Wolfgang … Read more
As its 77th edition draws to a close, the Locarno Film Festival looks forward to a new era, building on past successes and embracing positive change for the future. Locarno77 showed a path forward for the Festival, bringing increased audience numbers (+3.5%) and engagement across the board. For 11 days, theaters in Locarno were packed … Read more
MUBI and Locarno Film Festival partner on new award
Some of the most distinctive voices of contemporary cinema feature in the juries of Locarno77, tasked with awarding the Pardo d’Oro and other coveted prizes on the closing day of the Festival, August 17. As was previously announced, Austrian director Jessica Hausner will serve as president of the Jury that awards the Pardo d’Oro to the filmmakers in the Concorso … Read more
The Lifetime Achievement Award, the Locarno Film Festival’s tribute to film personalities with extraordinary careers, will be given this year to five-time Academy Award-winning Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón. He will receive the award on Sunday, August 11 in Piazza Grande. That same day, the audience will have an opportunity to meet Cuarón in a panel … Read more
The official selection for the 77th Locarno Film Festival was unveiled at a press conference, featuring highly awaited competition titles alongside non-competitive sections. In addition, the Excellence Award Davide Campari, given to film personalities with extraordinary careers, will this year go to beloved French stars Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet. From 7-17 August, the love … Read more
The Locarno Film Festival will pay tribute to Ben Burtt – legendary sound designer, editor, and voice actor behind the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises and winner of four Academy Awards – with the Vision Award Ticinomoda, the prize dedicated to creatives whose work has extended the horizons of cinema. The award will be … Read more
Producer Stacey Sher will be presented with the Raimondo Rezzonico Award at this year’s edition of the Locarno Film Festival. The prestigious award, dedicated to outstanding personalities who have played a major role in international production, honors this pivotal figure in the world of American independent film, a woman whose determination and vision as producer … Read more
The poster for the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, featuring a leopard standing gracefully at the edge of Lago Maggiore, was created by internationally renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz exclusively for the Festival. For the past fifty years, Annie Leibovitz has been one of the most sought-after international photographers, best known for her portraits of prominent … Read more
The Locarno Film Festival’s Pardo d’Onore Manor, the award for outstanding achievement in cinema, will be given to Jane Campion, the internationally acclaimed filmmaker from New Zealand, on the evening of Friday 16 August. The 77th edition of the Festival will feature screenings of two of her celebrated titles selected by the director herself: An Angel … Read more
Indonesia’s Edwin has received Locarno Film Festival’s top honour, the Golden Leopard, for his latest feature Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, which had its world premiere in the Swiss festival’s International Competition. The Indonesia-Singapore-Germany co-production – adapted and based on a literary work by Eka Kurniawan – is being handled internationally by The … Read more