At the Locarno Film Festival 2019 the juries have chosen their winners. The Ecumenical Jury awarded its prize to "Maternal" by Maura Delpero, which is endowed with 20,000 CHF. The prize money donated by the Reformed Churches and the Catholic Church in Switzerland is intended for the Swiss distribution of the film. The film also received a Special Mention of the International Festival Jury.
A Commendation of the Ecumenical Jury won "Vitalina Valera" by Pedro Costa from Portugal. His film was the big winner of the festival. He received the Golden Leopard from the International Festival jury and another Leopard for Best Actress, Vitalina Valera, who plays herself. Other prizes went to "Pa-go" (The Height of the Wave) by Park Jung-bum from South Korea (Special Jury Prize) and to Damien Manivel for the French competition entry "Les enfants d'Isadoro" (Best Director). The Fipresci-Prize of the International Film Critics Jury was awarded to "A Febre" by Maya Da-Rin.
The feature film debut of Italian director Ginevra Elkann, "Magari", opened the 72nd Locarno Film Festival on the Piazza Grande. It was the first festival under the direction of Lili Hinstin, who succeeds Carlo Chatrian, who has been appointed to Berlin. Hinstin announced that she wants to preserve the profile of the festival, which is characterized by the accent on cinematic discoveries, but also to set new accents. In addition to the directors known for their stylistic idiosyncrasy, such as Pedro Costa (Portugal), Ulrich Köhler (Germany) and Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche (France), the 17 international films include discoveries such as the first feature film by the Brazilian Maya Da-Rin, "A Febre" (The Fever), which previously created documentaries and video installations in the German production Komplizenfilm, or Basil da Cunha, who represents Switzerland with his second feature film" O fim do mundo "(The End of the World).
Link: Festival website