Locarno 2025

78th Locarno Film Festival, Switzerland

Switzerland, August 6 - 16, 2025

Festival homepage

The jury

Sabrina Schwob (Switzerland), Britt Sørensen (Norway), Alonso Aguilar (Costa Rica), Savina Petkova (Bulgaria), Alessandro Amato (Italy),

Awarded films

Dry Leaf by Alexandre Koberidze,
(Germany, Georgia, 2025, 186 min)

Reports

Motivation: “We as a FIPRESCI Jury strive to highlight films which reinvent what cinema can be. Our winning film takes the traditions of silent cinema and combines them with more popular aspects of filmmaking, evoking the viewers emotional trust even if the image resists it”.

FIPRESCI Celebrates 100th Anniversary:

At the official press aperitif of the 78th Locarno Film Festival, our colleague Giona A. Nazzaro, the festival’s artistic director, was joined by FIPRESCI president Ahmed Shawky to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the federation. Nazzaro highlighted the enduring importance of film criticism as a vital tool for supporting emerging talent and defending freedom of expression—an issue that is increasingly urgent in today’s world.

Shawky emphasized the historic relationship between FIPRESCI and Locarno, noting that the festival hosted the first FIPRESCI jury back in 1958. Over the decades, both the festival and the federation have helped hundreds of filmmakers gain well-deserved recognition for their work. The FIPRESCI jury at Locarno 78, chaired by Norwegian critic Britt Sørensen, was part of a distinguished gathering of international journalists attending the event.