This is the list of all major winners (in different years: «Golden Leopard», «Grand Prize of the Jury of Youth», «Prize for Best Direction», «Golden Sail», «Grand Prize», «Best Film») of the Locarno International Film Festival since 1946. In the notes: information about the number of the festival, the year of the event and the country of production of the winner.
Unrewarded Years due to canceled, or noncompetitive, or failed competitive festival issue:
• 1951, — Canceled (festival did not take place)
• 1956, — Canceled (festival did not take place)
• 1982, 35th Locarno — Noncompetitive (only special jury mentions)
• 2020, 73rd Locarno — Canceled (due to the COVID-19 pandemic; in its place is the special edition entitled…
This is the list of all major winners (in different years: «Golden Leopard», «Grand Prize of the Jury of Youth», «Prize for Best Direction», «Golden Sail», «Grand Prize», «Best Film») of the Locarno International Film Festival since 1946. In the notes: information about the number of the festival, the year of the event and the country of production of the winner.
Unrewarded Years due to canceled, or noncompetitive, or failed competitive festival issue:
• 1951, — Canceled (festival did not take place)
• 1956, — Canceled (festival did not take place)
• 1982, 35th Locarno — Noncompetitive (only special jury mentions)
• 2020, 73rd Locarno — Canceled (due to the COVID-19 pandemic; in its place is the special edition entitled Locarno 2020 - For the Future of Films)
Multiple Winners:
• René Clair (1946, 1947) — US/France
Winners by Country:
• France — 20: (1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1962, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022)
• United States — 15: (1946, 1947, 1950, 1953 (x2), 1954, 1955, 1957 (x2), 1958, 1959, 1970, 1984, 1991, 2005)
• Italy — 10: (1948, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1971 (x2), 1977, 1980, 2001, 2004)
• Germany — 10: (1948, 1954, 1984, 1988, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2017, 2023)
• United Kingdom — 6: (1952, 1965, 1971, 1972, 1988, 2009)
• Switzerland — 6: (1969, 1976, 1985, 1991, 2006, 2011)
• Japan — 6: (1954, 1961, 1970, 1992, 2007, 2025)
• China — 5: (1998, 2000, 2009, 2010, 2017)
• Czech Republic — 4: (1955, 1963, 1964, 1966)
• Soviet Union — 3: (1953, 1969, 1990)
• Hungary — 3: (1969, 1974, 1983)
• Poland — 3: (1971, 1973, 1986)
• Iran — 3: (1994, 1997, 2023)
• Portugal — 2: (1987, 2019)
• South Korea — 2: (1989, 2015)
• Hong Kong — 2: (1992, 1998)
• Netherlands — 2: (2011, 2018)
• Brazil — 2: (1967, 2022)
• Chile: 1969
• Serbia/Yugoslavia: 1970
• Mauritania: 1970
• Belgium: 1975
• Tunisia: 1975
• Greece: 1978
• Turkey: 1979
• India: 1981
• Kazakhstan: 1993
• Pakistan: 2003
• Mexico: 2008
• Argentina: 2011
• Spain: 2013
• Philippines: 2014
• Bulgaria: 2016
• Denmark: 2016
• Singapore: 2018
• Indonesia: 2022
• Lithuania: 2024
Info:
The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, it is one of the longest-running film festivals, and is also known for being a prestigious platform for art house films. The festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative and documentary, short, avant-garde, and retrospective programs. The Piazza Grande section is held in one of the world's largest open-air screening venues, seating 8,000 spectators. The top prize of the Festival is the Golden Leopard, awarded to the best film in the International Competition. Other awards include the Leopard of Honour for career achievement, and the Prix du Public UBS, the public choice award.
The Golden Leopard (Italian: Pardo d'oro) is the top prize at the Locarno International 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. 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.
My Letterboxd lists of Locarno Festivals:
• 77th Locarno (2024)
• 76th Locarno (2023)
• 75th Locarno (2022)
• 74th Locarno (2021)
• 73rd Locarno (2020)
• 72nd Locarno (2019)
My Letterboxd lists of Other Festival Winners:
• Golden Palm | Winners of Cannes (since 1946)
• Golden Lion | Winners of Venice (since 1932)
• Golden Bear | Winners of Berlinale (since 1951)
• Tiger Award | Winners of Rotterdam (since 1995)
• Golden Leopard | Winners of Locarno (since 1946)
• Golden Shell | Winners of San Sebastian (since 1953)
• Crystal Globe | Winners of Karlovy Vary (since 1948)
• Grand Prix | Winners of Warsaw (since 1987)
• Golden Wolf | Winners of Tallinn Black Nights (since 2004)
• Sundance | Winners (since 1984)
• SXSW | Winners (since 1995)
• Tribeca | Winners (since 2002)
• Slamdance | Winners (since 1996)
• TIFF | Winners (since 1978)
www.locarnofestival.ch/
