78th Locarno Film Festival

The 78th Locarno Film Festival took place from 6 to 16 August 2025, in Locarno, Switzerland. Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh served as the jury president for the main competition.^[1]

78th Locarno Film Festival

Festival poster
Opening film	In the Land of Arto
Closing film	Kiss of the Spider Woman
Location	Locarno, Switzerland
Founded	1946
Awards	Golden Leopard: Two Seasons, Two Strangers
Hosted by	Associazione Festival del film Locarno
Artistic director	Giona A. Nazzaro
No. of films	221
Festival date	Opening: 6 August 2025 (2025-08-06) Closing: 16 August 2025 (2025-08-16)
Website	78 Locarno Film Festival

Japanese drama film Two Seasons, Two Strangers by Sho Miyake was the winner of the Golden Leopard, the festival's main prize. Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter's White Snail was the winner of the Special Jury Prize.^[2] American filmmaker Alexander Payne was honoured with Leopard of Honour (Pardo d’Onore) on 15 August.^[3][4]

The festival poster was designed by the German artist Wolfgang Tillmans. The poster features the festival’s iconic leopard resting on a tree branch, surrounded by a vivid mix of yellow and purple abstract patterns. Artistic director, Giona A. Nazzaro, noted that Tillmans' artwork portrays a vision of a world where people can coexist and collaborate.^[5]

Tamara Stepanyan's drama film In the Land of Arto was the festival's opening film, while Bill Condon's Kiss of the Spider Woman was the festival's closing film.

Crowd during Piazza Grande section public screenings

Red Carpet

Juries

Concorso Internazionale - Main Competition

Rithy Panh Jury President for the Main Competition

• Rithy Panh, Cambodian filmmaker and author - Jury President^[6]
• Carlos Reygadas, Mexican filmmaker
• Joslyn Barnes, American film producer and writer
• Ursina Lardi, Swiss actress
• Renée Soutendijk, Dutch actress

Concorso Cineasti del Presente - Filmmakers of the Present Competition

• Asmara Abigail, Indonesian actress, dancer, and model^[7]
• La Frances Hui, Curator of Film at Museum of Modern Art and Co-chair of the festival New Directors/New Films
• Kani Kusruti, Indian actress

Pardi di Domani - Short Film Competition

• Jihan El-Tahri, French-Egyptian filmmaker and producer^[8]
• Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, Mosotho filmmaker and visual artist.
• Sara Serraiocco, Italian actress

First Feature Competition

• James Hawkinson, American cinematographer^[9]
• Judith Lou Lévy, French producer and writer
• Patricia Mazuy, French filmmaker

Pardo Verde Competition

• Michael Almereyda, American filmmaker and film producer^[10]
• Martina Parenti, Italian filmmaker
• Seta Thakur, Swiss Head of Communications and Social Innovation, Wyss Academy for Nature

Independent Juries

Ecumenical Jury

• Melanie Pollmeier, Switzerland^[11]
• Ileana Bîrsan, Romania
• Philippe Cabrol, France
• Roland Kauffmann, France

FIPRESCI Award

• Alonso Aguilar Candanedo, Costa Rica
• Alessandro Amato, Italy
• Savina Petkova, Bulgaria
• Sabrina Schwob, Switzerland
• Britt Sørensen, Norwegian author

Europa Cinemas Label

• Yuliia Antypova, Ukraine
• Catherine Lemaire, Belgium
• Roxanne Sayegh, Canada
• Verena von Stackelberg, German film curator and programmer

Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique – Prix SRG SSR 2025 - Critics' Week Grand Prize

• Stéphane Gobbo, Switzerland 
• Mala Reinhardt, Germany
• Simonetta Sommaruga, Switzerland

The Premio Cinema Ticino Jury

• Cristina Trezzini, Jury President
• Nicola Bernasconi
• Frédéric Maire
• Antonio Mariotti
• Seraina Rohrer, Swiss audiovisual executive, academic, and innovation specialist for the creative industries.

