Locarno Film Festival Winners: Florin Șerban, Monica Bellucci

The Pardo d’Oro at the 79th Locarno Film Festival has gone to Florin Șerban’s drama You Don’t Belong Here (Nu E Locul Tau Aici). Scroll down for full list of winners.

The film marks the acclaimed Romanian director’s return to feature filmmaking after eight years. A father-and-son drama, the film was awarded the Pardo d’Oro by the Official Concorso Internazionale Jury “for the strength of its writing, the singularity of its vision, and its exceptional command of cinematic language.”

The movie follows a physician who is crushed when police suspect his teenage son of murdering an old Romani man. He then discovers his son has a secret life vandalizing cars with masked vigilantes.

Meanwhile The Riverbank (A Margem do Rio) by Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho won the Special Jury Prize, while the Pardo for Best Direction went to Hong Sangsoo for Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (Nun Dul Dega Eomne).

The two Best Performance Awards were given respectively to Kim Minhee for Nowhere to Lay My Eyes and to Monica Bellucci for Ketticè by Giovanni Tortorici. The Pardo d’Oro in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente and the Swatch First Feature Award were both awarded to The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer (La Iusión de un Verano Sin Fin) by Alessandra Sanguinetti.

Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the festival, said: “A vital and contemporary slate of awards, in close dialogue with the transformations in the industry and in our world today. Whether in highlighting the Romania of You Don’t Belong Here, or the Brazil of The Riverbank, or the South Korea of Nowhere to Lay My Eyes, the jury upheld the primacy of form and of language, while remaining, in its choices, completely accessible, as the packed and engaged screenings of all competitions demonstrated throughout the festival.”

The closing night in Piazza Grande, on Saturday August 15, will be rounded off with the ceremony for the Prix du Public UBS before the screening of the closing film Ni Vue, Ni Connue (All About Corinne) by Marc Fitoussi with Isabelle Huppert and Sandrine Kiberlain.

This year’s international competition jury was overseen by Belgian filmmaker Fabrice Du Welz.

The 80th Locarno Film Festival has been set to take place from 4 to 14 August 2027.

Full list of Locarno winners (as provided by the festival)

Official Awards
 
LOCARNO79 OFFICIAL SELECTION
 
Concorso Internazionale
Concorso Cineasti del Presente
Pardi di Domani
Locarno Kids Screenings
 
CROSS-SECTION AWARDS
 
Swatch First Feature Award
 
Pardo for Change
 
Independent Juries Awards
 
Ecumenical Jury Prize
FIPRESCI Prize
Europa Cinemas Label
Junior Jury Awards
Semaine de la Critique Awards

Concorso Internazionale
 
The official Concorso Internazionale Jury of the 79^th Locarno Film Festival composed of:
 
Jury President
Fabrice Du Welz, Director (Belgium)
 
Jury Members
Marco Alessi, Producer (Italy)
Lolita Chammah, Actress (France, Italy)
Paulina García, Actress (Chile)
Olivier Père, Executive Director – ARTE France Cinéma and Head of the Cinema Unit – ARTE France (France)
 
awarded the following prizes:
 
Pardo d’Oro – Grand Prize of the Festival and City of Locarno
CHF 75,000 to be shared equally between the director and the producer, to:
NU E LOCUL TAU AICI (YOU DON’T BELONG HERE) by Florin Șerban, Romania
 
Special Jury Prize – Cities of Ascona and Losone
CHF 30,000 to be shared equally between the director and the producer, to:
A MARGEM DO RIO (THE RIVERBANK) by Matheus Farias, Enock Carvalho, Brazil/Germany
 
Pardo for Best Direction – City and Region of Locarno
CHF 20,000 to the director, to:
Hong Sangsoo for NUN DUL DEGA EOMNE (NOWHERE TO LAY MY EYES), South Korea
 
Pardo for Best Performance
to Kim Minhee for NUN DUL DEGA EOMNE (NOWHERE TO LAY MY EYES) by Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
 
Pardo for Best Performance
to Monica Bellucci for KETTICÈ by Giovanni Tortorici, Italy
 
Special Mention
to Xavier Bergeron for VIOLENCE DU CORPS DE L’AUTRE by Denis Côté, Canada
 
Special Mention
to Teodor Butănescu for NU E LOCUL TAU AICI (YOU DON’T BELONG HERE) by Florin Șerban, Romania

Concorso
Cineasti del Presente
 
The official Concorso Cineasti del Presente Jury of the 79^th Locarno Film Festival
 
composed of:

Jury Members
Afef Ben Mahmoud, Actress, director, producer (Tunisia)
Radovan Síbrt, Producer and director (Czech Republic)
Margherita Spampinato, Director, screenwriter, editor (Italy)
 
awarded the following prizes:
 
Pardo d’Oro – Concorso Cineasti del Presente
CHF 35,000 to be shared equally between the director and the producer, to:
LA ILUSIÓN DE UN VERANO SIN FIN by Alessandra Sanguinetti, Argentina/USA
 
Best Emerging Director Award – City and Region of Locarno
CHF 20,000 to the director to:
Beatrice Gibson for AT NIGHT, United Kingdom/France
 
