The winners across various categories of the 79th Locarno Film Festival were announced, and “You Are Not Here” directed by Romania’s Florin Şerban won the Pardo d’Oro for Best Film.
According to the report of Mansour Jahani, an independent and international film journalist, the
closing ceremony of the 79th Locarno International Film Festival took place in Locarno, Switzerland, where winners were announced across various categories including the (Concorso Internazionale) International Main Competition, Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present) Competition, Piazza Grande Competition, Pardi di domani Competition, Concorso Corti d’Autore Competition, Best First Films Feature Competition, Fuori Concorso Competition, Pardo Verde Competition and Critics’ Week Competition and were presented with the Pardo d’Oro (Golden Leopard) for Best Film, the Special Jury Prize, the Best Director award, acting awards, and other honors from this prestigious, world-class cinematic event.
International Main Competition
The jury members for the International Main Competition comprising Belgian director and screenwriter Fabrice Du Welz – President of the Jury, Italian producer Marco Alessi, French-Italian actress Lolita Chammah, Chilean actress Paulina García, and Olivier Père, RTE France Cinéma and Head of the Cinema Unit – ARTE France, France, announced their votes as follows:
Pardo d’Oro Award
The feature film “You Don’t Belong Here” directed by Florin Șerban from Romania, won the Grand Prize the Pardo d’Oro for Best Film. The jury cited the film’s “strength of screenplay, unique vision, and extraordinary command of cinematic language” as the reasons for their choice.
Special Jury Prize
The Special Jury Prize was awarded to the feature film “The Riverbank” directed by Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho a joint production of the Brazil and Germany.
Best Director Award
The Best Director Award of this edition of the festival went to Hong Sang-soo for directing the film “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes”, South Korea.
Best Performance
The award for Best Acting in this category was jointly presented to Kim Min-hee for her performance in the South Korean film “Nowhere to Lay My Eyes” and to Monica Bellucci for her role in the Italian film “Ketticè” directed by Giovanni Tortorici.
Special Jury Mention
The jury members awarded a special mention to Xavier Bergeron for his performance in the feature film “Nobody’s Violence” directed by Denis Côté, Canada and to Teodor Butănescu for his performance in the feature film “You Don’t Belong Here” directed by Florin Şerban, Romania.
Concorso Cineasti del Presente
The jury members for the Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present) Competition section comprising Afef Ben Mahmoud actress, director, and producer from Tunisia, Radovan Síbrt producer and director from the Czech Republic, and Margherita Spampinato director, screenwriter, and editor from Italy, announced their votes as follows:
Pardo d’Oro Award
The feature film “The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer” directed by Alessandra Sanguinettia a joint production of the Argentina and the United States won the Pardo d’Oro Grand Prize for Best Film in this section of the festival.
Best Emerging Director Award
The Best Emerging Director Award of this edition of the festival presented to Beatrice Gibson for directing the feature film “At Night”, a joint production of the UK and France.
Special Jury Prize
The Special Jury Prize was also awarded to the film “Revolutionaries Never Die” directed by Mohanad Yaqubi, a joint production of the Palestine, Belgium and Qatar.
Best Performance
Additionally, the award for Best Acting in this category was shared by Idrissu Tontie Jr. for his performance in the feature film “Our Time Will Come” directed by Amartei Armar; a joint production of the Ghana, France, and Saudi Arabia and Manal Issa for her performance in the feature film “Summer Meadow” co-directed by Naël Khleifi and Lisa Debauche; a joint production of the Belgium and France.
Special Jury Mention
The Special Jury Prize was also awarded to the feature film “Los Días Libres” directed by Lucila Mariani a joint production of the Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and France and the feature film “Hanabi” directed by Ana Vaz; a joint production of the France and Brazil.
Pardi di domani Competition
The jury members for Pardi di domani (the Leopards of Tomorrow) competition section at this year’s festival comprising Lebanese director and writer Mounia Akl, South African producer Steven Markovitz, and Italian director Antonio Piazza, announced their votes as follows:
Pardo d’Oro Award
The French short film “The Bovine Comedy” directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, won the Pardo d’Oro award for Best Auteur Short Film.
Special Jury Mention
The short film “Et si Thuy n’existait pas” (And If Thuy Didn’t Exist) directed by Carlo Francisco Manatad a joint production of the Philippines, France and Indonesia received a special jury mention.
Best International Short Film
The short film “Melk”, directed by Filip Anthonissen from Belgium, won the Pardo d’Oro for Best International Short Film in the Pardi di domani competition section.
Pardino d’Argento Award
The short film “Khufu” directed by Mahmoud Assi; a joint production of the Egypt, France, Sweden and Canada won the Pardino d’Argento award in the international section.
Best Director Award
The award for Best Director in this section of the festival was presented to the short film “Mutrion” directed by Marco Cavazzin from Italy.
Best First Films Feature competition
The members of the jury of the “First Films” Competition at the 79th Locarno International Film Festival comprising Matthieu Darras Film Lab Director, France, Sung Moon Programmer, South Korea, and Klaudia Reynicke Swiss-Peruvian Director,announced their votes as follows:
Best Director’s Debut Award
The award for Best Debut Feature went to the film “The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer” directed by Alessandra Sanguinetti; a joint production of the Argentina and the United States.
Pardo Verde Competition
The jury members of the Pardo Verde Competition section which focuses on the climate crisis announced their verdict as follows. The jury consisted of Gianluca Grossi Swiss reporter and writer, Mo Harawe Somali-Austrian director and screenwriter, and Seta Thakur Head of Communications and Social Innovation at the Wyss Academy for Nature, Switzerland, announced their votes as follows:
Pardo Verde
The award in this category went to the feature film “Our Time Will Come” directed by Amartei Armar; a joint production of the Ghana, France and Saudi Arabia.
Special Jury Mention
The films “The Newcomers” (Los nuevos) directed by Rodrigo Plá and Trương Minh Quý; a joint production of the Mexico and Spain and “Private Property” directed by Deepak Rauniyar; a joint production of the United States, Nepal, France and Australia, were special jury mentions.
Locarno Film Festival focuses on world independent cinema
Locarno International Film Festival focuses on world independent cinema and is considered the fourth most prestigious festival in the world after Cannes, Venice and Berlinale.
Screening of 233 films by directors from various countries
The 79th edition of the Locarno International Film Festival presided over by Maja Hoffmann and under the artistic direction of Giona A. Nazzaro took place in Locarno, Switzerland, from August 5 to 15, 2026. The event featured the screening of 233 films by directors from around the world across various competitive and non-competitive sections, including Open Doors Screenings, Histoire du Cinéma, Panorama Suisse, and Locarno Kids Screenings.
Credit images website of the Locarno Film Festival
Davide Padovan © Locarno Film Festival
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