The Golden Leopard () 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.
Among its winners are René Clair, Roberto Rossellini, John Ford, Otto Preminger, Michelangelo Antonioni, Stanley Kubrick, Kon Ichikawa, Miloš Forman, Glauber Rocha, Raúl Ruiz, Mike Leigh, Jim Jarmusch, Terence Davies, Claire Denis, Jafar Panahi, Jean-Claude Brisseau, Albert Serra, Lav Diaz, Hong Sang-soo, Wang Bing, and Pedro Costa.
History 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.
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.
Soviet filmmaker Svetlana Proskurina was the first woman to win the prize at the 43rd edition, for Accidental Waltz (1990). While René Clair is the only director to have won the award twice, winning in the first two years of the festival.
Winners
1940s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 1946 And Then There Were None René Clair United States 1947 Man About Town Le silence est d'or René Clair and Robert Pirosh France, United States 1948 Germany Year Zero Germania, anno zero Roberto Rossellini Italy, France, Germany 1949 The Farm of Seven Sins La ferme des sept péchés Jean Devaivre France
1950s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 1950 When Willie Comes Marching Home John FordUnited States 1952 Hunted Charles Crichton United Kingdom 1953 Julius Caesar David Bradley United States The Composer Glinka Композитор Глинка Grigori Aleksandrov Soviet Union The Glass Wall Maxwell Shane United States 1954 Gate of Hell 地獄門 Teinosuke Kinugasa Japan The Sheep Has Five Legs Le mouton à cinq pattes Henri Verneuil France, United States Rotation Wolfgang Staudte East Germany 1955 Carmen Jones Otto Preminger United States The Emperor's Nightingale Císařův slavík Jiří Trnka Czechoslovakia 1957 Il grido Michelangelo Antonioni Italy, United States 1958 Ten North Frederick Philip DunneUnited States 1959 Killer's Kiss Stanley Kubrick 1960s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 1960 Il bell'Antonio Mauro Bolognini Italy 1961 Fires on the Plain 野火 Kon Ichikawa Japan 1962 The Winner Un cœur gros comme ça François Reichenbach France 1963 Transport from Paradise Transport z ráje Zbyněk Brynych Czechoslovakia 1964 Black Peter Černý Petr Miloš Forman 1965 Four in the Morning Anthony Simmons United Kingdom 1966 Everyday Courage Každý den odvahu Evald Schorm Czechoslovakia 1967 Entranced Earth Terra em Transe Glauber Rocha Brazil 1968 The Visionaries I visionari Maurizio Ponzi Italy 1969 Charles, Dead or Alive Charles mort ou vif Alain Tanner Switzerland Those Who Wear Glasses Szemüvegesek Sándor Simó Hungary Three Sad Tigers Tres tristes tigres Raoul Ruiz Chile No Path Through Fire В огне брода нет Gleb Panfilov Soviet Union
1970s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 1970 End of the Road Aram Avakian United States Lilika Лилика Branko Pleša Yugoslavia This Transient Life無常 Akio Jissoji Japan Soleil O Med HondoMauritania, France 1971 They Have Changed Their Face Hanno cambiato faccia Corrado Farina Italy On the Point of Death In punto di morte Mario Garriba The Friends Les amis Gérard Blain France Private Road Barney Platts-Mills United Kingdom Signs on the Road Znaki na drodze Andrzej Jerzy Piotrowski PolandMexico: The Frozen Revolution México, la revolución congeladaRaymundo Gleyzer Argentina 1972 Bleak Moments Mike Leigh United Kingdom 1973 The Illumination Iluminacja Krzysztof Zanussi Poland 1974 25 Fireman's Street Tűzoltó utca 25. István Szabó Hungary 1975 The Son of Amir Is Dead Le fils d'Amr est mort Jean-Jacques Andrien Belgium, France, Tunisia 1976 The Big NightLe grand soir Francis Reusser Switzerland 1977 Antonio Gramsci: The Days of Prison Antonio Gramsci: i giorni del carcere Lino Del Fra Italy 1978 The Idlers of the Fertile Valley Οι Τεμπέληδες της εύφορης κοιλάδας Nikos Panayotopoulos Greece 1979 The Herd Sürü Zeki Ökten and Yılmaz Güney Turkey