Special Jury Prize CINE+OCS
A promotional campaign to the value of CHF 25,000 on CINE+OCS channels at the time of its theatrical release in France, to:
REVOLUTIONARIES NEVER DIE by Mohanad Yaqubi, Palestine/Belgium/Qatar
 
Pardo for Best Performance
to Idrissu Tontie Jr. for EGO REACH WE ALL (OUR TIME WILL COME) by Amartei Armar, Ghana/France/Saudi Arabia
 
Pardo for Best Performance
to Manal Issa for L’ESTIVE by Naël Khleifi, Lisa Debauche, Belgium/France
 
Special Mention
to LOS DÍAS LIBRES by Lucila Mariani, Argentina/Brazil/Mexico/France
 
Special Mention
to HANABI by Ana Vaz, France/Brazil

 
Pardi di Domani
 
The official Pardi di Domani Jury of the 79^th Locarno Film Festival
 
composed of:
 
Jury Members
Mounia Akl, Director (Lebanon)
Steven Markovitz, Producer (South Africa)
Antonio Piazza, Director (Italy)
 
awarded the following prizes:
 
Concorso Corti d’Autore
 
Pardino d’Oro WePresent by WeTransfer for the Best Auteur Short Film
CHF 15,000 to the director, to:
THE BOVINE COMEDY by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, France
 
Special Mention
to ET SI THUY N’EXISTAIT PAS by Carlo Francisco Manatad, Philippines/France/Indonesia
 
Concorso Internazionale
 
Pardino d’Oro Arts3 Foundation for the Best International Short Film
CHF 10,000 to the director, to:
MELK by Filip Anthonissen, Belgium
 
Pardino d’Argento Arts3 Foundation for the International Competition 
CHF 5,000 to the director, to:
KHUFU by Mahmoud Assi, Egypt/France/Sweden/Canada
 
Pardino for the Best Direction WeShort for the International Competition
CHF 5,000 to the director, to:
MUTRION by Marco Cavazzin, Italy
 
Locarno Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards
to MELK by Filip Anthonissen, Belgium

Special Mention
to LAS DAMAS by Camille Zéhenne, France
 
Concorso Nazionale
 
Pardino d’Oro SRG SSR for the Best Swiss Short Film
CHF 10,000 to the director, to:
TYPHOON MAMBO by Domenico Singha Pedroli, Switzerland/France/Thailand
 
Pardino d’Argento SRG SSR for the National Competition
CHF 5,000 to the director, to:
ALLES GUTE by Patricia Strübin, Switzerland
 
Best Swiss Newcomer Award
which provides equipment and services offered by Downtown Studio (CHF 10,000) and Taurus Studio (CHF 2,000), to:
RESPIRER UNE FOIS SUR TROIS by Charlyne Genoud, Switzerland

Locarno Kids Screenings
 
The official Locarno Kids Screenings Jury of the 79^th Locarno Film Festival composed of:
 
13 young Jury Members aged between 11 and 15
Carolina Bubba
Maeva Caterino
Leone Cofrancesco
Teresa Faré
Massimo Keller
Elia Longhi
Serena Lydon
Valentina LydoGiacomo Perrone
Mikaela Riaboshtan
Jacopo Rigoni
Viola Rigoni
Anna Zitarelli
 
awarded the following prizes:
 
Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare
CHF 15,000 to the director, to:
PARADEISA by Marleen Valien, Germany
First Feature
 
 
The official First Feature Jury of the 79^th Locarno Film Festival
 
composed of:
 
Jury Members
Matthieu Darras, Film lab director (France)
Sung Moon, Programmer (Republic of Korea)
Klaudia Reynicke, Filmmaker (Switzerland/Peru)
 
awarded the following prizes:
 
Swatch First Feature Award
CHF 15,000 to the director, to:
LA ILUSIÓN DE UN VERANO SIN FIN by Alessandra Sanguinetti (Argentina/USA)

Pardo for Change
Founded together with WWF, supported by ARX and Wyss Academy For Nature
 
The official Pardo for Change Jury of the 79^th Locarno Film Festival
 
composed of:
 
Jury Members
Gianluca Grossi, Reporter and writer (Switzerland)
Mo Harawe, Filmmaker and screenwriter (Somalia/Austria)
Seta Thakur, Head of Communications and Social Innovation,
Wyss Academy for Nature (Switzerland)
 
awarded the following prize:
 
Pardo for Change
CHF 20,000 to the director, to:
EGO REACH WE ALL (OUR TIME WILL COME) by Amartei Armar, Ghana/France/Saudi Arabia
 
Special Mentions (Feature Film)
to LOS NUEVOS by Rodrigo Plá, Mexico/Spain
 
Special Mentions (Short Film)
to PRIVATE PROPERTY by Deepak Rauniyar, USA/Nepal/France/Australia
 
Independent Juries and Awards

Ecumenical Jury Prize
 
Jury Members
Viera Pirker, Jury President (Germany)
Jean-Luc Gadreau (France)
Juha Rajamäki (Finland)
Sarah Stutte (Switzerland)
 
