63rd Locarno Film Festival

The 63rd Locarno Film Festival was held from 4 to 14 August 2010 in Locarno, Switzerland.^[1] The festival featured 40 world priemeres, of which half were from first time directors.^[2] The opening film of the festival was the world premiere of Benoît Jacquot’s film Au Fond Des Bois (Deep in the Woods). The closing film of the festival was the world premiere of Sommervogel (Little Paradise) directed by Paul Riniker.^[3]

The festival had a new artistic director, Olivier Père, following the departure of Federic Marie.^[4] Père began his new tenure with noteworthy competition films like the gay underground film L.A. Zombie directed by Bruce LaBruce and the six-hour Chinese documentary Karamay directed by Xu Xin, which contains no score or voice-over.^[5][2] The festival also featured the debut of director Gareth Edwards with his film Monsters, on the Piazza Grande.^[2]

Père paired down the festival to focus on the Piazza Grande, Competition, Out of Competition and Filmmakers of the Present categories.^[5] Père removed the Here and Elsewhere (Ici et Ailleurs) section and redefined the Filmmakers of the Present competition to exclusively for directors with first or second features.^[2]

Pere also created a new connected Industry Days event from 7 to 9 August to try and increase the sale of films at the festival.^[5]

The Piazza Grande, the 8,000-seat open-air theater, included a newly restored print of the film To Be Or Not To Be, which was part of a much larger retrospective of director Ernst Lubitsch that included 15 of his feature films.^[6] Lubitsch's daughter, Nicola Lubitsch, attend the festival.^[6] The Open Doors section focused on films from Central Asian.^[6] The Leopard of Honor was awarded to Jia Zhangke and Alain Tanner.^[7] The excellence award was given to Chiara Mastroianni.^[8]

The Golden Leopard, the festival's top prize, was awarded to Winter Vacation (Han Jia) directed by Li Hongqi.

• Eric Khoo, Singaporean director, Jury president^[5]
• Golshifteh Farahani, Iranian actress
• Melvil Poupaud, French actor and director
• Lionel Baier, Swiss director
• Joshua Safdie, American filmmaker

The following films were screened in these sections:^[9]

The Concorso Cineasti del Presente, also known as the Filmmakers of the Present Competition, showcases first and second feature films from emerging filmmakers.^[10][2]

Filmmakers of the Present

Out of Competition (Fuori Concorso)

Out of Competition - Jean-Marie Straub

Out of Competition - Luc Moullet

Out of Competition - Mafrouza Cycle

Out of Competition - Yervant Gianikian And Angela Ricci Lucchi

The 2010 Open Doors section was supported by the Swiss Foreign Ministry's Agency for Development and Cooperation. The section is meant to facilitate connections between directors and producers and co-production partners in Europe.^[1] This year Open Doors section focused on films from Central Asian.^[6]

Open Doors Screenings

Leopards of Tomorrow (Pardi di Domani)

The Semaine de la Critique is an independent section, created in 1990 by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists in partnership with the Locarno Film Festival.^[11]

• Pardo d'oro: Han Jia directed by Li Hongqi
• Pardo per la miglior interpretazione maschile (Best actress): Jasna Duri in Beli Beli Svet
• Pardo per la miglior interpretazione maschile (Best actor): Emmanuel Bilodeau in Curling
• Pardo per la miglior regia (Best director): Denis Côté for CURLING
• Special Jury Prize: Morgen directed by Marian Crisan

• Pardo d'oro Cineasti del presente: Paraboles by Emmanuelle Demoris
• Special CINÉ CINÉMA Jury Prize: Foreign Parts directed by J. P. Sniadecki and Verena Paravel
• Special Mention: Ivory Tower directed by Adam Traynor

• Pardino d’oro for the Best International Short Film: A History Of Mutual Respect directed by Daniel Schmidt and Gabriel Abrantes
• Pardino d’argento, International Competition: Pour Toi Je Ferai Bataille directed by Rachel Lang
• Locarno short film nominee for the European Film Awards: Diarchia directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino
• Film und Video Untertitelung Prize: Höstmannen directed by Jonas Selberg Augustsén
• Pardino d’oro for the Best Swiss Short Film: Kwa Heri Mandima directed by Robert-Jan Lacombe
• Pardino d’argento, Swiss competition: Yuri Lennon’s Landing On Alpha 46 directed by Anthony Vouardoux
• Action Light Prize for Best Swiss Newcomer: Angela directed by David Maye

• Prix du Public UBS: The Human Resources Manager directed by Eran Riklis
• Variety Piazza Grande Award: Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale directed by Jalmari Helander

• Cinema e Gioventù Prize, international competition: Khouya (Mon FRÈRE) directed by Yanis Koussim
• Cinema e Gioventù Prize, Swiss competition: Yuri Lennon’s Landing On Alpha 46 directed by Anthony Vouardoux
• Special Mention, International competition: ¿Te Vas? directed by Cristina Molino

• First Prize: Karamay directed by XU Xin
• Second Prize: Pietro directed by Daniele Gaglianone
• Third Prize: Morgen directed by Marian Crisan
• “Environnement is the quality of life” Prize: Womb directed by Benedej Fliegauf

• Ecumenical Award: Morgen directed by Marian Crisan
• Ecumenical special mention: Karamay directed by Xu Xin, Han Jia directed by Li Hongqi

• FIPRESCI Prize: Han Jia directed by Li Hongqi
• FIPRESCI Special Mention: Karamay directed by XU Xin

• Art & Essai CICAE Prize: Beli Beli Svet directed by Oleg Novkovic

• Don Quijote Prize: Morgen directed by Marian Crisan
• FICC/IFFS Spetial Mention: Karamay directed by XU Xin

• SRG SSR idée suisse / Critics Week 2010 Special mention: The Furious Force Of Rhymes directed by Joshua Litle, Blood Calls You directed by Linda Thorgren
• SRG SSR idée suisse / Critics Week 2010 Prize: Reindeer Spotting – Escape From Santaland directed by Joonas Neuvonen

Source:^[12][13]

• Official website