Film Sections

Piazza Grande

Piazza Grande is what Locarno is all about. 8,000 seats. One of the largest screens in the world. Pristine projection. Booming sound. All of it outdoors, under the stars. Throughout the Festival, awards are given to special guests onstage at Piazza Grande: some of the most prominent directors, stars, producers, or technical wizards from the world of cinema take a bow before the audience. Then there’s the program itself, which consists of some of the year’s most anticipated movies, coming to Locarno mostly in their world or international premieres. These are films everybody can enjoy, cinephiles, genre fans and the general audience alike. But it doesn’t stop there. On certain nights a second screening takes place just before midnight, giving space to either the films of the honorees, masterpieces from out of the past, or the true genre-bending oddities.

Prix du Public UBS

The official jury is not the only one to hand out prizes at the Festival. Every night, the audience in Piazza Grande is on jury service, voting to decide the winner of the “Prix du Public UBS”.

The film that receives the most audience votes will win the “Prix du Public UBS” worth 30,000 CHF. The winner will receive the prize during the official awards ceremony.

For more than 20 years UBS has been honored to award an annual prize for filmmaking on behalf of the Festival audience. Previous winners of the “Prix du Public UBS” have included films such as Bend It Like Beckham, The Syrian Bride, Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), Monsieur Lazhar and BlacKkKlansman by Spike Lee.

Letterboxd Piazza Grande Award

This is the first year that the Locarno Film Festival will partner with Letterboxd, the international social network for cinephiles, on an award given to new feature films premiering on the Piazza Grande. Over the past decade, Letterboxd has cemented its place as the preeminent social space for cinephiles to catalogue their viewing habits, create lists, and connect with film lovers from around the world. The award will be given to a film that combines both the values and artistic qualities of the contemporary cinephile landscape and commercial potential on the international festival circuit.