Pardo for Best Direction
| Pardo for Best Direction | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 2026 recipient: Hong Sang-soo | |
| Awarded for | Best director |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Presented by | Locarno International Film Festival |
| First award | 1946 |
| Currently held by | Hong Sang-soo for Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (2026) |
The Pardo for Best Direction award is given annually at the Locarno Film Festival to the best director in the Main Competition (Concorso Internazionale).
Among its winners are: René Clair, John Ford, Roberto Rossellini, Hong Sang-soo, Pedro Costa, Andrzej Żuławski, and Abel Ferrara.
History
[edit]René Clair was the award first winner for And Then There Were None (1946), at the festival's 1st edition. Clair is also the first filmmaker to won the prize twice. At the 3rd edition, John Ford and Roberto Rossellini shared the prize, for Fort Apache and Germany, Year Zero, respectively.
After a 46-year-long hiatus, the award was reintroduced at the 59th edition, where Laurent Achard won for The Last of the Crazy People (2006). Canadian filmmaker Denis Côté won twice for All That She Wants (2008) and Curling (2010). Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski won for his last feature film Cosmos (2015).
Chilean filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor was the first woman to win the prize, for her drama film Too Late to Die Young (2018). While Iraqi filmmaker Abbas Fahdel won for Tales of the Wounded Land (2025), marking the first documentary to win the prize.
South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo is the most recent two-time winner, following his win for Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (2026).
Winners
[edit]
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1940s
[edit]| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | And Then There Were None | René Clair | |
| 1947 | Man About Town | Le Silence est d'or | |
| 1948 | Fort Apache (1st prize) | John Ford | |
| Germany, Year Zero (2nd prize) | Germania anno zero | Roberto Rossellini | |
| 1949 - 1959: No Award Given | |||
1960s
[edit]| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Foma Gordeev | Фома Гордеев | Mark Donskoy |
| 1961- 2005: No Award Given | |||
2000s
[edit]| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | The Last of the Crazy People | Le Dernier des fous | Laurent Achard |
| 2007 | Capitaine Achab | Philippe Ramos | |
| 2008 | All That She Wants | Elle veut le chaos | Denis Côté |
| 2009 | Tambourine, Drum | Бубен, барабан | Aleksei Mizgiryov |
2010s
[edit]| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Curling[1] | Denis Côté | |
| 2011 | Best Intentions[2] | Din dragoste cu cele mai bune intentii | Adrian Sitaru |
| 2012 | When Night Falls[3] | 我还有话要说 | Ying Liang |
| 2013 | Our Sunhi[4] | 우리 선희 | Hong Sang-soo |
| 2014 | Horse Money[5] | Cavalo Dinheiro | Pedro Costa |
| 2015 | Cosmos[6] | Andrzej Żuławski | |
| 2016 | The Ornithologist[7] | O Ornitólogo | João Pedro Rodrigues |
| 2017 | 9 Fingers [8] | 9 Doigts | F. J. Ossang |
| 2018 | Too Late to Die Young[9] | Tarde para morir joven | Dominga Sotomayor |
| 2019 | Isadora's Children[10] | Les Enfants d'Isadora | Damien Manivel |
2020s
[edit]| Year | English Title | Original Title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Zeros and Ones[11] | Abel Ferrara | |
| 2022 | I Have Electric Dreams[12] | Tengo sueños eléctricos | Valentina Maurel |
| 2023 | Stepne[13] | Maryna Vroda | |
| 2024 | Drowning Dry[14] | Seses | Laurynas Bareiša |
| 2025 | Tales of the Wounded Land[15] | Abbas Fahdel | |
| 2026 | Nowhere to Lay My Eyes[16] | 눈둘데가 없네 | Hong Sang-soo |
References
[edit]- ↑ "The Festival - Palmarès". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ↑ Weissberg, Jay (14 August 2011). "Locarno Leopard is 'Back To Stay'". Variety. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
- ↑ "Locarno Film Festival honours Jean-Claude Brisseau". BBC News. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ↑ "The Festival - Palmarès". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ↑ Debruge, Peter (16 August 2014). "Locarno Favorite Lav Diaz's 'From What Is Before' Wins Top Prize". Variety. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ↑ Taylor, Meredith (15 August 2016). "Cosmos (2015): Best Director Locarno 2015". Filmuphoria. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ↑ "Palmarès 2016". Locarno. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- ↑ Anderson, Ariston (12 August 2017). "Locarno Festival: Chinese Documentary 'Mrs. Fang' Wins Golden Leopard". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
- ↑ Ercolani, Adriano (12 August 2018). "Leopard for Best Direction: Dominga Sotomayor". Locarno Festival. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ↑ Weissberg, Jay (17 August 2019). "Pedro Costa's 'Vitalina Varela' Triumphs at Locarno Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ↑ Kiang, Jessica (14 August 2021). "Golden Leopard Winner 'Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash' Heads Impressive Slate Of Locarno Award". Variety. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ↑ Lodge, Guy (13 August 2022). "Provocative Brazilian Film 'Rule 34' Wins the Top Prize at Locarno Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ↑ "The Pardo d'oro at Locarno76 goes to Mantagheye bohrani (Critical…". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ↑ Lodge, Guy (17 August 2024). "Lithuanian Teen Drama 'Toxic' Wins Big at Locarno Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- ↑ Balaga, Marta (16 August 2025). "Sho Miyake's 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' Wins at Locarno". Variety. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (15 August 2026). "Locarno Film Festival Winners: Florin Șerban, Monica Bellucci". Deadline. Retrieved 15 August 2026.