Official sections

On 8 July the festival announced its line-up for this edition. It will screen 221 films, including 99 world premieres.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Piazza Grande

The following films were selected for the Piazza Grande section, these are eligible for Prix du public award:

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
The Birthday Party		Miguel Ángel Jiménez	Greece, Spain, Netherlands, United Kingdom
The Dead of Winter		Brian Kirk	United States, Germany
The Deal (TV series)		Jean-Stéphane Bron	Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium
Heads or Tails?	Testa O Croce?	Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis	Italy, United States
In the Land of Arto (opening film)	Le Pays D’arto	Tamara Stepanyan	France, Armenia
Irkala – Gilgamesh’s Dream	Irkalla Hulm Jijiljamish	Mohamed Al-Daradji	Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, France, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia
It Was Just an Accident	Un Simple Accident	Jafar Panahi	Iran, France, Luxembourg
Kiss of the Spider Woman (closing film)		Bill Condon	United States, Uruguay
The Little Sister	La Petite Dernière	Hafsia Herzi	France, Germany
Police Story (1985)	警察故事	Jackie Chan	Hong Kong
Rosemead		Eric Lin	United States
Sentimental Value	Affeksjonsverdi	Joachim Trier	Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden
The Shining (1980)		Stanley Kubrick	United Kingdom, United States
Together		Michael Shanks	Australia, United States

Main Competition (Concorso Internazionale)

The following films were selected for the Golden Leopard competition:^[16]

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Desire Lines	Linije Želje	Dane Komljen	Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Netherlands, Croatia, Germany
Donkey Days		Rosanne Pel	Netherlands, Germany
Dracula		Radu Jude	Romania, Austria, Luxembourg
Dry Leaf	ხმელი ფოთოლი	Alexandre Koberidze	Germany, Georgia
God Will Not Help	Bog Neće Pomoći	Hana Jušić	Croatia, Italy, Romania, Greece, France, Slovenia
The Lake	Le Lac	Fabrice Aragno	Switzerland
Mare's Nest		Ben Rivers	United Kingdom, France, Canada
Mektoub, My Love: Canto Due		Abdellatif Kechiche	France
Mosquitoes	Le Bambine	Valentina Bertani and Nicole Bertani	Italy, Switzerland, France
Phantoms of July	Sehnsucht in Sangerhausen	Julian Radlmaier	Germany
The Seasons	As Estações	Maureen Fazendeiro	Portugal, France, Spain, Austria
Solomamma		Janicke Askevold	Norway, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Finland
Sorella di Clausura		Ivana Mladenović	Romania, Serbia, Italy, Spain
Two Seasons, Two Strangers	旅と日々	Sho Miyake	Japan
Tales of the Wounded Land		Abbas Fahdel	Lebanon
White Snail		Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter	Austria, Germany
With Hasan in Gaza	مع حسن في غزّة	Kamal Aljafari	Palestine, Germany, France, Qatar
Yakushima's Illusion	L'Illusion de Yakushima	Naomi Kawase	France, Japan, Belgium, Luxembourg

Out of Competition (Fuori Concorso)

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Bobò		Pippo Delbono	Italy
Le Chantier		Jean-Stéphane Bron	France, Switzerland
The Deal		Jean-Stéphane Bron	Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium
Deathstalker		Steven Kostanski	United States, Canada
E		Anna Eriksson	Finland
Exile	إغتراب	Mehdi Hmili	Tunisia, Luxembourg, France, Qatar, Saudi ARabia
I Live Here Now		Julie Pacino	United States
Judas' Gospel	Il Vangelo di Giuda	Giulio Base	Italy, Poland
Keep Quiet		Vincent Grashaw	United States
Kerouac's Road: The Beat of a Nation		Ebs Burnough	United Kingdom, United States
Legend of the Happy Worker		Duwayne Dunham	United States
Nova '78		Aaron Brookner, Rodrigo Areias	United Kingdom, Portugal
Silence (series)	Silencio	Eduardo Casanova	Spain
Some Notes on the Current Situation		Eran Kolirin	Israel

Filmmakers of the Present Competition (Concorso Cineasti del Presente)

The Concorso Cineasti del Presente, also known as the Filmmakers of the Present Competition, showcases first and second feature films from emerging filmmakers.

