Film Sections

Concorso
internazionale

Reflecting the Festival’s aim to cross and blur boundaries, the Concorso internazionale presents a stimulating panorama of contemporary auteur cinema, where young talent rubs shoulders with that of established directors. A jury of major figures in cinema is charged with choosing one of the competing fiction or documentary features from all over the world, screened as world or international premieres, to win the prestigious Pardo d’oro.

Awards

Golden Leopard

Festival Grand Prize of the City of Locarno, for the best film in the Concorso internazionale: 75,000 CHF to be shared equally between the director and the producer.

Special Jury Prize

Prize of the Cities of Ascona and Losone: 30,000 CHF to be shared equally between the director and the producer.

Leopard for the Best Direction

Prize of the City and Region of Locarno, for the best directed film in the Concorso internazionale: 20,000 CHF to the director.

Leopard for the Best Actress

Leopard for the Best Actor

Swatch First Feature Awards

Swatch support the prizes awarded by a jury of international film critics to the two best first feature films, as world or international premieres, selected for all sections of the Festival, except for the independent sections Semaine de la critique and Panorama Suisse:

Swatch First Feature Award for the best first film: 15’000 CHF to the director;
The Swatch Art Peace Hotel Award: a special mention, with a 3 to 6 month residency in the Shanghai hotel of the same name.

Partners

Other Film Sections

Film Sections

Concorso Cineasti del presente

An ideal arena for discovery, the Concorso Cineasti del presente is dedicated to emerging directors from all over the world and devoted to first, second and third features.

Film Sections

Pardi di domani

A crucible of future talent, the Pardi di domani section screens shorts and medium-length films (not more than 59 minutes in lenght) by independent filmmakers or film school students who have not yet tried their hand at feature films.

Film Sections

Open Doors

The Open Doors section of the Locarno Film Festival focuses on regions in the South and the East. From 2019 until 2021 Open Doors focuses its look onto a single region, in order to increase and further enhance opportunities for collaboration and exchange for local professionals.

Film Sections

Moving Ahead

Moving Ahead aims to explore film’s frontier territories, engaging with new forms of narration and innovation in filmic language.

Film Sections

Fuori concorso

The Fuori concorso selection offers recent work – feature films and shorts, film essays, documentaries – by well-established filmmakers, out of competition, presented mostly as world or international premiere.

Film Sections

Piazza Grande

8,000 viewers a night, the Piazza Grande is both the Festival’s heart and its showcase. With its giant screen, one of the biggest in Europe, endowed with truly exceptional projection quality, the Piazza Grande is one of the finest open-air venues in the world.

Film Sections

Retrospettiva

Over the years the Locarno retrospectives have delved into every corner of cinema history: from great career monographs to themed programs; from wide-ranging tributes to contemporary filmmakers, to complete retrospective seasons of acknowledged great masters.

Film Sections

Histoire(s) du cinéma

Histoire(s) du cinéma is the sidebar dedicated to the history of cinema. It offers works from filmmakers and artists to whom the Festival dedicates special tributes.

Film Sections

Semaine de la critique

Founded in 1990, the Semaine de la critique is an independent section within the Locarno Festival organized by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists.

Film Sections

Panorama Suisse

Panorama Suisse is an independent section within the Locarno Festival. The films are selected by a commission with representatives of the Solothurn Film Festival, SWISS FILMS and the Swiss Film Academy.