What an eye-opener (poisonous), the feature debut of Lithuanian writer and director Saulė Bliuvaitė, which explores the human body and the mysterious modeling agency, won the 2024 International Competition at the Locarno Film Festival and won the Golden Leopard Award. Organizers of Locarno77 called the film “a poignant portrait of teenage girls and the overwhelming expectations imposed on them.”
Meanwhile, the Special Jury Prize went to Iraqi-born Austrian director Kurdwin Ayub for his sophomore fiction feature Mongolian (moon). The film tells the story of Sarah, a former martial artist who leaves Austria to train three sisters from a wealthy Jordanian family. “It’s all about the sisters, no matter where they come from, and it’s all about the cages, no matter where they are,” Ayoub said.
Lithuania, which has a population of around three million, was represented by two teams at this year’s Locarno International and was awarded an extra prize on Saturday. Laurynas Bareiša wins best director award sesses (Drowning), tells the story of two sisters experiencing a life-changing family tragedy. THR‘s review called the filmmaker’s second feature “subtle and haunting.”
Locarno also presented two Best of Show awards. One went Drowning Starring Gelmini Gramzait, Agni Kaktet, Gedelius Kira, Paulius Markovicius. The other one was awarded to Kim Min-hee, who starred in Hong Sang-soo Shuiyouchuan (By the stream).
The international jury of “Locarno77” is headed by Austrian director Jessica Hausner and includes actor/writer/director/producer Tim Blake Nelson, Indian film production Filmmaker Payal Kapadia (Everything we imagine is light), Italian actor Luca Marinelli (old guard) and Belgian producer Diana Erlbaum (Eller, green border).
Among other honors in Locarno, Tato Kotetishvili received the Golden Leopard Award in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente program, which focuses on first and second films holy electricity.
In the same section, the Panthers’ top performance was awarded to Callie Hernandez (Alien: Covenant; la la land) for her role in Courtney Stephens’ movie inventionand Anna Mészöly in black spots (Lessons learned) directed by Hungarian director Balint Simler.
Two debut novel honors were awarded to poisonous (Swatch First Feature Film Award), and Sylvie Ballyot’s green line (Mubi Awards – Premiere).
Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, praised “a truly unique edition that once again marks the Locarno Film Festival as a film festival cherished by audiences and film circles around the world.” .Creativity and hope for a better tomorrow are elements that run through all parts, and Locarno is its flagship.
He praised the Locarno Film Festival for its “ability to identify the most innovative talent in the industry” and for the “significant attention our jury gives to the boldest female directors”. Nazzaro concludes: “Locarno77 reinforces the centrality of female voices in contemporary cinema.”
On Saturday, the closing night of the festival will take place in the picturesque Grand Piazza of the Swiss town, where the Prix du Public UBS Awards and the Letterboxd Piazza Grande Awards will be celebrated and the closing film will be screened dog on trial (dog trial) Author: Leticia Dosch.
Locarno Film Festival 2024 honors Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan, New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion, Swiss animator Claude Barras, independent filmmaker Stacy ·The honor of Sher et al. Star Wars and indiana jones Sound designer Ben Burtt and French actors Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet were the stars of the opening night movie flood (flood) is directed by Italian filmmaker Gianluca Giordis.
Locarno77 screened 225 films and more than 300 screenings, as well as Columbia Pictures’ 100th anniversary retrospective “The Lady with the Torch.”
Here are all the winners of the 77th Locarno Film Festival.
international competition (International competition)
Pardo d’Oro – Locarno Film Festival and Locarno City Awards
Akiprasa (poisonous) Author: Saulė Bliuvaitė, Lithuania
Special Jury Prize – City of Ascona and Losso
Mongolian Author: Kurdwin Ayub, Austria
Pardo wins Best Director Award – City and Region of Locarno
Lorenas Barresa SESE (Drowning), Lithuania/Latvia
Pardo Award for Best Performance
Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela, Paulius Markevičius SESE (Drowning) Author: Laurynas Bareiša, Lithuania/Latvia
Pardo Award for Best Performance
Jin Minxiwei Shui Youtian (Beside the stream) Author: Hong Sang-soo, South Korea
special mention
QING CHUN (KU) (Youth (hard times)) Author: Wang Bing, France/Luxembourg/Netherlands
hello mary (Mother doesn’t do this) Author: Mar Coll, Spain
Filmmakers in this competition (for the first and second functions)
Golden Leopard – Film Producer of this Competition
holy electricity Author: Tato Kotetishvili, Georgia/Netherlands
Best New Director Award – Locarno City and Region
Denise Fernandez HanamiSwitzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde
CINÉ+ Special Jury Award
listen to sounds (listen to sounds) Author: Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Belgium/France/French Guiana
Pardo Award for Best Performance
Carly Hernandez invention Author: Courtney Stephens, USA
Pardo Award for Best Performance
Anna Mészöly black spots (Lessons learned) Author: Bálint Szimler, Hungary
special mention
black spots (Lessons learned) Author: Bálint Szimler, Hungary
when the phone rings (when the phone rings) Author: Iva Radivojević, Serbia/USA
tomorrow’s leopard (Showing short and medium-length films focused on experimental and innovative formats)
Author Short Film Competition
Pardino d’Oro Swiss Life Best Director Short Film Award
result Author: Maha Haj, Palestine/Italy/France
special mention
GWE-IN (from Zhengchi) (masked monster) Author: Syeyoung Park, South Korea
Locarno Film Festival Short Film Candidate – European Film Award
exploding girl Authors: Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, France
international competition
Pardino d’Oro SRG SSR Best International Short Film Award
Wash HH Author: Mickey Lai, Malaysia/Ireland
Pardino d’Argento SRG SSR International Competition
Jim Chumey (Plague Song)Ataka51, Germany/Russia
Pardi di Domani Best Mentoring Award – BONALUMI Engineering
Have a beautiful way, be rich Author: Joel Alfonso Vargas, UK/US
Media Patent Administration AG Award
sheet Author: Melika Pazouki, Iran
special mention
monster Author: Claire Barnett, United States
national competition
Pardino d’Oro Swiss Life Award for Best Swiss Short Film
Speechless Author: Samuel Patthey, Switzerland
Pardino d’Argento Swiss Life National Competition
It’s best not to break the rhythm Author: Jonathan Leggett, Switzerland
Best Swiss Newcomer Award
Gabriel Grossclaude luxury meatSwitzerland
special mention
Mining Progress Author: Gabriel Böhmer, UK/Switzerland
The first feature
Swatch Award for First Feature Film
Akiprasa (poisonous) Author: Saulė Bliuvaitė, Lithuania
MUBI Awards – Debut
green line Author: Sylvie Ballyot, France/Lebanon/Qada
special mention
Hanami Author: Denise Fernandes, Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde
listen to sounds (listen to sounds) Author: Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Belgium/France/French Guiana
Green brown (The Green Panther Award honors films by directors with a vision “relevant to new concepts of humanity on Earth”)
Supported by the Regional Development Agency of Locarno and Vallemaggia
Green brown
Now Author: Ala Eddine Slim, Tunisia/France/Saudi Arabia/Qada
special mention
stains Author: Willy Hans, Germany/Switzerland
spinning wheel Authors: Johann Lurf and Christina Jauernik, Austria