![]() 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 Closing: 16 August 2025 |
Website | 78 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]
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.
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]
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
The Concorso Corti d'Autore portion of the Leopard of Tomorrow 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 |
The Concorso Internazionale portion of the Leopard of Tomorrow 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 |
The Concorso Nazionale portion of the Leopard of Tomorrow 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 |
A tribute to British cinema from that period. More than 40 films screened in partnership with the BFI National Archive and the Cinémathèque suisse, with the support of StudioCanal and curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht. [19]
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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]
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 |
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]
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 |
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 |
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