The Ecumenical Jury awarded its prize, offered by the Reformed Churches and the Catholic Church of Switzerland, to the value of CHF 10,000 to the director:
Hong Sangsoo for NUN DUL DEGA EOMNE (NOWHERE TO LAY MY EYES), South Korea
  
FIPRESCI Prize
(International Federation of Film Critics)
 
Jury Members
Sona Karapoghosyan, Jury President (Armenia)
Mihai Fulger (Romania)
Virat Nehru (Australia)
Georgios Papadimitriou (Greece)
Anne-Sophie Scholl (Switzerland)
 
The International Federation of Film Critics awarded the International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) to:
LEJOS DE LOS ÁRBOLES (FAR FROM THE TREES) by Meritxell Colell Aparicio, Spain/Peru/Italy
 
Europa Cinemas Label
 
Jury Members
Züleyha Azman (The Netherlands)
Erika Borsos (Austria)
Joyce Palmers (Belgium)
Tomasz Poborca (Poland)
 
The Jury has awarded the Europa Cinemas Label, intended to enhance the circulation of a European film chosen amongst those of the Concorso Internazionale and the Concorso Cineasti del Presente on the screens of the Europa Cinemas network, to:
NU E LOCUL TAU AICI (YOU DON’T BELONG HERE) by Florin Șerban, Romania
 
Junior Jury Awards
 
The jury members are selected from the participants in the Cinema & Gioventù initiative, organized by Bellinzona’s Castellinaria Festival del cinema giovane on behalf of the Dipartimento dell’educazione, della cultura e dello sport (DECS) of the Canton Ticino.
 
The first Junior Jury, composed of Vittorio Di Angelo, Francesco Maria Ippoliti, Virginia Barbacini, Alessia Nunziante, Vittoria Soldaini, Julian Muller, Edoardo Ravina, awarded the following prizes to the three best directors in the Concorso Internazionale:
 
First Prize (CHF 6,000)
NU E LOCUL TAU AICI (YOU DON’T BELONG HERE) by Florin Șerban, Romania
 
Second Prize (CHF 4,000)
VIOLENCE DU CORPS DE L’AUTRE (NOBODY’S VIOLENCE) by Denis Côté, Canada
 
Third Prize (CHF 2,000)
MANHUNT by Wayne Wapeemukwa, Canada
 
“The Environment is Quality of Life” Prize (CHF 3,000)
offered by the Ticino Department of Internal Affairs:
I RARELY WAKE UP DREAMING by Isabelle Stever, Germany/Ukraine
 
Special Mention
to D’ICI LÀ by Sarah Leonor, France
 
The second Junior Jury, composed of Ginevra Gennari, Valentina Verre, Elia Privet, Linda Jam, Maïa Monnet, Clement De Castelberg, Letizia Marrone, assigned a prize of CHF 2,000 to the best film shown in the section Concorso Cineasti del Presente, to:
TEAR GAS by Uta Beria, Georgia/France/Germany
 
Special Mentions
LA ILUSIÓN DE UN VERANO SIN FIN (THE ILLUSION OF AN EVERLASTING SUMMER) by Alessandra Sanguinetti, Argentina/USA
 
The third Junior Jury, composed of Ilaria Bosco, Amy Negro, Tania Bignasca, Zoe Thunman, Veselina Tchimova, Beatrice Cereda, awarded the following two prizes, worth CHF 1,500, to the best short films in the Concorso Internazionale and in the Concorso Nazionale of the Pardi di Domani section, one prize to the best short film in the Concorso Corti d’Autore, and the “The environment is quality of life” Prize – worth CHF 2,000 and offered by the Ticino Department of Internal Affairs of the Cantone Ticino – to a short film in the section Open Doors Screenings to:  
 
Pardi di Domani
 
Concorso Internazionale
HERSHEWE FAZANAWERD (FORGOTTEN SPACEMAN) by Elham Ehsas, United Kingdom/Afghanistan
 
Concorso Nazionale
RESPIRER UNE FOIS SUR TROIS by Charlyne Genoud, Switzerland
 
Concorso Corti d’Autore
ÃSHEGHETAM by Filmsaazs, France/Switzerland/Iran
 
Special Mention – Concorso Internazionale
PREMIER FEU by Blanca Camell Galí, France/Spain
 
Special Mention – Concorso Corti d’Autore
THE BOVINE COMEDY by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, France
 
Open Doors Screenings
 
“The Environment is Quality of Life” Prize
CONCRETE MOVES by Fagamou Fama Ndiaye, Senegal
 
Semaine de la Critique Awards
 
Jury Members
Olmo Cerri (Switzerland)
Barbara Miller (Switzerland)
Bettina Oberli (Switzerland)
 
The Jury has awarded the following prizes:
 
Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique – Prix SRG SSR
CHF 5,000 to the director and the producer, to:
A TERAZ WIOSNA (BLOSSOMING) by Kamila Serwicka, Poland
 
Marco Zucchi Award
CHF 2,000 to the formally and most aesthetically innovative documentary, to:
SEUL LE SERPENT SAIT (ONLY THE SERPENT KNOWS) by Olivier Séror, Martin Verdet, France