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Affection Affection		Alexia Walther, Maxime Matray	France
A Balcony in Limoges	Un balcon à Limoges	Jérôme Reybaud	France
Balearic		Ion de Sosa	Spain, France
Becoming		Zhannat Alshanova	France, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Lithuania
Blue Heron		Sophy Romvari	Canada, Hungary
Don't Let Me Die	Nu mă lăsa să mor	Andrei Epure	Romania, Bulgaria, France
Don't Let the Sun		Jacqueline Zünd	Switzerland, Italy
Fantasy		Kukla Kesherovic	Slovenia, North Macedonia
The Fin		Park Syeyoung	South Korea, Germany, Qatar
Follies	Folichonneries	Éric K. Boulianne	Canada
Hair, Paper, Water....	Tóc, Giấy và Nước	Nicolas Graux and Minh Quý Trương	Belgium, France, Vietnam
Hijo Mayor		Cecilia Kang	Argentina, France
Olivia		Sofía Petersen	Argentina, United Kingdom, Spain
The Plant from the Canaries		Ruan Lan-Xi	Germany
Sweetheart	Gioia mia	Margherita Spampinato	Italy

Leopard of Tomorrow - Concorso Corti d'Autore

The Concorso Corti d'Autore portion of the Pardi di Domani competition features short films by established filmmakers.^[17][18]

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Cairo Streets		Abdellah Taïa	France
Hysterical Fit oF Laughter	Histeriöni Napad Smeha	Dušan Zorić and Matija Gluščević	Serbia, Croatia
Index		Radu Muntean	Romania
Late Harvest	Späternte	Katharina Huber	Germany
The Sleeping Beauty	Nang Norn	Mattie Do	United States, Laos, Thailand
Slet 1988		Marta Popivoda	Germany, France, Serbia
Solitudes		Ryan McKenna	Canada
The Dog Is My Dog	Su Cane Est Su Miu	Salvatore Mereu	Italy
A South-Facing Window	Une fenetre pi-ein sud	Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir	France, Mongolia
A Very Straight Neck		Neo Sora	Japan, China

Leopard of Tomorrow - Concorso Internazionale

The Concorso Internazionale portion of the Pardi di Domani competition features short and medium-length films by emerging international directors.^[17][18]

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Baisanos		Andrés Khamis Giacoman and Francisca Khamis Giacoman	Chile, Spain, Palestine
Bleifrei 95	Unleaded 95	Emma Hütt and Tina Emy Muffler	Austria, Germany
Blind, Into the Eye		Atefeh Kheirabadi and Mehrad Sepahnia	Germany, Iran
BOA		Alexandre Dostie	Canada, France
Eldorado		Anton Bialas	France
Force Times Displacement		Angel WU	Taiwan
Happily Ever After		Elodie Beaumont Tarillon	France
Honey, My Love, So Sweet		JT Trinidad	Philippines
Hyena		Altay Ulan Yang	United States
Primera Enseñanza		Aria Sánchez and Marina Meira	Cuba, Spain, Brazil
Still Playing		Mohamed Mesbah	France
The Uniformed		Timon Ott	Germany
What We Leave Behind	Ce qu'on laisse derrière	Alexandra Myotte and Jean-Sébastien Hamel	Canada

Leopard of Tomorrow - Concorso Nazionale

The Concorso Nazionale portion of the Pardi di Domani competition features short and medium-length films by emerging Swiss directors.^[17][18]

Original Title	English Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Air Horse One		Lasse Linder	Switzerland, Belgium
Black Mornings	Noirs Matins	David Gonseth	Switzerland
I-Iavant-Poste 21		Camille Surdez
I'm Not Sure	Ich Bin Nicht Sicher	Luisa Zürcher
The Gods	Les Dieux	Anas Sareen
Lost Touch		Justine Klaiber
Nest		Stefania Burla
Rio Remains Beautiful	O Rio De Janeiro Continua I-Indo	Felipe Casanova	Belgium, Brazil, Switzerland
Tusen Toner		Francesco Poloni	Switzerland
Yonne		Julietta Korbel and Yan Ciszewski	Switzerland, France

Retrospettiva

Great Expectations: British Postwar Cinema 1945-1960, "a tribute" to British cinema from that period promising to be "painting a rich and diverse picture of life in the postwar years as reflected in British popular cinema," said curator Ehsan Khoshbakht. It will showcase more than 40 films produced in partnership with the BFI National Archive and the Cinémathèque suisse, with the support of StudioCanal and curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht.^[19]

