‘Rule 34’ tops Locarno Award winners

Rule 34, a provocative and sexually explicit film by Brazilian director Julia Murat, has surprisingly won the Golden Leopard at this year’s Locarno Film Festival – an edition where typically bold and formally ambitious works dominated the programme. In a powerful ceremony for women filmmakers, the Swiss festival’s main competition jury also awarded an impressive three prizes – best director and two acting awards – to gritty coming-of-age drama I Have Electric Dreams, a promising debut feature film by Costa Rican writer-director Valentina Maurel.

The full story follows; full list of winners below.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Golden Leopard for Best Film: “Rule 34”, Julia Murat

Special prize of the jury: “Gigi La Legge”, Alessandro Comedin

Best Director: “I have electric dreams”, Valentina Maurel

Best Actress: “I have electric dreams”, Daniela Marín Navarro

Best actor: “I have electric dreams”, Reinaldo Amien Gutiérrez

CINEASTI DEL PRESENTE COMPETITION

Best movie: “Night Siren”, Tereza Nvotová

Best Emerging Director: “Safe Place”, Juraj Lerotić

Special prize of the jury: “How is Katia?”, Christina Tynkevich

Best Actress: “How is Katia?”, Anastasia Karpenko

Best actor: “Safe place”, Goran Marković

Special mention: “Sister, what grows where land is sick?”, Franciska Eliassen

FIRST FEATURE COMPETITION

Swatch First Feature Award: “Safe Place”, Juraj Lerotić

Special mentions: “Love Dog,” Bianca Lucas; “De Noche Los Gatos Son Pardos”, Valentin Merz

PARDI DI DOMANI SHORT FILM COMPETITION

Best Author Short Film: “Big Bang”, Carlos Segundo

Best International Short Film: “Sovereign”, Wara

Runner up: “Neighbor Abdi”, Douwe Dijkstra

Best Director: “Barely works”, total refusal

Media Patent Management AG award: “Mulika”, Maisha Maene

Special mention: “Mother prays all day,” Hoda Taheri

Candidate for the Locarno short film for the European Film Awards: “Neighbor Abdi”, Douwe Dijkstra

Best Swiss Short Film: “Euridice, Euridice”, Lora Mure-Ravaud

Runner up: “The Newt Congress”, Matthias Sahli, Immanuel Isser

Best Swiss Newcomer: “Heartbeat”, Michele Flury

PARDO VERDE WWF AWARDS

Pardo Verde WWF award: “Material out of place”, Nikolaus Geyrhalter

Special mentions: “Sermon to the Fish”, Hilal Baydarov; “It’s Night in America,” Ana Vaz

INDEPENDENT JURY AWARDS

Ecumenical Jury Prize: “Tales from the Crimson House”, Abbas Fahdel

FIPRESCI Prize: “Stone Turtle”, Ming Jin Woo

European Cinemas Label Award: Tommy Guns, Carlos Conceicao

YOUTH JURY AWARDS

Youth Jury Prize: “Piaffe”, Ann Oren

Runner up: Tommy Guns, Carlos Conceicao

Second runner-up: “Serviam – I Will Serve”, Ruth Mader

environmental price: “Sermon to the Fishes”, Hilal Baydarov

Cineasti del Presente Prize: “Sister, what grows where land is sick?”, Franciska Eliassen

Special mention: “Petites”, Julie Lerat-Gersant

Best International Short Film: “Barely works”, total refusal

Best Swiss Short Film: “Fair Play”, Zoel Aeschbacher

Special mention: “Les Dieux du Supermarché”, Alberto Gonzalez Morales

Open Doors short price: “Techos Rotos”, Yanillys Pérez

CRITICAL WEEK AWARDS

Grand Prix: “The Hamlet Syndrome”, Elwira Niewiera, Piotr Rosołowsk

Prize Zonta Club Locarno: “Ruthless Times – Songs of Care”, Susanna Helke

Marco Zucchi Prize: “Young Birds”, Lidia Duda