Belgian filmmaker Fabrice du Welz will head the international competition jury of the 79th Locarno Film Festival, forming part of the full list of jurors announced by the festival across its categories.
Du Welts has made nine feature films to date, which have been screened at major festivals. Locarno screened two of his films, Adoration in Piazza Grande in 2019 and Out of Competition The Passion of Beatrice in 2024. Locarno was joined on the jury by Italian producer Marco Alessi, founder of Rome-based Dugong Films and producer of Bertrand Mandico’s Roma. Elastica” will play non-competitively in Locarno this year. Rounding out the panel is Lolita Shammer, a French actor whose career includes collaborations with Claude Chabrol, Werner Schroeter, Claire Denis, Claire Simon and Benoît Jacot. Chilean actor Paulina García won the Silver Bear Award for her role in “Gloria” in 2013. Olivier Père, previously artistic director at Locarno and general director of Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, currently heads Arte France Cinema’s film department as executive director, a position he has held since 2012.
The Filmmakers of the Present Competition, a category dedicated to emerging directors, will be judged by Tunisian actor, director and producer Afef Ben Mahmoud, who is also the director of the Gabes Cinema Fen Festival. Czech producer and director Radovan Syburut. Co-founder of production company Pink. His credits include the Academy Award-winning “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” (2025). And director Margherita Spampinato won the Kering Women in Motion Emerging Talent Award at the Cannes Film Festival, following last year’s selection in the David di Donatello category, for her groundbreaking feature film Sweetheart (Gioia Mia).
Three filmmakers will serve as judges in the “Leopards of Tomorrow” category. Lebanese director, writer and actor Mounia Akl has presented her work in Cannes, Venice, Toronto and London. South African producer Steven Markovitz has been active in the region’s independent film industry for many years, with credits including ‘aKasha’ (2018), ‘Rafiki’ (2018), ‘Tug of War’ (2021) and ‘Omen’ (2023). Italian director Antonio Piazza, who co-directed Sicilian Letters (Idu, 2024) with Fabio Grasadonia, will conclude the panel. The film was first shown in competition in Venice.
The First Feature jury, which awards the Swatch First Feature Award to the festival’s best debut film, is made up of Mathieu Dallas, who runs festival consultancy Tatino and has programming experience at Cannes, Venice, San Sebastian and Torino FilmLab. Sung Moon is a programmer at the Jeonju International Film Festival and a former member of the Korean Film Council. And Swiss-Peruvian film director Claudia Reinicke, whose film Queens (Reinas) won the Public UBS Prize at Locarno 77, became a Swiss Oscar nominee and winner of the Swiss Film Award.
The jury for Pardo for Change, which recognizes films that address environmental, ethical, social and cultural issues, includes freelance war correspondent and author Gianluca Grossi. Somali-Austrian filmmaker Mo Harawe bowed in the Cannes 2024 Un Certain Regard sidebar with his debut film The Village Next Door. and Seta Thakur, who leads communications and social innovation efforts at Wyss Academy for Nature.
A separate jury will oversee the Locarno Kids Screening and decide the winners of the Locarno Kids Award La Mobiale, the festival’s new competitive division for feature films made for young audiences. This year, for the first time, 13 judges aged 11 to 15 will judge seven titles in the category before selecting the winners, and will meet daily throughout the festival to conduct a training program led by industry experts.
Locarno’s Artistic Director Jonah A. Nazzaro said, “Choosing who will see a film in competition is always a task that evokes desire and emotion. Diversity of talent is matched by diversity of perspective. But in the end, what matters most is surprise, wonder, It is a willingness to be inspired and embrace the unexpected. In this sense, we are proud that the 79th film will begin its journey around the world with the talented creative personalities who have agreed to share the adventures of Locarno.” Let’s enjoy the Locarno Film Festival together. ”
The 79th Locarno Film Festival will be held from August 5th to 15th.