Year	English Title	Director(s)	Cast
1945	A Diary for Timothy	Humphrey Jennings	Myra Hess, George Woodbridge, John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave
1952	A Portrait of Ga	Margaret Tait	Margaret Tait
1948	Brighton Rock	John Boulting	Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, Carol Marsh, William Hartnell
1955	Cast a Dark Shadow	Lewis Gilbert	Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh, Robert Flemyng
1948	Daughter of Darkness	Lance Comfort	Anne Crawford, Maxwell Reed, Barry Morse, George Thorpe
1957	Hell Drivers	Cy Endfield	Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, Patrick McGoohan, Sean Connery
1960	Hell Is a City	Val Guest	Stanley Baker, John Crawford, Donald Pleasence, Billie Whitelaw
1952	Hunted	Charles Crichton	Dirk Bogarde, Jon Whiteley, Elizabeth Sellars, Kay Walsh
1945	I Know Where I'm Going!	Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger	Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, Pamela Brown, Finlay Currie
1959	I'm All Right Jack	John Boulting	Ian Carmichael, Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas, Margaret Rutherford
1947	It Always Rains on Sunday	Robert Hamer	Googie Withers, Edward Chapman, Susan Shaw
1950	Last Holiday	Henry Cass	Alec Guinness, Beatrice Campbell, Kay Walsh, Bernard Lee, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Sid James, Jean Colin, Ernest Thesiger
1952	Mandy	Alexander Mackendrick	Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Terence Morgan, Godfrey Tearle, Mandy Miller, Marjorie Fielding, Nancy Price
1960	Never Let Go	John Guillermin	Peter Sellers, Richard Todd, Elizabeth Sellars, Adam Faith
1950	Night and the City	Jules Dassin	Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Herbert Lom, Francis L. Sullivan
1958	Nowhere to Go	Seth Holt	George Nader, Maggie Smith, Bernard Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Bessie Love
1949	Obsession	Edward Dmytryk	Robert Newton, Sally Gray, Phil Brown, Naunton Wayne
1947	Odd Man Out	Carol Reed	James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, Kathleen Ryan, Fay Compton
1949	Passport to Pimlico	Henry Cornelius	Stanley Holloway, Margaret Rutherford, Hermione Baddeley, Paul Dupuis, Betty Warren
1960	Peeping Tom	Michael Powell	Carl Boehm, Moira Shearer, Anna Massey, Maxine Audley
1951	Pool of London	Basil Dearden	Bonar Colleano, Earl Cameron, Susan Shaw
1947	The Shop at Sly Corner	George King	Oskar Homolka, Muriel Pavlow, Derek Farr
1955	Simon and Laura	Muriel Box	Peter Finch, Kay Kendall, Muriel Pavlow, Ian Carmichael, Maurice Denham
1947	Temptation Harbour	Lance Comfort	Robert Newton, Simone Simon, William Hartnell, Marcel Dalio, Margaret Barton
1950	The Astonished Heart	Terence Fisher, Antony Darnborough	Noël Coward, Celia Johnson, Margaret Leighton, Joyce Carey, Graham Payn
1950	The Clouded Yellow	Ralph Thomas	Trevor Howard, Jean Simmons, Barry Jones, Kenneth More, Sonia Dresdel
1953	The Elephant Will Never Forget	John Krish	Documentary short – features real Londoners and tram workers; no credited cast
1948	The Fallen Idol	Carol Reed	Ralph Richardson, Michèle Morgan, Bobby Henrey, Denis O'Dea, Jack Hawkins
1957	The Flying Scot	Compton Bennett	Lee Patterson, Kay Callard, Alan Gifford, Jeremy Bodkin, Gerald Case
1950	The Happiest Days of Your Life	Frank Launder	Alastair Sim, Margaret Rutherford, Joyce Grenfell, Guy Middleton, Edward Rigby
1952	The Happy Family	Muriel Box	Stanley Holloway, Kathleen Harrison, Naunton Wayne, Shirley Mitchell, George Cole
1949	The Passionate Friends	David Lean	Ann Todd, Claude Rains, Trevor Howard, Isabel Dean, Betty Ann Davies
1952	The Stranger Left No Card	Wendy Toye	Alan Badel, Cameron Hall, Geoffrey Bayldon, Eileen Way, Ernest Butcher
1948	The Three Weird Sisters	Daniel Birt	Nancy Price, Mary Clare, Mary Merrall, Nova Pilbeam, Raymond Lovell
1950	The Woman in Question	Anthony Asquith	Jean Kent, Dirk Bogarde, John McCallum, Susan Shaw, Hermione Baddeley
1953	The Yellow Balloon	J. Lee Thompson	Andrew Ray, Kathleen Ryan, Kenneth More, William Sylvester, Sid James
1947	They Made Me a Fugitive	Alberto Cavalcanti	Trevor Howard, Sally Gray, Griffith Jones, Rene Ray, Mary Merrall
1948	This Was a Woman	Tim Whelan	Sonia Dresdel, Walter Fitzgerald, Emrys Jones, Barbara White, Cyril Raymond
1956	Tiger in the Smoke	Roy Ward Baker	Donald Sinden, Muriel Pavlow, Tony Wright, Bernard Miles, Christopher Rhodes
1957	Time Without Pity	Joseph Losey	Michael Redgrave, Ann Todd, Leo McKern, Peter Cushing, Alec McCowen
1951	To Be a Woman	Jill Craigie	Wendy Hiller, Julian Somers, Dana Wynter
1949	Train of Events	Sidney Cole, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden	Jack Warner, Valerie Hobson, Peter Finch, Joan Dowling, Laurence Payne
1953	Turn the Key Softly	Jack Lee	Yvonne Mitchell, Joan Collins, Kathleen Harrison
1949	Whisky Galore!	Alexander Mackendrick	Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, James Robertson Justice, Gordon Jackson, Jean Cadell
1952	Whispering Smith Hits London	Francis Searle	Richard Carlson, Greta Gynt, Herbert Lom, Rona Anderson, Alan Wheatley

