The winners are in, as the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival revealed its 2026 awards and special mentions in the Swiss town on Saturday.
In the international competition, Romanian director Florin Șerban’s Nu E Locul Tau Aici (You Don’t Belong Here) was honored with the Pardo d’Oro, or Golden Leopard.
The father-son drama, set in a small town, revolves around a man raising his teenage son, Ioan, alone after the death of his wife. He doesn’t know that his son gets up at night to cycle through town and vandalize cars with a gang of masked vigilantes. His world is shaken when he learns that the police suspect his son of murder.
The film marks the Romanian director’s return to feature filmmaking after eight years. The jury lauded it “for the strength of its writing, the singularity of its vision, and its exceptional command of cinematic language.”
Meanwhile, the Pardo, or Leopard, for best director was awarded to Hong Sangsoo for Nun Dul Dega Eomne (Nowhere to Lay My Eyes). And among the performance honors, Monica Bellucci received one for her role in Giovanni Tortorici’s Ketticè.
In the Filmmakers of the Present Competition, La Ilusión De Un Verano Sin Fin (The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer) by Alessandra Sanguinetti was honored with the Golden Leopard.
‘Nowhere to Lay My Eyes’
Courtesy of Jeonwonsa Film Co.
Said Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro: “A vital and contemporary slate of awards, in close dialogue with the transformations in the industry and in our world today. Whether in highlighting the Romania of You Don’t Belong Here, or the Brazil of The Riverbank, or the South Korea of Nowhere to Lay My Eyes, the jury upheld the primacy of form and of language, while remaining, in its choices, completely accessible, as the packed and engaged screenings of all competitions demonstrated throughout the festival.”
Other Locarno 2026 awards were bestowed upon Beatrice Gibson for At Night and Revolutionaries Never Die by Mohanad Yaqubi, among others.
Meanwhile, the festival’s industry strand, Locarno Pro, hit a record, crossing the 2,000 industry registration mark for the first time. This year’s 2,140 industry accreditations were up 10 percent from last year’s 1,940. Professionals from nearly 100 countries participated.
Said Markus Duffner, director of Locarno Pro: “The numbers show Pro is cementing its place as an essential industry platform, but what matters more to me is what happens inside those numbers: honest conversations about where this industry is heading, the consolidation, the shifting financing logic, the questions Stephen Follows put to us on how little we actually know about ourselves. We kept building the next generation of producers, distributors, sales agents, programmers and filmmakers who’ll have to navigate all of that, and with the Locarno Investment Community, we’re building a platform diverse and resilient enough to keep backing the talent this industry depends on.”
The fest’s closing night will take place in the picturesque Swiss town’s Piazza Grande on Saturday, with Marc Fitoussi’s Ni vue, ni connue (All About Corinne), starring Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Kiberlain, Anne Marivin, Emmanuelle Bercot and Diane Kruger, as the closing film.
Check out the full list of Locarno 2026 winners below.
Concorso Internazionale (International Competition)
Pardo d’Oro – Grand Prize of the Festival and City of Locarno
CHF 75,000 to be shared equally between the director and the producer
Nu E Locul Tau Aici (You Don’t Belong Here) by Florin Șerban, Romania
Special Jury Prize – Cities of Ascona and Losone
CHF 30,000 to be shared equally between the director and the producer
A Margem do Rio (The Riverbank) by Matheus Farias, Enock Carvalho, Brazil/Germany
Pardo for Best Direction – City and Region of Locarno
CHF 20,000 to the director
Hong Sangsoo for Nun Dul Dega Eomne (Nowhere to Lay My Eyes), South Korea
Pardo for Best Performance
Kim Minhee for Nun Dul Dega Eomne (Nowhere to Lay My Eyes) by Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
Pardo for Best Performance
Monica Bellucci for Ketticè by Giovanni Tortorici, Italy
Special Performance Mentions
Xavier Bergeron for Violence du Corps de L’Autre by Denis Côté, Canada
and
Teodor Butănescu for Nu E Locul Tau Aici (You Don’t Belong Here) by Florin Șerban, Romania
Concorso Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present Competition)
Pardo d’Oro – Concorso Cineasti del Presente
CHF 35,000 to be shared equally between the director and the producer
La Ilusión De Un Verano Sin Fin (The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer) by Alessandra Sanguinetti, Argentina/USA
