The 2026 Locarno Film Festival today unveiled the official selection featuring 233 films, including 103 world premieres.
Locarno Film Festival
Thousands of film fans and industry professionals meet at the Locarno Film Festival every summer to share their thirst for new discoveries and a passion for cinema in all its diversity.
In Locarno they find a quality program, rich, eclectic, surprising, and where emerging talent rubs shoulders with prestigious guests.
Locarno Film Festival started in 1946 and takes place in Locarno, Switzerland
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Virginie Efira to Receive Leopard Club Award at Locarno Film Festival
Virginie Efira (Rudy Marmet) Actress Virginie Efira will be honored at the 79th Locarno Film Festival with the Leopard Club Award, and present Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden, the film for which she won the Palme for Best Actress in Cannes.
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Rick Baker, Makeup Effects Artist and Seven-Time Academy Award Winner, to Receive Vision Award at Locarno Film Festival
Rick Baker (courtesy Locarno Film Festival) Rick Baker is set to receive the Vision Award at the Locarno Film Festival for his cinematic transformations through makeup artistry.
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Asia Argento to be Celebrated at Locarno Film Festival with Life Achievement Award
Asia Argento Asia Argento, the Italian actress, filmmaker, and musician, is set to receive the Life Achievement Award at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, taking place from August 5 to 15 in Switzerland.
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Indie Film Producer Sigurjón “Joni” Sighvatsson to be Honored at Locarno Film Festival
Sigurjón “Joni” Sighvatsson, Raimondo Rezzonico Award 2026 (© Kjartan Þorbjörnsson/Golli) The Iceland-born and U.S.-based film, music video, and television producer Sigurjón “Joni” Sighvatsson is set to receive the Raimondo Rezzonico Award at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, taking place from August 5 to 15, 2026, in Switzerland.
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Darren Aronofsky to be Honored at Locarno Film Festival
Darren Aronofsky (Darren Aronofsky /courtesy Locarno Film Festival) Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky will be honored with the Pardo d’Onore at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, taking place from August 5 to 15, 2026.
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Eric Lin’s ‘Rosemead’ Starring Lucy Liu Wins Audience Award at Locarno Film Festival
Lucy Liu in Rosemead by Eric Lin The Asian-American independent drama film Rosemead directed by Eric Lin – produced by and starring Lucy Liu, recipient of Locarno78’s Career Achievement Award – has won the Prix du Public UBS, marking 25 years of the audience award at Locarno Film Festival.
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Sho Miyake’s ‘Two Seasons, Two Strangers’ Wins Golden Leopard at Locarno Film Festival
Sho Miyake director of Tabi to Hibi (Two Seasons, Two Strangers) ( Locarno Film Festival | Ti-Press) Two Seasons, Two Strangers (Tabi to Hibi) by Sho Miyake has won the top prize – the Pardo d’Oro Golden Leopard in the International Competition at the 78th Locarno Film Festival.
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Iranian Director Mohammad Rasoulof Receives the First Locarno City of Peace Award
Mohammad Rasoulof (© Locarno Film Festival | Ti-Press) Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof has been honored with the First Locarno City of Peace Award, established by the City of Locarno in collaboration with the Locarno Film Festival.
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Alexander Payne to Receive Prestigious Pardo d’Onore Award at Locarno Film Festival
Alexander Payne (magicinfoto | depositphotos) Writer-director Alexander Payne will receive the prestigious honorary leopard award, the Pardo d’Onore at the upcoming 78th Locarno Film Festival taking place from August 6-16, 2025. Payne will also present his films The Descendants and Nebraska and participate in a public discussion with the festival audience.
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Lucy Liu to Receive Career Achievement Award + Premiere ‘Rosemead’ at Locarno Film Festival
Lucy Liu (PopularImages | Depositphotos) Actress Lucy Liu will be honored with the prestigious Career Achievement Award at the Locarno Film Festival and present the international premiere of Rosemead directed by Eric Lin, alongside the film’s cast and crew on the Piazza Grande. She will also engage in a public discussion with the festival audience at the Forum @Spazio Cinema.
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Emma Thompson to Receive Leopard Club Award at Locarno Film Festival and Premiere ‘The Dead of Winter’
Emma Thompson (dp) Emma Thompson will be honored with the Leopard Club Award at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, where she will also world premiere her latest film, the action-thriller The Dead of Winter directed by Brian Kirk. The festival will take place from August 6 – 16, 2025.