Histoire(s) du Cinéma

The restored version of Roberto Rossellini's classic film Anno uno (Year One, 1974), will be screened in the festival as part of this section.^[20]

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Leopard Club Award to Emma Thompson
Sense And Sensibility (1995)		Ang Lee	United States
Premio Raimondo Rezzonico award to Abbout Productions
Costa Brava, Lebanon (2021)	كوستا برافا، لبنان	Mounia Akl	Lebanon, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Qatar
Memory Box (2021)		Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige	Lebanon, Canada, France, Qatar
Leopard Career Award to Jackie Chan
Project A (1983)	A計劃	Jackie Chan	Hong Kong
Leopard of Honour to Alexander Payne
The Descendants (2011)		Alexander Payne	United States
Nebraska (2013)
Vision Award Ticinomoda to Milena Canonero
Megalopolis (2024)		Francis Ford Coppola	United States
Premio Cinema Ticino award to Michele Dell'Ambrogio
L'Atalante (1934)		Jean Vigo	France
Cinéma Suisse Redécouvert
Bad Manners (1973)	Les vilaines manières	Simon Edelstein	Switzerland, France
L'Ogre (1986)
Locarno Heritage
Anno uno (1974)		Roberto Rossellini	Italy
The Year of the Cannibals (1969)	I Cannibali	Liliana Cavani
Histoire(s) du Cinéma
4 (2004)		Ilya Khrzhanovsky	Russia, Netherlands
A Bay of Blood (1971)	Reazione a catena	Mario Bava	Italy
Silent Light (2007)	Stellet Licht	Carlos Reygadas	Mexico, France, Netherlands, Germany

Open Doors Screenings

The Open Doors focused on 42 countries of the African continent.^[21]

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Ancestral Visions of the Future		Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese	France, Lesotho, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
Bougainvillea		Yasir Faiz	Egypt, Sudan
Jangu		Patience Nitumwesiga	Uganda
God'S Dream		Fousseyni Maïga, Mariam Kamissoko	Mali
Nome		Sana Na N'Hada	Guinea-Bissau, France, Portugal, Angola
Omi Nobi (The New Man)		Carlos Yuri Ceuninck	Cape Verde, Belgium, Germany, Sudan
The Bride		Myriam Birara	Rwanda
So Long a Letter		Angèle Diabang	Senegal, Mali, France, Ivory Coast, Egypt
VUTA N'KUVUTE (Tug of War)		Amil Shivji	Tanzania, South Africa, Germany, Qatar
When Nigeria Happens		Ema Edosio Share	Nigeria
The Last Journey		Abdoulaye Sall	Mauritania, Senegal
The Envoy of God		Amina Abdoulaye Mamani	Niger, Burkina Faso, Rwanda
Where My Memory Began		Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda	Sierra Leone

Locarno Kids

The following films will be screened in this section. The opening film of the section is Arco, a French animated feature about the fate of a world impacted by the climate change.^[22]

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Arco (opening film)		Ugo Bienvenu	United States, France
Fantastique		Marjolijn Prins	Belgium
The Badgers (closing film)	Grevlingene	Paul M. Lundø	Norway
I Won't Leave You Alone	Non ti lascio solo	Fabrizio Cattani	Italy
Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake	L’Olívia i el terratrèmol invisible	Irene Iborra Rizo	Spain
Pixie. The New Beginning	Skrzat. Nowy początek	Krzysztof Komander	Poland, Czech Republic
Secret Delivery	Tichá pošta	Ján Sebechlebský	Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia

Independent sections

International Critics' Week (Semaine de la Critique)

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
Flying Scents - of Plants and People		Antshi von Moos	Switzerland
Green Light	Grünes Licht	Pavel Cuzuioc	Austria, Romania
In the Penal Colony	Nella colonia penale	Gaetano Crivaro, Silvia Perra, Ferruccio Goia, Alberto Diana	Italy
She		Parsifal Reparato	Italy, France
Silent Legacy		Jenni Kivistö, Jussi Rastas	Finland, France, Burkina Faso
The Cowboy		André Hörmann	Germany, United States
Celtic Utopia	Útóipe Cheilteach	Dennis Harvey, Lars Lovén	Sweden, Ireland

Swiss Panorama (Panorama Suisse)

The independent Panorama Suisse section features highlights of contemporary Swiss cinema.^[23]

English Title	Original Title	Director(s)	Production Country
1:10		Sinan Taner	Switzerland
Bagger Drama		Piet Baumgartner
Pictures In The Head		Eleonora Camizzi
Frieda's Fall		Maria Brendle
Late Shift	Heldin	Petra Volpe	Switzerland, Germany
The Boy From The Drina		Zijad Ibrahimovic	Switzerland
Immortals		Maja Tschumi	Switzerland, Iraq
The Courageous	Les Courageux	Jasmin Gordon	Switzerland
Quir		Nicola Bellucci
The Safe House	La cache	Lionel Baier	Switzerland, Luxembourg, France
Wisdom Of Happiness		Barbara Miller, Philip Delaquis	Switzerland
Who Goes Hunting		Lea Favre

Industry Selections (Locarno Factory)

The Locarno Film Festival honors its heritage while embracing innovation, adapting to new audiences and trends. By involving young generations through dedicated training, the Festival strengthens its positive impact locally and globally.^[24][25]

Locarno Residency

The Locarno Residency supports emerging filmmakers developing their first feature film through a two-phase program. Ten selected participants join workshops and discussions during the Locarno Film Festival, after which three projects (two international, one Swiss) are chosen for a year-long mentorship, including online and in-person sessions in Venice and Arles.^[26]

Name	Country(ies)	Production Company	Original Project Title	English Project Title
Mouloud Ouyahia	Algeria, France	Oeil Vif productions/ Nana Prod	Al Madda	The Rift
Gala Hernández López	France, Spain	Les Films du Bal / Andergraun Films	All Night I Make the Night in Me
Leonardo Pirondi	Brazil, Portugal		AMERIKA'ATINGA
Ágata de Pinho	Portugal, Luxembourg	Uma Pedra no Sapato / Paul Thiltges Distributions	Femmes de Ménage	Women Who Clean
Maryam Tafakory	Iran, England	Vera Baxter Productions	Hospital of Irremediable Desires
Andrew Norman Wilson	Switzerland, USA		Interlaken
Li Shuen Lam	Singapore, Indonesia, Germany	13 Little Pictures / Palari Films / In Good Company	Keinginan	Strange Root
Mark Chua
Elisa Baccolo	Italy, Switzerland		Pelle	Skin
Ifeyinwa Arinze	Nigeria		Scruples
Luka Papić	Serbia	Ranč production	Viteška posla	Knights Anonymous

Jury and Tutors

Locarno Residency Jury

• Carlo Cresto-Dina (Film producer, Italy)
• Jing XU (Sales manager, China)
• Stefan Ivančić (Film director, producer and programmer)

Locarno Residency Tutors

• Tizian Büchi (Swiss director and programmer)
• Anna Ciennik (Script consultant, France)
• Stefan Ivančić (Film director, producer and programmer)

Locarno Academy

The Locarno Academy is a professional training initiative by the Locarno Film Festival, created to develop the skills of young filmmakers, critics, and film industry professionals.^[27]

Filmmakers Academy

The Locarno Filmmakers Academy, a ten-day intensive program for emerging filmmakers.^[28]

