The 76th annual Locarno Festival was held from 2 August to 12 August 2023 in Locarno, Switzerland.[1][2]
French actor Lambert Wilson was the head of the Main Competition Jury.[3] American filmmaker Harmony Korine received the Pardo d’Onore Manor.[4]
Iranian film Critical Zone, directed by Ali Ahmadzadeh, was the winner of the Golden Leopard, the festival main prize. Radu Jude's Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World was the winner of the Special Jury Prize.[5]
For this year edition, the acting categories (Best Actor/Best Actress) became gender-neutral after the creation of the Best Performance category. At the Main Competition, the winners were Dimitra Vlagopoulou for Animal and Renée Soutendijk for Sweet Dreams.[5]
17 films, including 9 world premieres, were screened at the Piazza Grande, Locarno's open-air theater that accommodates a nightly audience of up to 8,000 people:[1][6]
The Concorso internazionale explores new territories in moviemaking. This year's selection of 17 titles, all world premieres and one as an international premiere, will be competing for the Pardo d’oro:[1][6]
The Fuori concorso section features 12 films, of which 11 are world premieres, from outstanding directors’ intent on exploring new possibilities in filmic narration:[1][6]
The Concorso Cineasti del presente selection, dedicated to discovering the cinema of tomorrow, comprises 15 films: first and second features, all world premieres:[1][6]
The Pardi di domani section, dedicated to short films by emerging Swiss and international directors, combines with auteur shorts competition Concorso Corti d’autore to screen a total of 40 films, all presented as world premieres. The selection is completed by the collection of short films made during the Spring Academy, led this year by director Radu Jude:[1][6]
In the second of three years dedicated to cinemas in Latin America and the Caribbean, Open Doors will offer an overview of the most interesting independent productions from its current focus region. For the Open Doors Screenings, this year's focus will be on film from South American continent, with 18 long, medium and short films, of which one is a world premiere:[1][6]
Unprecedented perspectives on movie history with 18 films, including prestigious restored titles, valuable rediscoveries and works that have become part of the collective imagination:[1][6]
“Espectáculo a diario – Las distintas temporadas del cine popular mexicano” (“Spectacle Every Day – The Many Seasons of Mexican Popular Cinema”) will offer an intensive investigation of Mexican filmmaking from the 1940s to the end of the 1960s, covering decades hallmarked by astonishing creativity and peppered with stars of the silver screen and one-of-a-kind directors who were an inspiration for generations. This year's Retrospective is curated by Olaf Möller, in collaboration with Roberto Turigliatto. A collection of essays in Spanish and English to accompany the event, curated by Jorge Javier Negrete Camacho and Alonso Díaz de la Vega, will be published by Les éditions de l’Œil:[1][6]
A rite of passage into the movies, with 8 titles for children and teenagers, featuring exclusive premieres, golden oldies, and forays into the world of animation:[1][6]
Founded in 1990, the Semaine de la Critique is an independent section within the Locarno Film Festival organized by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists. This year's Locarno's Critics’ Week features 7 full-length documentaries as world or international premieres:[1][6]
A selection of titles representing the state of the art in Swiss cinema, chosen by representatives from SWISS FILMS, the Solothurner Filmtage and the Swiss Film Academy, Panorama Suisse presents 10 current Swiss films such as festival successes, audience favorites and films that have not yet been released in theaters. Film lovers from all over the world have the opportunity to discover current Swiss filmmaking in its own dedicated section at the Locarno Festival.:[1][6]