Rick Baker is set to receive the Vision Award at the Locarno Film Festival for his cinematic transformations through makeup artistry.
Baker will receive the award in Piazza Grande, and present two films from his career: An American Werewolf in London (1981) and The Nutty Professor (1996).
From his early make-up work on genre films in the 1970s to his complex creature and character designs for large-scale studio productions, Baker has had an accomplished career, earning a record number of Academy Awards for Best Makeup. His iconic work includes transforming Michael Jackson into a zombie in Thriller and turning Jim Carrey into the Grinch. With the Vision Award, the Festival pays tribute to a figure who has been responsible for shaping some of cinema’s most fantastical creations.
Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director, said, “Rick Baker was responsible for a Copernican revolution in cinema: visionary and revolutionary, he opened new paths for the imagination of entire generations, showing what it truly means to witness physical transmutation on the big screen. His filmography includes collaborations with George Lucas and David Cronenberg, Brian De Palma and Joe Dante, Tim Burton and Peter Jackson, John Carpenter and Mike Nichols, among many others. Presenting the Vision Award in Locarno to a pioneer and innovator like him, an absolute genius and incomparable craftsman, is an honour through which the Festival celebrates the infinite possibilities of cinema and its bag of tricks.”
The Vision Award honors artists whose creative work is behind the scenes. Previous winners include costume designer Milena Canonero, sound designer Benjamin Burtt, and film editor Pietro Scalia.
The 79th Locarno Film Festival will take place from August 5-15, 2026.
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