Locarno 2025: Many awards for two Belgian films!
At the 78th edition, "Hair, Paper, Water… (Tóc, Giấy và Nước…)" won three awards, while "Rio remains beautiful" received one prize.
Founded in 1946, the Locarno Film Festival is one of the oldest film festivals in the world. Dedicated to auteur cinema, it takes place every summer in the Italian-speaking Swiss town of Locarno. Created to showcase new trends, the festival has often been ahead of the curve in spotting the talents of young filmmakers who later became leading figures of their generation.
Hair, Paper, Water… (Tóc, Giấy và Nước…) the second collaboration between Trương Minh Quý et Nicolas received the Pardo d’Oro for Best Film in the Cineasti del Presente section as well as a Special Mention from the jury for the Pardo Verde. The film also won the Boccalino d’Oro for Best Cinematography. It is produced by Dérives and represented internationally by Lights On.
She was born in a cave, more than 60 years ago. Now she lives in a village, with many children and grandchildren to look after. Sometimes, she dreams of her dead mother calling her home – to the cave. The film captures fleeting moments of her daily life and the transmission of her fragile language, Rục, to her grandchildren.
Rio remains beautiful, the second short film by Felipe Casanova, shown for the first time to the public in the Pardi di domani section, was awarded the Pardino d’Oro SRG SSR. Co-produced with Un Point Bleu Pâle, this film follows his first short, Loveboard, which was presented in 2023 at Kurzfilmtage Winterthur before traveling to many festivals that same year.
Within the revelry of Rio's Carnival, Ilma writes to her son. How does she sense his presence in the crowd? Suspended in time, the celebration becomes a space of memory and political resistance.
Another world premiere was A Sky So Low, the third short film by Joachim Michaux, produced by Naoko Films.
November 1989. Victor, an architecture graduate, travels to Brussels to find Elina, his summer love, but she seems to have vanished. He meets Damian, an English journalist preparing to cover the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Rosie, a mischievous young Dutch woman. Together, they set out in search of Elina through the sultry night to the rhythm of New Beat music.
Also worth noting is the selection in the same “Pardi di Domani” section of the film Air Horse One by Lasse Linder, co-produced by the Belgian company White Boat Pictures, with the support of the Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel. The "Locarno Kids" section will also feature the animated films Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake by Irène Iborra, co-produced by Panique!, as well as Mary Anning by Marcel Barelli, co-produced by La Boîte, ... Productions and Versus Production. Barelli will receive the Locarno Kids Award on the 12th of August on the Piazza Grande. Finally, Obi Nobuby Carlos Yuri Ceuninck and co-produced by Neon Rouge Production will be in the "Open Doors Screening" selection.
This edition took place from August 6 to 16, 2025.
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