Locarno Film Festival

The 79th Locarno Film Festival brought competition screenings, the open-air Piazza Grande programme and a Blacklist retrospective to Locarno in 2026. Florin Șerban’s You Don’t Belong Here won the Pardo d’Oro, while Petra Volpe’s Frank & Louis received the Prix du Public UBS. Locarno Pro welcomed 2,140 accredited film-industry professionals. The Open Doors Grants totalled CHF 50,000: CHF 20,000 went to A Vineyard For A Lobster, directed by Talemwa Pius and produced by Emmanuel Gashumba (Gripmagic Uganda Limited); CHF 20,000 to Accept My Plea for Burial, directed by Mohammed Sheikh and produced by Kadir Harbi (Aleel Films); and CHF 10,000 to Too Much Music, directed and produced by Aseye Fiagbe (Aseye Fiagbe Creative Studio). Chapa 100, directed by Ique Langa and produced by Lara Sousa (Kulunga Filmes), received the €8,000 CNC Development Grant. The Ones with the Tempered Flowers, directed by Neema Ngelime and produced by Ivy Kiru (LBx Africa), received the €6,000 ARTEKino International Award and the Sørfond Award, providing participation in the Sørfond pitching event in November. I Live in V.I., directed by Ugochukwu Azuya and produced by Olubunmi Ogunsola (ENSEMBLE, Nigeria), received the Tabakalera-San Sebastian Film Festival Residency Award. Sarah, directed by Pocas Pascoal (Angola), received the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) Award. Adja Mariam Mahre Soro (Studio KÄ, Ivory Coast) received IFFR Pro’s Rotterdam Lab Award. Mamounata Nikiema (Pilumpiku Production, Burkina Faso) received the EAVE/Film Fund Luxembourg scholarship. Historia de primavera (Spring Story), directed by Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo and produced by Guillermo and Raffo for L’Avventura Cine and Germán Ormaechea for Animista Cine, received the Bright Side of the Moon First Look Award for complete colour grading services and the Le Film Français Award, providing €5,600 in advertising space. El Surubí (The Surubí), directed by Lorenzo Tocco and produced by Pancho Magnou Arnabal and Isabel García (Montelona), with co-producer Kocria (Brazil), received the La Mayor Cine Award for complete sound post-production services, the Music Library & SFX/Acorde Award for €45,000 in music supervision services, and the Jannuzzi Smith Award for international poster design valued at €10,000. Yazz, directed by Florian Hoffmann and produced by Katrin Renz (tellfilm GmbH, Switzerland), Nicole Gerhards (NiKo Film, Germany) and Xénia Maingot (Eaux Vives Productions, France), received the NEBEL Studios Award, valued at CHF 30,500 for three studio days and five days of camera equipment, and the Studio13/Valais Film Commission Award, valued at CHF 12,000 for five studio days at Studio13. Sparare alle Angurie (Shooting Watermelons), directed by Antonio Donato and produced by Santiago Fondevila Sancet (Cinedora, Italy), received the Masé Studios Award, a CHF 3,000 cash voucher. The Masé Studios Post-Production Award, a single CHF 25,000 prize in post-production services, was shared by Cuore Matto, directed by Tamer Ruggli and produced by Francine Lusser and Gérard Monier (Tipimages Productions, Switzerland), and Les Orages Magnétiques (Magnetic Storms), directed by Wendy Pillonel and produced by Flavia Zanon (Close Up Films, Switzerland). Les Orages Magnétiques also received the MIDPOINT Consulting Award for online script consultancy with a MIDPOINT expert. Le Règne des Silures (Reign of Silures), directed by Jessica Puppo and produced by Alexis Perrin (Rumble Fish Productions, France), received the Ticino Film Commission Residence Award: a two-day location scout valued at CHF 4,000 and a letter of intent for up to CHF 12,000, conditional on filming in Ticino. Third Take, directed by Bruce LaBRUCE and produced by Nicolas Brevière (Local Films, France), received the Alphapanda Market Breakout Award for €3,500 in consultancy services. The 2026 honorary and career awards recognised Isabella Rossellini with the Excellence Award; James Gray with the Pardo alla Carriera; Virginie Efira with the Leopard Club Award; Darren Aronofsky with the Pardo d’Onore presented by Manor; Asia Argento with the Life Achievement Award; Rick Baker with the Vision Award Ticinomoda; and Sigurjón “Joni” Sighvatsson with the Raimondo Rezzonico Award. Special Honorary Pardos went to Jean-Luc Bideau, Zoe Saldaña, Claudio Simonetti and Rai Radio 3 - Hollywood Party. The Heritage Restoration Contest 2026 selected Nous sommes tous encore ici (We’re All Still Here, 1997), directed by Anne-Marie Miéville, for complete restoration by Cinegrell. The restored film will premiere at the 2027 edition of the Locarno Film Festival.