Highest award given to a film at the Locarno Film Festival
Award
The Golden Leopard (Italian : Pardo d'oro ) is the top prize at the Locarno Film Festival , an international film festival held annually in Locarno , Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to be entered in the competitive selection. The winning films are chosen by a jury. The award went under many names until it was named the Golden Leopard in 1968. The festival was not held in 1951 and the prize was not awarded in 1956 and 1982. As of 2024 René Clair is the only director to have won the award twice, winning in the first two years of the festival.
Roberto Rossellini won in 1948.
John Ford won in 1950.
Otto Preminger won in 1955.
Michelangelo Antonioni won in 1957.
Stanley Kubrick won in 1959.
Kon Ichikawa won in 1961.
Miloš Forman won in 1964.
Glauber Rocha won in 1967.
Raoul Ruiz won in 1969.
Mike Leigh won in 1972.
Krzysztof Zanussi won in 1973.
István Szabó won in 1974.
Jim Jarmusch won in 1984.
Claire Denis won in 1996.
Jafar Panahi won in 1997.
Lav Diaz won in 2014.
Albert Serra won in 2013.
Hong Sang-soo won in 2015.
Pedro Costa won in 2019.
For the first two years the award was known as Best Film (Miglior film ). Then for several years the award went by the name of Grand Prize (Gran premio ). In 1950 and 1952 the award was from the International Jury of Journalists (Giuria internazionale dei giornalisti ); in 1953 and 1954 the award was from the International Jury of Critics (Giuria internazionale della critica ); in 1955 the award was from the Jury of Swiss-Italian Radio (Giuria della Radio della Svizzera Italiana ); in 1957 the award was from the Jury of the Swiss Association of Cinematographic Press (Giuria dell'Associazione Svizzera della stampa cinematografica ). In 1958 and 1960–65 the award was the Golden Sail (Vela d'oro ). In 1959 it was the Prize for Best Direction (Premio per la migliore regia ). In 1966 and 1967 the prize was the Grand Prize of the Jury of Youth (Gran premio della Giuria dei giovani ). Finally, it became the Golden Leopard in 1968.[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4]
Year
English Title
Original Title
Director(s)
Production Country
Ref.
2010
Winter Vacation
寒假
Hongqi Li
China
[ 79]
2011
Back to Stay
Abrir puertas y ventanas
Milagros Mumenthaler
Argentina, Switzerland, Netherlands
[ 80]
2012
The Girl from Nowhere
La fille de nulle part
Jean-Claude Brisseau
France
[ 81]
2013
Story of My Death
Història de la meva mort
Albert Serra
Spain, France
[ 82]
2014
From What Is Before
Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon
Lav Diaz
Philippines
[ 83]
2015
Right Now, Wrong Then
지금은 맞고 그때는 틀리다
Hong Sang-soo
South Korea
[ 84]
2016
Godless
Безбог
Ralitza Petrova
Bulgaria, Denmark, France
[ 85]
2017
Mrs. Fang
方绣英
Wang Bing
China, France, Germany
[ 86]
2018
A Land Imagined
幻土
Yeo Siew Hua
Singapore, France, Netherlands
[ 87]
2019
Vitalina Varela
Pedro Costa
Portugal
[ 88] [ 89]
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^ "2013 Locarno Film Festival" . Locarno Film Festival . Retrieved 8 April 2025 .
^ Debruge, Peter (16 August 2014). "Locarno Favorite Lav Diaz's 'From What Is Before' Wins Top Prize" . Variety . Retrieved 10 August 2025 .
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^ "2016 Locarno Film Festival" . Locarno Film Festival . Retrieved 25 September 2025 .
^ Anderson, Ariston (12 August 2017). "Locarno Festival: Chinese Documentary 'Mrs. Fang' Wins Golden Leopard" . Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 12 August 2017 .
^ Nordine, Michael (11 August 2018). "Locarno Film Festival 2018 Awards: 'A Land Imagined' Takes Home the Golden Leopard" . IndieWire . Retrieved 11 August 2018 .
^ Blaney, Martin. "Locarno Film Festival 2019 winners revealed" . Screen Daily . Retrieved 25 September 2025 .
^ Weissberg, Jay (17 August 2019). "Pedro Costa's 'Vitalina Varela' Triumphs at Locarno Film Festival" . Variety . Retrieved 25 September 2025 .
^ Kiang, Jessica (14 August 2021). "Golden Leopard Winner 'Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash' Heads Impressive Slate Of Locarno Award" . Variety . Retrieved 14 August 2021 .
^ Lodge, Guy (13 August 2022). "Provocative Brazilian Film 'Rule 34' Wins the Top Prize at Locarno Film Festival" . Variety . Retrieved 13 August 2022 .
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