Best Emerging Director Award – City and Region of Locarno
CHF 20,000 to the director
Beatrice Gibson for At Night, United Kingdom/France
Special Jury Prize CINE+OCS
A promotional campaign to the value of CHF 25,000 on CINE+OCS channels at the time of its theatrical release in France
Revolutionaries Never Die by Mohanad Yaqubi, Palestine/Belgium/Qatar
Pardo for Best Performance
Idrissu Tontie Jr. for Ego Reach We All (Our Time Will Come) by Amartei Armar, Ghana/France/Saudi Arabia
Pardo for Best Performance
Manal Issa for L’Estive (Summer Meadow) by Naël Khleifi, Lisa Debauche, Belgium/France
Special Mentions
Los Días Libres (The Days Off) by Lucila Mariani, Argentina/Brazil/Mexico/France
and
Hanabi (Fire Flower) by Ana Vaz, France/Brazil
Pardi di Domani (Leopards of Tomorrow)
Concorso Corti d’Autore Pardino d’Oro WePresent by WeTransfer for the Best Auteur Short Film
CHF 15,000 to the director
The Bovine Comedy by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, France
Special Mention
Et si Thuy n’existait pas (And if Thuy Didn’t Exist) by Carlo Francisco Manatad, Philippines/France/Indonesia
Concorso Internazionale Pardino d’Oro Arts3 Foundation for the Best International Short Film
CHF 10,000 to the director
Melk by Filip Anthonissen, Belgium
Pardino d’Argento Arts3 Foundation for the International Competition
CHF 5,000 to the director
Khufu by Mahmoud Assi, Egypt/France/Sweden/Canada
Pardino for the Best Direction WeShort for the International Competition
CHF 5,000 to the director
Mutrion by Marco Cavazzin, Italy
Locarno Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards
Melk by Filip Anthonissen, Belgium
Special Mention
Las Damas by Camille Zéhenne, France
Concorso Nazionale Pardino d’Oro SRG SSR for the Best Swiss Short Film
CHF 10,000 to the director
Typhoon Mambo by Domenico Singha Pedroli, Switzerland/France/Thailand
Pardino d’Argento SRG SSR for the National Competition
CHF 5,000 to the director
Alles Gute (Take Care) by Patricia Strübin, Switzerland
Best Swiss Newcomer Award
Equipment and services offered by Downtown Studio (CHF 10,000) and Taurus Studio (CHF 2,000)
Respirer Une Fois Sur Trois by Charlyne Genoud, Switzerland
OTHER AWARDS
Swatch First Feature Award
CHF 15,000 to the director
La Ilusión De Un Verano Sin Fin (The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer) by Alessandra Sanguinetti
Pardo for Change
CHF 20,000 to the director
Ego Reach We All (Our Time Will Come) by Amartei Armar
Special Mentions
Los Nuevos (The Newcomers) by Rodrigo Plá, Mexico/Spain
and
Private Property by Deepak Rauniyar, USA/Nepal/France/Australia
Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare
CHF 15,000 to the director
Paradeisa by Marleen Valien, Germany
Independent Juries and Awards
Ecumenical Jury Prize
CHF 10,000 to the director
Hong Sangsoo for Nun Dul Dega Eomne (Nowhere to Lay My Eyes), South Korea
FIPRESCI Prize (International Federation of Film Critics)
Lejos de Los Árboles (Far from the Trees) by Meritxell Colell Aparicio, Spain/Peru/Italy
Europa Cinemas Label
Nu E Locul Tau Aici (You Don’t Belong Here) by Florin Șerban, Romania
Semaine de la Critique Awards (Critics’ Week)
Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique – Prix SRG SSR
CHF 5,000 to the director and the producer
A Teraz Wiosna (Blossoming) by Kamila Serwicka, Poland
Marco Zucchi Award
CHF 2,000 to the formally and most aesthetically innovative documentary
Seul Le Serpent Sait (Only the Serpent Knows) by Olivier Séror, Martin Verdet, France
Junior Jury Awards
International Competition
First Prize (CHF 6,000)
Nu E Locul Tau Aici (You Don’t Belong Here) by Florin Șerban, Romania
Second Prize (CHF 4,000)
Violence du Corps de L’Autre by Denis Côté, Canada
Third Prize (CHF 2,000)
Manhunt by Wayne Wapeemukwa, Canada
“The Environment Is Quality of Life” Prize
CHF 3,000 offered by the Ticino Department of Internal Affairs
I Rarely Wake Up Dreaming by Isabelle Stever, Germany/Ukraine
Special Mention
D’Ici Là by Sarah Leonor, France
Pardi di Domani
International Competition
Hershewe Fazanawerd (Forgotten Spaceman) by Elham Ehsas, United Kingdom/Afghanistan
National Competition
Respirer Une Fois Sur Trois by Charlyne Genoud, Switzerland
Auteur Short Films
Ãsheghetam by Filmsaaz, France/Switzerland/Iran
Special Mention – International Competition
Premier Feu (First Fire) by Blanca Camell Galí, France/Spain
Special Mention – Auteur Short Films
The Bovine Comedy by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke, France
Open Doors Screenings – “The Environment Is Quality of Life” Prize
Concrete Moves by Fagamou Fama Ndiaye, Senegal
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