Lithuanian filmmaker Saulė Bliuvaitė has clinched the Golden Leopard in the main international competition of the 77th Locarno Film Festival with her debut feature Toxic.
Directed by Bliuvaitė from a screenplay she also wrote, the film follows two 13-year-olds, Marija and Kristina, who form a unique bond at a local modeling school, where the promise of a better life pushes girls to violate their bodies in increasingly extreme ways.
The pic was one of the buzzier titles on the ground in Locarno and was also Locarno chief Giona A. Nazzaro‘s early pick from the official competition during our interview with him prior to the festival.
“The victory of newcomer Saulė Bliuvaitė, whose Toxic won the Pardo d’Oro and the Swatch First Feature Award, confirms the Locarno Film Festival‘s ability to identify the most innovative talents in the business,” Nazzaro said this afternoon.
Elsewhere, Kurdwin Ayub’s Mond won the Special Jury Prize, while the Pardo for Best Direction went to Laurynas Bareiša for Seses (Drowning Dry). The two Best Performance Awards were given respectively to Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela, and Paulius Markevičius for Seses (Drowning Dry) and to Kim Minhee, star of Hong Sangsoo’s By The Stream. The inaugural MUBI award went to Green Line by Sylvie Ballyot.
This year’s competition jury was led by Jessica Hausner and featured Diana Elbaum, Payal Kapadia, Luca Marinelli, and Tim Blake Nelson. The festival opened with The Flood by Gianluca Jodice. This evening, the fest will close with the screening of Le Procès du chien by Laetitia Dosch. Check out the full winners list below.
Concorso Internazionale
Pardo d’Oro – Grand Prize of the Festival and City of Locarno
AKIPLĖŠA (TOXIC) by Saulė Bliuvaitė, Lithuania
Special Jury Prize – Cities of Ascona and Losone
MOND by Kurdwin Ayub, Austria
Pardo for Best Direction – City and Region of Locarno
to Laurynas Bareiša for SESES (DROWNING DRY), Lithuania/Latvia
Pardo for Best Performance
to Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela, Paulius Markevičius for SESES (DROWNING DRY) by Laurynas Bareiša, Lithuania/Latvia
Pardo for Best Performance
to Kim Minhee for SUYOOCHEON (BY THE STREAM) by Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
Special Mentions
QING CHUN (KU) (YOUTH (HARD TIMES)) by WANG Bing, France/Luxembourg/Netherlands
SALVE MARIA by Mar Coll, Spain
Concorso Cineasti del Presente
Pardo d’Oro – Concorso Cineasti del Presente
HOLY ELECTRICITY by Tato Kotetishvili, Georgia/Netherlands
Best Emerging Director Award – City and Region of Locarno
to Denise Fernandes for HANAMI, Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde
Special Jury Prize CINÉ+
KOUTÉ VWA (LISTEN TO THE VOICES) by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Belgium/France/French Guiana
Pardo for Best Performance
to Callie Hernandez for INVENTION by Courtney Stephens, USA
Pardo for Best Performance
to Anna Mészöly for FEKETE PONT (LESSON LEARNED) by Bálint Szimler, Hungary
Special Mentions
FEKETE PONT (LESSON LEARNED) by Bálint Szimler, Hungary
KADA JE ZAZVONIO TELEFON (WHEN THE PHONE RANG) by Iva Radivojević, Serbia/USA
Pardi di Domani
Concorso Corti d’Autore
Pardino d’Oro Swiss Life for the Best Auteur Short Film
UPSHOT by Maha Haj, Palestine/Italy/France
Special Mention
GWE-IN ESI JEONGCHE (THE MASKED MONSTER) by Syeyoung Park, South Korea
Locarno Film Festival Short Film Candidate – European Film Awards
LA FILLE QUI EXPLOSE by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, France
Concorso Internazionale
Pardino d’Oro SRG SSR for the Best International Short Film
WASHHH by Mickey Lai, Malaysia/Ireland
Pardino d’Argento SRG SSR for the International Competition
GIMN CHUME (HYMN OF THE PLAGUE) by Ataka51, Germany/Russia
Pardi di Domani Best Direction Award – BONALUMI Engineering
QUE TE VAYA BONITO, RICO by Joel Alfonso Vargas,United Kingdom/USA
Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Award
THE FORM by Melika Pazouki, Iran
Special Mention
FREAK by Claire Barnett, USA
Concorso Nazionale
Pardino d’Oro Swiss Life for the Best Swiss Short Film
SANS VOIX by Samuel Patthey, Switzerland
Pardino d’Argento Swiss Life for the National Competition
BETTER NOT KILL THE GROOVE by Jonathan Leggett, Switzerland
Best Swiss Newcomer Award
to Gabriel Grosclaude for LUX CARNE, Switzerland
Special Mention
PROGRESS MINING by Gabriel Böhmer, United Kingdom/Switzerland
First Feature
Swatch First Feature Award
AKIPLĖŠA (TOXIC) by Saulė Bliuvaitė, Lithuania
MUBI Award – Debut Feature
GREEN LINE by Sylvie Ballyot, France/Lebanon/Qatar
Special Mentions
HANAMI by Denise Fernandes, Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde
KOUTÉ VWA (LISTEN TO THE VOICES) by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Belgium/France/French Guiana
Pardo Verde
supported by the Ente Regionale per lo Sviluppo del Locarnese e Vallemaggia
Pardo Verde
AGORA by Ala Eddine Slim, Tunisia/France/Saudi Arabia/Qatar
Special Mentions
DER FLECK by Willy Hans, Germany/Switzerland
REVOLVING ROUNDS by Johann Lurf and Christina Jauernik, Austria
