Each summer, the Swiss town of Locarno transforms into one of the most captivating spots for cinephiles. The Locarno Film Festival, founded in 1946, is renowned for its daring selections, its blend of established auteurs and emerging voices, and its open-air screenings in the Piazza Grande, where thousands gather under the night sky to celebrate cinema. Unlike the glamour of Cannes or the prestige of Venice, Locarno has built its reputation on risk-taking programming and an enduring commitment to artistic freedom.
The 2025 edition of the festival, held from August 6 to August 16, once again confirmed why Locarno is a unique meeting point for filmmakers, critics, and audiences. From bold political dramas to experimental narratives, the program reflected cinema’s ability to push boundaries while still engaging audiences on a deeply emotional level.
One of Locarno’s highlights is its Golden Leopard (Pardo d’oro), awarded to the best film in the international competition. Over the decades, this award has launched the careers of directors who later became some of the most influential names in world cinema. This year’s winners once again underline Locarno’s role as a festival that values cinematic risk, diversity, and cultural dialogue.
2025 Award Winners at Locarno:
- Golden Leopard – Best Film: Two Seasons, Two Strangers – Sho Miyake
- Special Jury Prize: White Snail – Elsa Kremser & Levin Peter
- Best Director Award: Abbas Fahdel – Tales of the Wounded Land
- Best Performance Awards (gender-neutral):
- Manuela Martelli & Ana Marija Veselčić – God Will Not Help
- Marya Imbro & Mikhail Senkov – White Snail
- Leopard of Honour: Alexander Payne
The whole official Palmares can be checked here.
Locarno’s identity is also tied to its open-air screenings, where films are projected on one of the world’s largest outdoor screens, turning cinema into a communal ritual beneath the stars. It is precisely this atmosphere — mixing discovery, experimentation, and collective experience — that makes Locarno stand out in the crowded festival circuit.
The 2025 edition has once again proven that in a festival landscape often dominated by the predictable, Locarno remains a place where cinema can surprise, provoke, and inspire