Name	Country
Ali Yahya Al-Ameri	Iraq
Andrea Muñoz	Colombia
Beza Hailu Lemma	Ethiopia
Bohao Liu	China
Dimitri Gorbaty	Russia
Erenik Beqiri	Albania
Flóra Anna Buda	Hungary
Giada Bossi	Italy
Johnson Cheng	United States
Nathan Ghali	France
Ngoc Duy Le	Vietnam
Olivia Frey	Switzerland
Pom Bunsermvicha	Thailand
Rodrigo Ribeyro	Brazil
Simon Maria Kubiena	Austria
Tatjana Fanny Honegger	Switzerland
Tynystan Temirzhan	Kyrgyzstan
Walt Mzengi Corey	Tanzania
Xiwen Cong	China
Yihan Lin	China

Critics Academy

The Locarno Critics Academy is a 10-day workshop that introduces young writers to film festivals, offering hands-on coverage and sessions with industry professionals.^[29]

Name	Country
Bandamlak Y. Jemberie	Ethiopia
Botagoz Koilybayeva	Kazakhstan
Cátia Rodrigues	Portugal
Charlyne Genoud	Switzerland
Jason Liwag	Filipina
José Emilio Gonzalez Calvillo	Mexico
Olivia J. Bennett	Australia
Olivia Popp	United States
Saffron Maeve	Canada
Sonya Vseliubska	Ukraine

Official Awards

Main Competition

• Golden Leopard: Two Seasons, Two Strangers by Sho Miyake^[2]
• Special Jury Prize: White Snail by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter
• Pardo for Best Direction: Abbas Fahdel for Tales of the Wounded Land
• Pardo for Best Perfomance:
  • Marya Imbro for White Snail
  • Mikhail Senkov for White Snail
  • Manuela Martelli for God Will Not Help
  • Ana Marija Veselčić for God Will Not Help
• Special Mention: Dry Leaf by Alexandre Koberidze

Concorso Cineasti del Presente

• Golden Leopard – Filmmakers of the Present: Hair, Paper, Water by Nicolas Graux and Minh Quý Trương^[2]
• Best Emerging Director Award: Cecilia Kang for Hijo Mayor
• Special Jury Prize CINÉ+: Sweetheart by Margherita Spampinato
• Pardo for Best Performance:
  • Aurora Quattrocchi for Sweetheart
  • Levan Gelbakhiani for Don't Let the Sun

Pardi di Domani

• Pardino d’Oro WePresent by WeTransfer for the Best Auteur Short Film: A Very Straight Neck by Neo Sora^[2]
• Pardino d'Oro Arts3 Foundation for the Best International Short Film: Hyena by Altay Ulan Yang
• Pardino d’Oro SRG SSR for the Best Swiss Short Film: Rio Remains Beautiful by Felipe Casanova
• Pardino d'Argento Arts3 Foundation for the International Competition: Still Playing by Mohamed Mesbah
• Pardino d’Argento SRG SSR for the National Competition: Tusen Toner by Francesco Poloni
• Pardi di Domani Best Direction Award – BONALUMI Engineering: Primera Enseñanza by Aria Sánchez and Marina Meira
• Best Swiss Newcomer Award: Camille Surdez for I-Iavant-Poste 21
• Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Award: Force Times Displacement by Angel WU

First Feature Film Competition

• Blue Heron by Sophy Romvari^[2]

Pardo Verde

• Mare's Nest by Ben Rivers^[2]
• Special Mentions:
  • Hair, Paper, Water by Nicolas Graux and Minh Quý Trương
  • A South-Facing Window by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir

Piazza Grande

Prix du Public

Presented in partnership with UBS, the Prix du public is the official audience award of the Locarno Film Festival.^[30]

• Rosemead by Eric Lin

Special awards

Leopard of Honour (Pardo d’Onore Manor)

• Alexander Payne^[3]

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Lucy Liu^[31][32]

  

  Emma Thompson recipient of Leopard Club Award

Leopard Club Award

• Emma Thompson^[33]

Jackie Chan, 2025 recipient of the Leopard Career Award

Pardo alla carriera (Leopard Career Award)

• Jackie Chan^[34][35]

Premio Raimondo Rezzonico

• Abbout Productions, led by Georges Schoucair and Myriam Sassine^[36][37]

Vision Award Ticinomoda

Main article: Vision Award (Locarno Film Festival)

• Milena Canonero^[38]

Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare

• Marcel Barelli^[22]

Premio Cinema Ticino Award

• Michele Dell'Ambrogio^[39][40]

Excellence Award Davide Campari

• Golshifteh Farahani^[41]