Film Sections

Concorso Cineasti del Presente

First or second feature films are a chance to make a mark, mix things up, find a voice. Where at the Locarno Film Festival can you find those films? That’s Concorso Cineasti del Presente, the space for the filmmakers of the present and the cinema of tomorrow, existing beyond all distinctions of form and genre. Radical, uncompromising, adventurous, shot through with genuine curiosity about all the possibilities of cinema. Collectively, the films in Concorso Cineasti del Presente, showing in international or world premieres, chart a course for the future.

The jury will award the following prizes: 

Pardo d’Oro Concorso Cineasti del Presente

CHF 35,000 to be shared equally between the director and the producer.

Best Emerging Director Award

City and Region of Locarno: CHF 20,000 to the director.

Special Jury Prize CINÉ+

a promotional campaign to the value of CHF 25,000 on CINÉ+ channels at the time of its theatrical release in France.

Pardo for Best Performance (two prizes to be awarded)

The Jury may also award a maximum of two special mentions.
The three first prizes may not be awarded ex aequo.
A maximum of two prizes per film may be awarded.