Locarno72: ‘Vitalina Varela’ Wins Top Prize

Portugese Director Pedro Costa took home the Golden Leopard at this years Locarno Film Festival for his feature Vitalina Varela.

Pedro Costa previously won Locarno’s Best Director award in 2014 for his film Horse Money.

The festival itself was a wonderful showcase of international cinema with a number of high-profile films and guests including John Waters, Bong Joon-ho, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Song Kang-ho and Hilary Swank.

International competition

Golden Leopard: Vitalina Varela by Pedro Costa, Portugal

Special Jury Prize: Pa-Go (Height Of The Wave) by Park Jung-Bum, South Korea

Leopard For Best Direction: Damien Manivel for Les Enfants D’isadora, France/South Korea

Leopard For Best Actress: Vitalina Varela for Vitalina Varela by Pedro Costa, Portugal

Leopard For Best Actor: Regis Myrupu for A Febre by Maya Da-Rin, Brazil/France/Germany

Special Mentions: Hiruk-Pikuk Si Al-Kisah (The Science Of Fictions) by Yosep Anggi Noen, Indonesia/Malaysia/France, Maternal by Maura Delpero, Italy/Argentina

Filmmakers Of The Present Competition

Cineasti Del Presente Golden Leopard: Baamum Nafi (Nafi’s Father) by Mamadou Dia, Senegal

Best Emerging Director Award: 143 Rue Du Désert by Hassen Ferhani, Algeria/France/Qatar

Special Jury Prize: Ivana Cea Groaznica (Ivana The Terrible) by Ivana Mladenović, Romania/Serbia

Special Mention: Here For Life by Andrea Luka Zimmerman, Adrian Jackson, United Kingdom

Moving Ahead

Moving Ahead Award: The Giverny Document (Single Channel) by Ja’tovia M. Gary, Usa/France

Special Mentions: Those That, At A Distance, Resemble Another by Jessica Sarah Rinland, United Kingdom/Argentina/Spain, Shān Zhī Běi (Osmosis) by Zhou Tao.

First Feature

First Feature Award: Baamum Nafi (Nafi’s Father) by Mamadou Dia, Senegal

Peace Hotel Award: La Paloma Y El Lobo (The Dove And The Wolf) by Carlos Lenin, Mexico

Special Mentions: Instinct by Halina Reijn, Netherlands, Fi Al-Thawra (During Revolution) by Maya Khoury, Syria/Sweden

Leopards Of Tomorrow – International Competition

Pardino D’oro For The Best International Short Film: Siyah Güneş (Black Sun) by Arda Çiltepe, Turkey/Germany (Locarno Short Film Nominee For The European Film Awards 2019)

Pardino D’argento: Umbilical by Danski Tang, Usa

Pardi Di Domani Best Direction Prize: Otpusk (Leave Of Absence) by Anton Sazonov, Russia

Premio Medien Patent Verwaltung Ag Prize: White Afro by Akosua Adoma Owusu, Ghana/USA

Leopards Of Tomorrow – National Competition

Pardino D’oro For The Best Swiss Short Film: Mama Rosa by Dejan Barac, Switzerland

Pardino D’argento Swiss Life: Tempête Silencieuse by Anaïs Moog, Switzerland

Best Swiss Newcomer Prize: Terminal by Kim Allamand, Switzerland

Piazza Grande Award: Instinct by Halina Reijn, Netherlands

Other awards

Ecumenical Jury Prize: Maternal by Maura Delpero, Italy/Argenti
Special Mention: Vitalina Varela by Pedro Costa, Portugal

FIPRESCI Prize: A Febre by Maya Da-Rin, Brazil/France/Germany

Europa Cinemas Label: Maternal by Maura Delpero, Italy/Argentina