The 77th Locarno Film Festival was held from 7 August to 17 August 2024. The Crowd by King Vidor, accompanied by live music from the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, screened the night before the festival began, and The Flood by Gianluca Jodice opened the festival.
Austrian filmmaker Jessica Hausner served as the jury president for the main competition. Additional jury members were announced in July 2024.
Lithuanian film Toxic, directed by SaulÃÂ BliuvaitÃÂ, was the winner of the Golden Leopard, the festival's main prize. Kurdwin Ayub's Moon was the winner of the Special Jury Prize. Kim Min-hee was awarded the Best Performance prize for her role in By the Stream.
Juries
Concorso Internazionale - Main Competition
Concorso Cineasti del Presente - Filmmakers of the Present Competition
- C.J. Obasi, Nigerian filmmaker
- Lina Soualem, French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker
- Charles Tesson, French film critic
Pardi di Domani - Short Film Competition
- Licia Eminenti, Italian filmmaker and film programmer
- Laza Razanajatovo, Malagasy filmmaker and film curator
- Juliette Schrameck, French film producer
First Feature Competition
- Khalil Benkirane, Moroccan filmmaker
- Alma Pöysti, Finnish actress
- Esmé Sciaroni, Swiss-Italian makeup designer
Pardo Verde Competition
- Kantarama Gahigiri, Swiss-Rwandan artist and filmmaker
- Cédric Succivalli, French film programmer and critic
- Daniel Wiener, Swiss sustainability adviser, journalist, and arts manager
Independent Juries
Ecumenical Jury
- Douglas P. Fahleson, Ireland
- Dirk von Jutrczenka
- MarÃÂa Teresa Téramo
- Anita Uzulniece
Premio FIPRESCI - FIPRESCI Award
- Johannes Hagman
- Antonis Lagarias
- Gerhard Midding
- Silvia Posavec
- Mariola Wiktor
Europa Cinemas Label
- Ramiro Ledo Cordeiro
- Camelia Popa
- Mila Schlingemann
- Marvin Wiechert
Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique â Prix SRG SSR 2024 - Critics' Week Grand Prize
- Madeleine Hirsiger
- Charles Martig
- Cristina Trezzini
Official sections
Piazza Grande
The following films were selected to be screened at the Piazza Grande, Locarno's open-air theater that accommodates a nightly audience of up to 8,000 people:
Main Competition (Concorso Internazionale)
The Concorso Internazionale, the main section of the Locarno Film Festival, features new works in competition for the Golden Leopard.
Out of Competition (Fuori Concorso)
The Fuori Concorso section highlights works that challenge the conventions of narrative filmmaking.
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.
Leopard of Tomorrow (Pardi di Domani)
The Pardi di Domani section, also known as the Leopard of Tomorrow, features short and medium-length films.
Concorso Internazionale
The Concorso Internazionale portion of the Pardi di Domani competition features short and medium-length films by emerging directors throughout the world.
Concorso Nazionale
The Concorso Nazionale portion of the Pardi di Domani competition features short and medium-length films by emerging Swiss directors.
Concorso Corti d'Autore
The Concorso Corti d'Autore portion of the Pardi di Domani competition features short and medium-length films by established filmmakers.
Histoire(s) du Cinéma
The festival's Histoire(s) du Cinema section showcases films deemed significant to the evolution of cinema. Films by the festival's career award winners are presented in this section.
Open Doors Screenings
The Open Doors section is presented in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Since 2022, the section has featured works from Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2024 Open Doors films are drawn from nations throughout this region of focus.
Locarno Kids
Retrospettiva
The Lady With the Torch, a retrospective honoring the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures, will be presented in partnership with Cinémathèque suisse and Sony Pictures. Curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht, co-director of Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna, the retrospective will debut at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. An English-language companion book edited by Khoshbakht featuring writers from across the world was released in July 2024 by Lesâ¯ÃÂditions deâ¯lâÂÂÃ
Âil.
Independent sections
International Critics' Week (Semaine de la Critique)
The Semaine de la Critique is an independent section of the festival organized by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists in which seven new documentary feature films are presented.
Panorama Suisse
The independent Panorama Suisse section features highlights of contemporary Swiss cinema.
Official awards
Concorso Internazionale
Concorso Cineasti del Presente
- Golden Leopard âÂÂàFilmmakers of the Present: Holy Electricity by Tato Kotetishvili
- Best Emerging Director Award: Hanami by Denise Fernandes
- Special Jury Prize CINÃÂ+: Listen to the Voices by Maxime Jean-Baptiste
- Pardo for Best Performance:
- Callie Hernandez for Invention
- Anna Mészöly for Lesson Learned
- Special Mentions:
- Lesson Learned by Bálint Szimler
- When the Phone Rang by Iva RadivojeviÃÂ
Pardi di Domani
Concorso Corti dâÂÂAutore
- Pardino dâÂÂOro Swiss Life for the Best Auteur Short Film: Upshot by Maha Haj
- Special Mention: Gwe-in Esi Jeongche (The Masked Monster) by Park Syeyoung
- Locarno Film Festival Short Film Candidate â European Film Awards: La Fille qui Explose by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel
Concorso Internazionale
- Pardino dâÂÂOro SRG SSR for the Best Internationalâ¯Short Film: Washhh by Mickey Lai
- Pardino dâÂÂArgento SRG SSR for theâ¯International Competition: Gimn Chune (Hymn of the Plague) by Ataka51
- Pardi di Domani Best Direction Award âÂÂâ¯BONALUMI Engineering: Que te Vaya Bonito, Rico by Joel Alfonso Vargas
- Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Award: The Form by Melika Pazouki
- Special Mention: Freak by Claire Barnett
Concorso Nazionale
- Pardino dâÂÂOro Swiss Life for the Best Swiss Short Film Sans Voix by Samuel Patthey
- Pardino dâÂÂArgento Swiss Life for the National Competition: Better Not Kill the Groove by Jonathan Leggett
- Best Swiss Newcomer Award: Gabriel Grosclaude for Lux Carne
- Special Mention: Progress Mining by Gabriel Böhmer
Piazza Grande
Letterboxd Piazza Grande Award
The inaugural Letterboxd Piazza Grande Award will honor a new feature film that debuts on the Piazza Grande during the festival. The winning film will be selected by a jury of young film critics and Letterboxd staff. This new prize marks the first official award given by an international film festival in partnership with the Letterboxd platform.
Prix du Public
Presented in partnership with UBS, the Prix du public is the official audience award of the Locarno Film Festival.
Special awards
Leopard of Honour (Pardo dâÂÂOnore Manor)
Excellence Award Davide Campari
Leopard Club Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare
Pardo alla Carriera Ascona-Locarno Tourism
Premio Raimondo Rezzonico
Vision Award Ticinomoda
References
External links