Since 1946, the Locarno Film Festival has been a byword for freedom: for that very reason, in the year which sees the event celebrate its 75th anniversary, the Pardo alla carriera Ascona-Locarno will go to Costa-Gavras, a filmmaker whose work has openly denounced injustice, turning his gaze unflinchingly on some of the darkest chapters in our history. His masterly use of suspense, adherence to the codes of popular genres such as the political and legal thriller and film noir, and innovative directing of both U.S. and European stars – of the caliber of Yves Montand or Jack Lemmon, Simone Signoret and Jill Clayburgh, John Travolta and Jessica Lange, Dustin Hoffman or Johnny Hallyday – have allowed his films to reach mainstream audiences, blending exciting entertainment with a committed political statement.
With Z (1969), now regarded as the first great political film of our era, winner of an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Costa-Gavras turned the spotlight on the Regime of the Colonels in Greece. His inquiring gaze continued in L’aveu (The Confession, 1970), on Stalinist show trials, Missing (1982), on the involvement of the CIA in the coup d’état in Chile in 1973, Hanna K. (1983), on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and, more recently, Le capital (Capital, 2012), on corruption in the world of global finance. Costa-Gavras’ career, laureled with two Oscars, a Golden Bear, a Golden Palm and a Jury Prize at Cannes, alongside a bouquet of other awards from major film festivals worldwide, is a courageous, ongoing examination of oppression and the distorted logic of power wrought by politicians of all colors. His call for collective responsibility necessarily has special resonance at this juncture in our history.
Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival, Giona A. Nazzaro: “That the Pardo alla carriera should go to Costa-Gavras is virtually an obligation. He is, in all probability, the cineaste who has investigated most extensively the history of the 20th century, without ever being blinded by ideologies. Although regarded as a ‘political filmmaker’, Costa-Gavras is first and foremost a remarkable auteur, gifted with an extraordinary sense of form and style. Never one to wallow in self-referential mannerisms, he has tirelessly renewed his own gaze and approach. Costa-Gavras is the embodiment of a truly noble idea of cinema as a tool for progress and knowledge, a filmmaker who has never given up the conversation with his audience, always offering his candid version of amusement value and entertainment.”