76th Locarno Film Festival

The 76th annual Locarno Festival was held from 2 August to 12 August 2023 in Locarno, Switzerland.

French actor Lambert Wilson was the head of the Main Competition Jury. American filmmaker Harmony Korine received the Pardo d’Onore Manor.

Iranian film '' Critical Zone'', directed by Ali Ahmadzadeh, was the winner of the Golden Leopard, the festival main prize. Radu Jude's ''Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World'' was the winner of the Special Jury Prize.

For this year edition, the acting categories ( Best Actor/Best Actress) became gender-neutral after the creation of the Best Performance category. At the Main Competition, the winners were Dimitra Vlagopoulou for ''Animal'' and Renée Soutendijk for ''Sweet Dreams''''.''

Juries

''Concorso Internazionale'' - Main Competition

* Lambert Wilson, French actor - Jury President
* Charlotte Wells, Scottish filmmaker
* Matthijs Wouter Knol, Dutch CEO and Director of the European Film Academy
* Lesli Klainberg, President of Film at Lincoln Center
* Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Iranian actress and producer

Filmmakers of the Present Competition

* Beatrice Fiorentino, Italian General Delegate of the Film Critics’ Week at the Venice Film Festival
* Erige Sehiri, French-Tunisian director
* Helena Wittmann, German filmmaker

Leopard of Tomorrow

* Matthew Rankin, Canadian filmmaker
* Amos Sussigan, Swiss director and production designer
* Ewa Puszczyńska, Polish producer

First Feature

* Devika Girish, Indian-American film critic and programmer
* Omar El Zohairy, Egyptian filmmaker
* Isabel Sandoval, Filipina filmmaker

''Pardo Verde Ricola'' (Green Leopard)

* Firouzeh Khosrovani, Iranian filmmaker
* Arami Ullón, Swiss-Paraguayan director, screenwriter and producer
* Moussa Sene Absa, Senegalese filmmaker and painter

Official Sections

''Piazza Grande''

17 films, including 9 world premieres, were screened at the Piazza Grande, Locarno's open-air theater that accommodates a nightly audience of up to 8,000 people:

Main Competition (''Concorso Internazionale'')

The Concorso internazionale explores new territories in moviemaking. This year's selection of 17 titles, all world premieres and one as an international premiere, will be competing for the Pardo d’oro:

Out of Competition (''Fuori Concorso'')

The Fuori concorso section features 12 films, of which 11 are world premieres, from outstanding directors’ intent on exploring new possibilities in filmic narration:

Filmmakers of the Present Competition (''Concorso Cineasti del presente'')

The Concorso Cineasti del presente selection, dedicated to discovering the cinema of tomorrow, comprises 15 films: first and second features, all world premieres:

Leopard of Tomorrow (''Pardi di Domani'')

The ''Pardi di domani'' section, dedicated to short films by emerging Swiss and international directors, combines with auteur shorts competition ''Concorso Corti d’autore'' to screen a total of 40 films, all presented as world premieres. The selection is completed by the collection of short films made during the Spring Academy, led this year by director Radu Jude:

''Concorso Internazionale''

''Concorso Nazionale''

''Concorso Corti d’Autore''

''Pardi di Domani'': Special event

Open Doors: Screenings

In the second of three years dedicated to cinemas in Latin America and the Caribbean, Open Doors will offer an overview of the most interesting independent productions from its current focus region. For the Open Doors Screenings, this year's focus will be on film from South American continent, with 18 long, medium and short films, of which one is a world premiere:

''Histoire(s) du Cinéma''

Unprecedented perspectives on movie history with 18 films, including prestigious restored titles, valuable rediscoveries and works that have become part of the collective imagination:

''Retrospettiva''

“''Espectáculo a diario – Las distintas temporadas del cine popular mexicano''” (“Spectacle Every Day – The Many Seasons of Mexican Popular Cinema”) will offer an intensive investigation of Mexican filmmaking from the 1940s to the end of the 1960s, covering decades hallmarked by astonishing creativity and peppered with stars of the silver screen and one-of-a-kind directors who were an inspiration for generations. This year's Retrospective is curated by Olaf Möller, in collaboration with Roberto Turigliatto. A collection of essays in Spanish and English to accompany the event, curated by Jorge Javier Negrete Camacho and Alonso Díaz de la Vega, will be published by Les éditions de l’Œil:

Locarno Kids: Screenings

A rite of passage into the movies, with 8 titles for children and teenagers, featuring exclusive premieres, golden oldies, and forays into the world of animation:

Independent Sections

International Critics' Week (''Semaine de la Critique'')

Founded in 1990, the ''Semaine de la Critique'' is an independent section within the Locarno Film Festival organized by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists. This year's Locarno's Critics’ Week features 7 full-length documentaries as world or international premieres:

''Panorama Suisse''

A selection of titles representing the state of the art in Swiss cinema, chosen by representatives from SWISS FILMS, the Solothurner Filmtage and the Swiss Film Academy, ''Panorama Suisse'' presents 10 current Swiss films such as festival successes, audience favorites and films that have not yet been released in theaters. Film lovers from all over the world have the opportunity to discover current Swiss filmmaking in its own dedicated section at the Locarno Festival.:

Special Awards

Leopard of Honour (Pardo d’Onore Manor)

* Harmony Korine

Premio Raimondo Rezzonico

* Marianne Slot

Excellence Award Davide Campari

* Riz Ahmed

Official Awards

''Concorso Internazionale'' - Main Competition

* Golden Leopard (Pardo d'oro): '' Critical Zone'' by Ali Ahmadzadeh
* Special Jury Prize: ''Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World'' by Radu Jude
* Pardo for Best Direction: ''Stepne'' by Maryna Vroda
* Pardo for Best Performance:
** Dimitra Vlagopoulou for ''Animal''
** Renée Soutendijk for '' Sweet Dreams''
* Special Mention: ''Obscure Night - Goodbye Here, Anywhere'' by Sylvain George

''Concorso Cineasti del presente'' (Filmmakers of the Present Competition)

* Golden Leopard - Filmmakers of the Present: '' Dreaming & Dying'' by Nelson Yeo
* Best Emerging Director: Katharina Huber for ''A Good Place''
* Special Jury Prize CINÉ+: ''Camping du Lac'' by Éléonore Saintagnan
* Pardo for Best Performance
** Clara Schwinning for ''A Good Place''
** Isold Halldórudóttir and Stavros Zafeiris for ''Touched''
* Special Mentions:
** ''Excursion'' by Una Gunjak
** ''Negu hurbilak'' by Colectivo Negu

References

External links

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{{Locarno International Film Festival

Locarno
2023 festivals in Europe
2023 in Switzerland
Locarno Film Festival