19/08/2024 - The festival has elevated two courageous Lithuanian directors, Saulė Bliuvaitė and Laurynas Bareiša, to the highest podium, along with the equally radical Kurdish-Austrian director Kurdwin Ayub

The Locarno Film Festival has always sought to promote films that are thematically and aesthetically powerful, venturing off the beaten track to offer audiences an unexpected and deliberately critical view of society. This year’s awards continue that tradition, honouring bold and innovative productions that push the boundaries of cinema. Topping the podium at the 77th edition was Toxic [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Saulė Bliuvaitė
film profile], the debut feature by young Lithuanian director Saulė Bliuvaitė. The film addresses, unapologetically, the challenges of growing up in an environment where violence, even if hidden, seems to infiltrate everything. Bliuvaitė’s subversive portrayal of the conflicted relationship her protagonists have with their bodies – both a place of discovery and a battleground – made a strong impression, also captivating the jury led by Jessica Hausner. The film also took home the Swatch First Feature Award for best debut film and the Ecumenical Jury Prize.

"Cinema is a driving force, and Locarno is its flagship," said the festival's artistic director, Giona A Nazzaro. The awarded films, works of great aesthetic and thematic power, are a tangible example of this. Alongside the winner of the Golden Leopard, leading the International Competition, are two other debut films: Moon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kurdwin Ayub
film profile] by Kurdish-Austrian director Kurdwin Ayub, which received the Special Jury Prize, and Drowning Dry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurynas Bareiša
film profile] by Lithuanian director Laurynas Bareiša, who was awarded Best Director. Not to be forgotten are the two Special Mentions for Youth (Hard Times) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Wang Bing and Salve Maria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mar Coll
film profile] by Mar Coll.

The first, Moon, which also received the Europa Cinemas Label Award, tells the story of a former martial-arts professional, played brilliantly by Austrian performer and choreographer Florentina Holzinger, who leaves her country to train three sisters from a wealthy Jordanian family. The second, Drowning Dry, which is also Lithuanian, like Toxic, explores the psychological aftermath of a trauma, with the protagonists each grappling with it in their own way. The four actors in the film - Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela and Paulius Markevičius - also won the Best Performance Award, shared with Kim Minhee from the Korean flick By the Stream by Hong Sang-soo. Another film in the International Competition, Green Line [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Sylvie Ballyot, scooped the MUBI Award for Best Debut Feature.

The Cineasti del Presente Competition rewarded the creativity of two young directors making their debut features with its top prizes: Georgian filmmaker Tato Kotetishvili, who won the Golden Leopard for Holy Electricity [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tato Kotetishvili
film profile], and Swiss-born, Lisbon-raised helmer Denise Fernandes, of Cape Verdean heritage, who received the Award for Best Emerging Director for Hanami [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Denise Fernandes
film profile]. Fernandes also won the Best Emerging Director Award and a Special Mention for the MUBI Award – Debut Feature. The awards list is rounded off by Listen to the Voices [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maxime Jean-Baptiste
film profile] by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, which received the Special Jury Prize from Ciné+ and a Special Mention for the MUBI Award – Debut Feature. The Leopard for Best Performance went to Callie Hernandez for Invention and Anna Mészöly for Lesson Learned [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bálint Szimler
film profile]. Lesson Learned also received a Special Mention in the Cineasti del Presente Competition, alongside When the Phone Rang [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iva Radivojević
film profile] by Iva Radivojević.

The full list of award winners is as follows:

International Competition

Golden Leopard
Toxic [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Directors Talks @ European …
interview: Saulė Bliuvaitė
film profile] - Saulė Bliuvaitė (Lithuania)

Special Jury Prize
Moon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kurdwin Ayub
film profile] - Kurdwin Ayub (Austria)

Leopard for Best Direction
Laurynas Bareiša – Drowning Dry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurynas Bareiša
film profile] (Lithuania/Latvia)

Leopard for Best Performance
Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela, Paulius Markevičius – Drowning Dry
Kim Minhee – By the Stream (South Korea)

Special Mentions
Youth (Hard Times) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Wang Bing (France/Luxembourg/Netherlands)
Salve Maria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mar Coll
film profile] – Mar Coll (Spain)

Cineasti del Presente Competition

Golden Leopard
Holy Electricity [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tato Kotetishvili
film profile] - Tato Kotetishvili (Georgia/Netherlands)

Award for Best Emerging Director
Denise Fernandes - Hanami [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Denise Fernandes
film profile] (Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde)

Ciné+ Special Jury Prize
Listen to the Voices [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maxime Jean-Baptiste
film profile] - Maxime Jean-Baptiste (Belgium/France)

Leopard for Best Performance
Callie Hernandez – Invention (USA)
Anna Mészöly - Lesson Learned [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bálint Szimler
film profile] (Hungary)

Special Mentions
Lesson Learned - Bálint Szimler
When the Phone Rang [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Iva Radivojević
film profile] - Iva Radivojević (Serbia/USA)

Pardi di domani Competitions

International Competition

Golden Leopard for Best International Short Film
Washhh - Mickey Lai (Malaysia/Ireland)

Silver Leopard for the International Competition
Hymn of the Plague - Ataka51 (Germany/Russia)

Best Direction Award Pardi di domani
Joel Alfonso Vargas – Que te vaya bonito, rico (UK/USA)

Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Award
The Form - Melika Pazouki (Iran)

Special Mention
Freak - Claire Barnett (USA)

National Competition

Golden Leopard Swiss Life for Best Swiss Short Film
Sans voix - Samuel Patthey (Switzerland)

Silver Leopard Swiss Life for the National Competition
Better Not Kill the Groove - Jonathan Legg (Switzerland)

Best Swiss Newcomer Award
Gabriel Grosclaude – Lux carne (Switzerland)

Special Mention
Progress Mining - Gabriel Böhmer (UK/Switzerland)

Corti d’autore Competition

Golden Leopard Swiss Life for Best Auteur Short Film
Upshot - Maha Haj (Palestine/Italy/France)

Special Mention
The Masked Monster - Syeyoung Park (South Korea)

Special Mention and Locarno Film Festival short selected for the European Film Awards
La fille qui explose - Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel (France)

Semaine de la critique

Grand Prix Semaine de la critique – Prix SRG SSR
We, the Inheritors – Simon Baumann (Switzerland)

Marco Zucchi Award
The Deposition [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Claudia Marschal (France)

Other awards

Swatch First Feature Award (Award for Best Feature Debut)
Toxic - Saulė Bliuvaitė

MUBI Award – Debut Feature
Green Line [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Sylvie Ballyot (France/Lebanon/Qatar)
Special Mentions
Hanami - Denise Fernandes
Listen to the Voices - Maxime Jean-Baptiste

UBS Audience Award
Reinas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Klaudia Reynicke
film profile] – Klaudia Reynicke (Switzerland/Peru/Spain)

Letterboxd Piazza Grande Award
Gaucho Gaucho - Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw (USA/Argentina)

Pardo Verde
Agora [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ala Eddine Slim
film profile] - Ala Eddine Slim (Tunisia/France/Saudi Arabia/Qatar)
Special Mentions
Skill Issue [+see also:
film review
interview: Willy Hans
film profile] - Willy Hans (Germany/Switzerland)
Revolving Rounds - Johann Lurf, Christina Jauernik (Austria) (short)

Europa Cinemas Label
Moon - Kurdwin Ayub

FIPRESCI Award
Youth (Hard Times) – Wang Bing

Ecumenical Award
Toxic - Saulė Bliuvaitė

(Translated from Italian)