1980s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 1980 To Love the Damned Maledetti vi amerò Marco Tullio Giordana Italy 1981 The Vicious Circle Chakra Rabindra Dharmaraj India 1983The Princess Adj király katonát! Pál Erdöss Hungary 1984 Stranger Than Paradise Jim Jarmusch United States, West Germany 1985 Alpine Fire Höhenfeuer Fredi M. Murer Switzerland 1986 Lake of ConstanceJezioro Bodeńskie Janusz Zaorski Poland 1987 The Jester O Bobo José Álvaro Morais Portugal 1988 Distant Voices, Still Lives Terence Davies United Kingdom Schmetterlinge Wolfgang Becker West Germany 1989 Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? 달마가 동쪽으로 간 까닭은? Bae Yong-kyun South Korea
1990s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 1990 Accidental Waltz Случайный вальс Svetlana Proskurina Soviet Union 1991 Johnny Suede Tom DiCillo France, United States, Switzerland 1992 Autumn Moon 秋月 Clara Law Hong Kong, Japan 1993 The Place on a Grey TricorneAzghyin ushtykzyn'azaby Yermek Shinarbayev Kazakhstan 1994 Khomrehخمره Ebrahim Forouzesh Iran 1995 Raï Thomas Gilou France 1996 Nenette and Boni Nénette et Boni Claire Denis France 1997 The Mirror آینه Jafar Panahi Iran 1998 Mr. Zhao 趙先生 Lü Yue China, Hong Kong 1999 Skin of Man, Heart of Beast Peau d’homme, cœur de bête Hélène Angel France
2000s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 2000 Father 冤家父子 Wang Shuo China 2001 Off to the Revolution by a 2CV Alla rivoluzione sulla due cavalli Maurizio Sciarra Italy 2002 The Longing Das Verlangen Iain Dilthey Germany 2003 Khamosh Paniخاموش پانی Sabiha Sumar Pakistan, France, Germany 2004 Private Saverio Costanzo Italy 2005 Nine Lives Rodrigo García United States 2006 Das Fräulein Andrea Štaka Switzerland, Germany 2007 The Rebirth 愛の予感 Masahiro Kobayashi Japan 2008 Parque Vía Enrique Rivero Mexico 2009 She, a Chinese Xiaolu Guo United Kingdom, France, Germany, China
2010s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 2010 Winter Vacation 寒假 Hongqi Li China 2011 Back to Stay Abrir puertas y ventanas Milagros Mumenthaler Argentina, Switzerland, Netherlands 2012 The Girl from Nowhere La fille de nulle part Jean-Claude Brisseau France 2013 Story of My Death Història de la meva mort Albert Serra Spain, France 2014 From What Is Before Mula sa Kung Ano ang Noon Lav Diaz Philippines 2015 Right Now, Wrong Then 지금은 맞고 그때는 틀리다 Hong Sang-soo South Korea 2016 Godless Безбог Ralitza Petrova Bulgaria, Denmark, France 2017 Mrs. Fang 方绣英 Wang Bing China, France, Germany 2018 A Land Imagined 幻土Yeo Siew Hua Singapore, France, Netherlands 2019 Vitalina VarelaPedro Costa Portugal 2020s Year English Title Original Title Director(s) Production Country 2021 Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas Edwin Indonesia, Singapore, Germany 2022 Rule 34 Regra 34 Júlia Murat Brazil, France 2023 Critical Zone منطقه بحرانی Ali Ahmadzadeh Iran, Germany 2024 Toxic Akiplėša Saulė Bliuvaitė Lithuania 2025 Two Seasons, Two Strangers 旅と日々 Sho Miyake Japan2026You Don't Belong HereNu e locul tau aiciFlorin ȘerbanRomania
References
External links Locarno Awards Database Official site IMDb