14/08/2017 - LOCARNO 2017: The French-Chinese-German co-production scoops up first prize at the Locarno Festival, while Good Manners takes home the Special Jury Award

Wang Bing collects his Golden Leopard at Locarno's Piazza Grande (© Festival Locarno / Samuel Golay)

The International Competition jury at the 70th Locarno Festival led by the French director Olivier Assayas, and comprised of the directors Jean-Stéphane Bron and Miguel Gomes, together with the Greek producer Christos Konstantakopoulos and Austrian actress Birgit Minichmayr, has awarded prizes to three brave films both in terms of content and from a formal point of view. 

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The shocking documentary by Wang Bing, Mrs. Fang [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which depicts the last days of a Chinese peasant paralysed by Alzheimer's, and that has not failed to divide both audiences and critics, has won the Golden Leopard. Accompanying him on the podium is the unclassifiable French Brazilian co-production Good Manners [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by the explosive director duo Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra, which received the Special Jury Prize, while the Leopard for best director goes to the radical French filmmaker F.J. Ossang for 9 Fingers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: FJ Ossang
film profile], a black and white road movie with noir accents.

The winners of the Leopard for best female and male actress/actor also went to the European and ever powerful Isabelle Huppert for her performance of an eccentric science teacher in Serge Bozon's Mrs. Hyde [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Serge Bozon
film profile], and to Elliott Crosset Hove for Icelandic Hlynur Pálmason's Winter Brothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elliott Crosset Hove
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile] - which also received a special mention from the Ecumenical Jury and first prize from the young jury.

The Filmmakers of the Present section saw Bulgarian director Ilian Metev up on the podium for his film 3/4 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ilian Metev
film profile], winning the Golden Leopard, Portuguese-French co-production by Valérie Massadian, Milla [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], winner of the Ciné Special Jury Prize, which also won the Eurimages Audentia Award (read news), and the magnificent Damned Summer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pedro Cabeleira
film profile], the first feature by the young Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Cabeleira (Special Mention).

Great European success also in the First Feature contest that saw Scary Mother [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ana Urushadze
film profile], a Georgian Estonian co-production by Ana Urushadze, which won the prize for best film, the Dutch-Turkish film, Meteors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gürcan Keltek
film profile], by Gürcan Keltek, which won the Swatch Art Peace Hotel Award, and the Swiss Those Who Are Fine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the first feature by the young director Cyril Schäublin, which received a Special Mention.

Piazza Grande finally decided to pay homage to the high-altitude drama, Three Peaks [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jan Zabeil
film profile] by German Jan Zabeil, with the Variety Piazza Grande Award - an ideal film to be framed so well by Locarno's Piazza Grande.

The winners of the 70th edition of the Locarno Film Festival:

International Competition

Golden Leopard
Mrs. Fang [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Wang Bing (France/China/Germany)

Special Jury Award
Good Manners [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra (Brazil/France)

Pardo for Best Director
9 Fingers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: FJ Ossang
film profile] – F.J. Ossang (France/Portugal)

Pardo for Best Female Actress
Isabelle Huppert - Mrs. Hyde [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Serge Bozon
film profile] (France)

Pardo for Best Male Actress
Elliott Crosset Hove - Winter Brothers [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Elliott Crosset Hove
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile] (Denmark/Island)

Filmmakers of the Present

Filmmakers of the Present – Golden Leopard
3/4 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ilian Metev
film profile] – Ilian Metev (Bulgaria/Germany)

Ciné+  Special Jury Award – Filmmakers of the Present
Milla [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Valérie Massadian (France/Portugal)

Award for Best Up and Coming Director – City and region of Locarno
Kim Dae-Hwan - The First Lap (South Korea)

Special Mentions
Distant Constellation [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Shevaun Mizrahi (USA/Turkey/The Netherlands)
Damned Summer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pedro Cabeleira
film profile]– Pedro Cabeleira (Portugal)

Signs of Life

Signs of Life Award Electronic-Art.Foundation for Best Film
Cocote [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias (Dominican Republic/Argentina/Germany/Qatar)

Fundación Casa Wabi – Mantarraya Award
Dane Komljen – Phantasiesätze (Germany/Denmark (short film)

Special Mention
Once There Was Brazilia [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – Adirley Queirós (Brazil/Portugal)

Swatch First Feature Award
Scary Mother [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ana Urushadze
film profile]– Ana Urushadze (Georgia/Estonia)

Swatch Art Peace Hotel Award
Meteors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gürcan Keltek
film profile] - Gürcan Keltek (The Netherlands/Turkey)

Special Mention
Those Who Are Fine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Cyril Schäublin (Switzerland)

Pardino d’oro for Best International Short Film– SRG SSR Award
António e Catarina – Cristina Hanes (Portugal)

SRG SSR Pardino d’argento for the International Competition
Shmama – Miki Polonski (Israel)

Short Film presented at the European Film Awards by Locarno Festival – Premio Pianifica
Jeune homme à la fenêtre – Loukianos Moshonas (France)

Premio Medien Patent Verwaltung AG
Kapitalistis – Pablo Muñoz Gomez (Belgium/France)

Special Mention
Armageddon 2 – Corey Huughes (Cuba)

Pardi di domani – National Short Film Competition

Pardino d’oro for Best Swiss Short Film – Swiss Life Award
Rewind Forever – Justin Stoneham (Switzerland)

Swiss Life Pardino d’argento for National Competition
59 Secondes – Mauro Carraro (Switzerland)

Best Swiss Newcomer Award
Les intranquilles – Magdalena Froges (Switzerland)

Other Awards

Prix du Public UBS – Piazza Grande
The Big Sick – Michael Showalter (USA)

Variety Piazza Grande Award
Three Peaks [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jan Zabeil
film profile]– Jan Zabeil (Germany/Italy)

Premio FIPRESCI
Dragonfly Eyes – Xu Bing (China/USA)

Europa Cinemas Label
Winter Brothers – Hlynur Pálmason

Ecumenical Award
Lucky – John Carroll Lynch (USA)

Special Mention
Winter Brothers – Hlynur Pálmason
Dragonfly Eyes – Xu Bing

International Critics’ Week

Premio SRG SSR/Critics’ Week
The Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Rok Bicek (Slovenia/Austria)

Zonta Club Locarno Award
Señorita María, La falda de la montaña – Rubén Mendoza (Colombia)

(Translated from Italian)