The 77th Locarno Film Festival awarded its Pardo d’Oro to Saulė Bliuvaitė‘s Akiplėša (Toxic), a gripping tale of adolescent girls’ inner struggle with their bodies.
With a rich and eclectic program, the official selection of Locarno77 brilliantly defended all facets of cinema, whether popular or auteur, experimental or classical. This year’s edition combined resounding box-office success – with numerous sold-out screenings and long queues in the streets of Locarno – with the carefully considered programming of the parallel sections for which the Festival is now renowned.
The 77th Locarno Film Festival crowned Saulė Bliuvaitė’s Akiplėša (Toxic), a harrowing portrait of teenage girls confronted with the social injunctions that oppress them. Also in the Concorso Internazionale section, Kurdwin Ayub’s Mond won the Special Jury Prize, while the Pardo for Best Direction went to Laurynas Bareiša for Seses (Drowning Dry). Prizes for best acting went respectively to Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela and Paulius Markevičius for Seses (Drowning Dry), and to Kim Minhee, star of Hong Sangsoo’s SUYOOCHEON (BY THE STREAM). The Concorso Cineasti del Presente Pardo d’Oro was awarded to Tato Kotetishvili’s HOLY ELECTRICITY.
Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival, was delighted with this success and the presence of women in the awards: “This exceptional edition has once again demonstrated why Locarno is a festival prized by audiences the world over, as well as by the film industry… Locarno77 has vigorously reaffirmed the central place of female voices in contemporary cinema.”
With 225 films on the program and over 300 screenings, Locarno’s cinemas were packed to the rafters. Here’s the prize list.
Concorso Internazionale
Pardo d’Oro – Grand Prix of the Festival and City of Locarno
AKIPLĖŠA (TOXIC) by Saulė Bliuvaitė, Lituania
Special Jury Prize – Cities of Ascona and Losone
MOND by Kurdwin Ayub, Austria
Pardo for Best Direction – City and Region of Locarno
Laurynas Bareiša for SESES (DROWNING DRY), Lituania/Lettonia
Pardo for best performance
Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela, Paulius Markevičius for SESES (DROWNING DRY) by Laurynas Bareiša, Lituania/Lettonia
Pardo for best performance
Kim Minhee for SUYOOCHEON (BY THE STREAM) by Hong Sangsoo, South Corea
Special Mention
QING CHUN (KU) (YOUTH (HARD TIMES)) by WANG Bing, France/Luxembourg/Netherlands
SALVE MARIA by Mar Coll, Spain
Filmmakers of the Present Competition
Golden Leopard – Filmmakers of the Present Competition
HOLY ELECTRICITY by Tato Kotetishvili, Georgia/Netherlands
Prize for best emerging director – City and Region of Locarno
Denise Fernandes by HANAMI, Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde
CINÉ+ Special Jury Prize
KOUTÉ VWA (LISTEN TO THE VOICES) by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Belgium/France/Guyane
Pardo for best performance
Callie Hernandez for INVENTION by Courtney Stephens, United States
Pardo for best performance
Anna Mészöly for FEKETE PONT (LESSON LEARNED) by Bálint Szimler, Hungary
Special Mention
KADA JE ZAZVONIO TELEFON (WHEN THE PHONE RANG) by Iva Radivojević, Serbia/United States
Pardi di Domani
Concorso Corti d’Autore
Pardino d’Oro Swiss Life for the Best Auteur Short Film
UPSHOT by Maha Haj, Palestine/Italy/France
Special Mention
GWE-IN ESI JEONGCHE (THE MASKED MONSTER) by Syeyoung Park, South Corea
Locarno Film Festival short film nominated for European Film Awards
LA FILLE QUI EXPLOSE by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, France
Concorso Internazionale
Pardino d’Oro SRG SSR for the Best International Short Film
WASHHH by Mickey Lai, Malaysia/Ireland
Pardino d’Argento SRG SSR for the International Competition
GIMN CHUME (HYMN OF THE PLAGUE) by Ataka51, Germany/Russia
Pardi di Domani Best Direction Award – BONALUMI Engineering
QUE TE VAYA BONITO, RICO by Joel Alfonso Vargas, United Kingdom/United States
Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Award
THE FORM by Melika Pazouki, Iran
Special Mention
FREAK by Claire Barnett, États-Unis
Concorso Nazionale
Pardino d’Oro Swiss Life for the Bestational Competition
BETTER NOT KILL THE GROOVE by Jonathan Leggett, Switzerland
Best Swiss Newcomer Award
Gabriel Grosclaude for LUX CARNE, Switzerland
Special Mention
PROGRESS MINING by Gabriel Böhmer, United Kingdom/Switzerland
First Feature – Swatch First Feature Award
AKIPLĖŠA (TOXIC) by Saulė Bliuvaitė, Lituania
MUBI Award – Debut Feature
GREEN LINE by Sylvie Ballyot, France/Lebanon/Qatar
Special Mention
HANAMI by Denise Fernandes, Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde
KOUTÉ VWA (LISTEN TO THE VOICES) by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Belgium/France/Guyane
Pardo Verde
AGORA by Ala Eddine Slim, Tunisia/France/Saudi Arabia/Qatar
Special Mention
DER FLECK by Willy Hans, Germany/Switzerland
REVOLVING ROUNDS by Johann Lurf and Christina Jauernik, Austria