Mansour Jahani - Festival was held in Locarno, Switzerland, and the winners of the main international competition, the “Filmmakers of the Present” competition, the “Piazza Grand Letterboxd competition, the “Cheetahs of Tomorrow” competition, the Concorso Corti d'Autore competition, the Fuori Concorso competition, and the “Critics Week” competition were announced and they were awarded the “Golden Leopard” Pardo d'Oro Award for Best Film, the Special Jury Prize, the Best Director Award, the Best Actor Awards, and other awards from this prestigious and top-notch world cinema event.
Winners of the International Main Competition
The members of the jury of the Concorso internazionale (international competition) at the 78th Locarno International Film Festival were: Rithy Panh, director and screenwriter - Cambodia - President of the Jury, Joslyn Barnes, producer and screenwriter - United States, Ursina Lardi, actress - Switzerland, Carlos Reygadas, director, writer and producer - Mexico, and Renée Soutendijk, actress - Netherlands; announced their votes as follows:
Golden Leopard Award
The film “Two Seasons, Two Strangers” by Sho Miyake from Japan, won the Golden Leopard Grand Prize (Pardo d’Oro) for best film at this prestigious and world-class cinema event.
Special Jury Prize
The Special Jury Prize was also awarded to the film “White Snail” by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter, German/Austrian.
Best Director Award
The Best Director Award of this edition of the festival went to Abbas Fahdel for directing the film “Tales of the Wounded Land”, Lebanon.
Best Actress Award
The Best Actress Award in this category was presented to Manuela Martelli and Ana Marija Veselčić, actors of the film “God Will Not Help” by Hana Jušić, Croatia /Italy /Romania /Greece /France /Slovenia.
Also, Marya Imbro and Mikhail Senkov received the Best Acting Award for their roles in the film “White Snail”, Austria/Germany.
Special mention from the jury
The film “Dry Leaf”, directed by Alexandre Koberidze, Germany/Georgia, received special mention from the jury.
Winners of the “Current Filmmakers” Competition
The members of the jury for the “Current Filmmakers” competition, which included: Indonesian actress Asmara Abigail - President of the Jury, MoMA’s Curator of Film and Co-Chair of New Directors/New Films from the United States, and Indian actress Kani Kusruti, announced their votes as follows:
Jury members of the Filmmakers of the Present
The members of the jury of the Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present), which included: Indonesian actress Asmara Abigail - President of the Jury, MoMA’s Curator of Film and Co-Chair of New Directors/New Films - United States, and Indian actress Kani Kusruti, announced their votes as follows:
Golden Leopard Award
The film “Hair, Paper, Water...” by Nicolas Graux and Minh Quy Truong, Belgium/ France/Vietnam, won the Golden Leopard Grand Prize (Pardo d’Oro) for the best film in this section of the festival.
Best Emerging Director Award
The Best Emerging Director Award of this edition of the festival was presented to Cecilia Kang for directing the film “Elder Son” (Hijo mayor), Argentina/France.
Special Jury Prize
The Special Jury Prize was also awarded to the film Gioia mia (Sweetheart) by Margherita Spampinato, Italy.
Best Actress Award
The Best Actress Award in this category was also awarded to Aurora Quattrocchi for her performance in the film Gioia mia by Margherita Spampinato, Italy.
Special Jury Mention
Levan Gelbakhiani received a special jury mention for his performance to “Don't Let the Sun” by Jacqueline Zünd, Switzerland/Italy
Winners of the “Cheetahs of Tomorrow” Competition
The members of the jury of the “Cheetahs of Tomorrow” competition of this edition of the festival, which included: Jihan El Tahri, Filmmaker, producer and visual artist - Egypt, France, Lemohang Mosese, Filmmaker and visual artist - Lesotho, and Sara Serraiocco, Actress - Italy, announced their votes as follows:
Golden Leopard Award
The short film “A Very Straight Neck” by Neo Sora, Japan/China, won the Golden Leopard Award for best short film in this section of the festival.
Best International Short Film
The short film “Hyena” by Altay Ulan Yang, United States won the Pardo d’Oro for Best International Short Film in the “Cheetahs of Tomorrow” competition.
Pardino d’Argento Award
The short film “Still Playing” by Mohamed Mesbah, France won the Pardino d’Argento Award in the International section.
Best Director Award
The Best Director Award in this section of the festival was given to the short film Primera enseñanza, by Aria Sánchez and Marina Meira, Cuba/Spain/Brazil.
Best Short Film Award
The short film Blind, ins Auge, by Atefeh Kheirabadi and Mehrad Sepahnia, Iran/Germany, also won the Best Short Film Award in the Tomorrow's Leopard.
AG Media Sponsorship Award
The Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Media Sponsorship Award went to the short film “Force Times Displacement” by Angel WU, Taiwan.
Winners of the First Films Feature competition
The members of the jury of the “First Films” competition at the 78th Locarno International Film Festival, which included: James Hawkinson, Cinematographer - USA, Judith Lou Lévy, producer - France, and Patricia Mazuy, director - France, announced their votes as follows:
Best Director's Debut Award
The Best Director's Debut Award (First Directorial Feature) in this category went to the “Blue Heron” by Sophy Romvari, Canada/Hungary.
Winners of the Pardo Verde Competition
The jury members of the Pardo Verde competition on the theme of the climate crisis, which included: Michael Almereyda, Director, writer and producer - USA, Martina Parenti, director - Italy, and Seta Thakur, Head of Communications and Social Innovation,
Wyss Academy for Nature - Switzerland, announced their votes as follows:
Pardo Verde
The “Pardo Verd” award was given to the film “Mare's Nes” by Ben Rivers, UK/France/ Canada.
Special Mentions
The film “Hair, Paper, Water...”, by Nicolas Graux and Minh Quy Truong, Belgium/ France/ Vietnam, as well as the film “A South Facing Window” by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, France/ Mongolia, were Special Mentions by the jury.
The 78th Locarno International Film Festival was held in Locarno, Switzerland, from August 5 to 15, 2025, under the chairmanship of Maja Hoffmann, under the artistic direction of Giona A. Nazzaro, and with the screening of more than 200 films from directors from different countries around the world, in several different competition and non- competition.
Locarno International Film Festival focuses on world independent cinema and is considered the fourth most prestigious festival in the world after Cannes, Venice and Berlinale