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LOCARNO 2015 Awards

The winners of the 68th Locarno Film Festival: independent and surprising

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- LOCARNO 2015: The Locarno Film Festival remains true to form with a list of winners that supports independent and lesser-known cinema

The winners of the 68th Locarno Film Festival: independent and surprising
Cosmos by Andrzej Żuławski

Right Now, Wrong Then, by Korean director Hong Sangsoo, who won the Leopard for Best Director back in 2013 with his film Our Sunhi, takes home no fewer than two prestigious awards from the Locarno Film Festival this year: the Golden Leopard and the Leopard for Best Actor (which went to Jung Jae-Young).

Although the many European films in competition failed to assert themselves in the International Competition, they fared well in the parellel sections, winning a number of prizes. One very well-received exception was the stunning Cosmos [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victória Guerra
film profile
]
, heralding the return of Andrzej Żuławski after a long absence of fifteen years, which was awarded the Leopard for Best Direction in the International Competition. France took home another three awards: the Variety Piazza Grande Award which went to Summertime [+see also:
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]
by Catherine Corsini with superb performances from Cécile de France and Izïa Higelin, the FIPRESCI Prize for Suite Armoricaine [+see also:
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by Pascale Breton, and Locarno’s Nomination for the European Film Awards, chosen from among the international ‘Leopards of Tomorrow’ films (short and medium-length films) which went to Lola Quivoron and her fascinating Fils du Loup. 

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Instead, it was Dead Slow Ahead [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mauro Herce
film profile
]
, the unstoppable ghost ship of Spanish director Mauro Hence, that won the Ciné+Cineasti del presente Special Jury Prize in the Cineasti del presente section. A special mention went to the extremely current Russian/Estonian/Ukranian co-production Kiev/Moscow. Part 1, by Elena Khoreva, in the First Feature section, which awards the best debut film. Turning to the winners in the international competition of the Leopards of Tomorrow, which include many European films, two awards went to Georgian film Mama by Davit Pirtskhalava (the Pardino d’oro for Best International Short Film – the SRG SSR Prize and the Film und Video Untertitelung subtitling prize, meaning that subtitles will now be developed for the film in three Central European languages), and of course the special mention that went to Fils du Loup. Turning to the national competition, the Pardino d’oro for Best Swiss Short Film went to the intense Le barrage by Geneva-born director Samuel Grandchamp. Le barrage is the film he made for his degree at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and was co-produced with his production company ViceVersal in Geneva. The Pardino d’argento went to D’ombres et d’ailes by Eleonora Marinoni and Elice Meng, and the Best Swiss Newcomer Award went to Les monts s’embrasent by Laura Morales, which was produced by Geneva-based production company HEAD.

German film The People vs. Fritz Bauer [+see also:
trailer
interview: Lars Kraume
film profile
]
by Lars Kraume, which had the honour of being screened in its global premiere in the evocative Piazza Grande, was awarded the Prix du Public UBS for a value of 30,000CHF. Critics’ Week, on the other hand, awarded two emotional Polish documentaries, with Bracia (Brothers) [+see also:
trailer
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]
by Wojciech Starón winning the SRG SSR/Critics’ Week Prize and Móv mi Marianna (Call me Marianne) by Karolina Bielawska, the story of a woman trapped in a man’s body in catholic Poland, of surrender, bitterness and hope, winning the Zonta Club Locarno Prize for the promotion of justice and social ethics. Staying with the independent juries, the Europa Cinemas Label Prize was awarded to Keeper [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Guillaume Senez ­
interview: Kacey Mottet Klein
film profile
]
, the debut feature film of promising Belgian director Guillaume Senez, and two prizes were awarded by the Junior Jury: first prize (6,000CHF) went to Italian film Lost and Beautiful [+see also:
film review
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interview: Pietro Marcello ­
film profile
]
by Pietro Marcello and third prize (2,000CHF) went to the Swiss whirlwind of a film Wonderland [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Carmen Jaquier and Lionel R…
film profile
]
by Lisa Blatter, Gregor Frei, Jan Gassmann, Benny Jaberg, Carmen Jaquier, Michael Krummenacher, Jonas Meier, Tobias Nölle, Lionel Rupp and Mike Scheiwiller, both of which featured in the International Competition.

Golden Leopard: Right Now, Wrong Then, Hong Sang-Soo
Special Jury Prize: Tikkun, Avishai Sivan
Best Director: Andrzej Zulawski, Cosmos
Best Actress: Tanaka Sachie, Kikuchi Hazuki, Mihara Maiko and Kawamura Rira, Happy Hour
Best Actor: Jung Jae-Young, Right Now, Wrong Then
Special Mentions: Happy Hour, Hamaguchi Ryusuke (screenplay) and Tikkun, Avishai Sivan (cinematography)

Golden Leopard Cineasti del presente: Thithi, Raam Reddy
Special Jury Prize Cineasti del presente: Dead Slow Ahead, Mauro Herce
Best Emerging Director: Kaili Blues, Bi Gan

First Feature AwardThithi, Raam Reddy
Art Peace Hotel Award:
 Paradise, Sina Ataeian Dena
Special Mentions: Kaili Blues, Bi Gan and Kiev/Moscow. Part 1, Elena Khoreva

Audience Award: The People vs. Fritz Bauer, Lars Kraume
Piazza Grande Award: La Belle Saison, Catherine Corsini

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(Translated from Italian)

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