Locarno Film Festival Winners: Lithuanian Teen Drama ‘Toxic’ Takes Top Prize 

Lithuanian filmmaker Saulė Bliuvaitė has clinched the Golden Leopard in the main international competition of the 77th Locarno Film Festival with her debut feature Toxic.

Directed by Bliuvaitė from a screenplay she also wrote, the film follows two 13-year-olds, Marija and Kristina, who form a unique bond at a local modeling school, where the promise of a better life pushes girls to violate their bodies in increasingly extreme ways.

The pic was one of the buzzier titles on the ground in Locarno and was also Locarno chief Giona A. Nazzaro‘s early pick from the official competition during our interview with him prior to the festival.

“The victory of newcomer Saulė Bliuvaitė, whose Toxic won the Pardo d’Oro and the Swatch First Feature Award, confirms the Locarno Film Festival‘s ability to identify the most innovative talents in the business,” Nazzaro said this afternoon. 

Elsewhere, Kurdwin Ayub’s Mond won the Special Jury Prize, while the Pardo for Best Direction went to Laurynas Bareiša for Seses (Drowning Dry). The two Best Performance Awards were given respectively to Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela, and Paulius Markevičius for Seses (Drowning Dry) and to Kim Minhee, star of Hong Sangsoo’s By The Stream. The inaugural MUBI award went to Green Line by Sylvie Ballyot. 

This year’s competition jury was led by Jessica Hausner and featured  Diana Elbaum, Payal Kapadia, Luca Marinelli, and Tim Blake Nelson. The festival opened with The Flood by Gianluca Jodice. This evening, the fest will close with the screening of Le Procès du chien by Laetitia Dosch. Check out the full winners list below. 

Concorso Internazionale

Pardo d’Oro – Grand Prize of the Festival and City of Locarno
AKIPLĖŠA (TOXIC) by Saulė Bliuvaitė, Lithuania

Special Jury Prize – Cities of Ascona and Losone
MOND by Kurdwin Ayub, Austria

Pardo for Best Direction – City and Region of Locarno
to Laurynas Bareiša for SESES (DROWNING DRY), Lithuania/Latvia

Pardo for Best Performance
to Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela, Paulius Markevičius for SESES (DROWNING DRY) by Laurynas Bareiša, Lithuania/Latvia

Pardo for Best Performance
to Kim Minhee for SUYOOCHEON (BY THE STREAM) by Hong Sangsoo, South Korea

Concorso Cineasti del Presente

Pardo d’Oro – Concorso Cineasti del Presente
HOLY ELECTRICITY by Tato Kotetishvili, Georgia/Netherlands

Best Emerging Director Award – City and Region of Locarno
to Denise Fernandes for HANAMI, Switzerland/Portugal/Cape Verde

Special Jury Prize CINÉ+
KOUTÉ VWA (LISTEN TO THE VOICES) by Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Belgium/France/French Guiana

Pardo for Best Performance
to Callie Hernandez for INVENTION by Courtney Stephens, USA

Pardo for Best Performance
to Anna Mészöly for FEKETE PONT (LESSON LEARNED) by Bálint Szimler, Hungary

Special Mentions
FEKETE PONT (LESSON LEARNED) by Bálint Szimler, Hungary
KADA JE ZAZVONIO TELEFON (WHEN THE PHONE RANG) by Iva Radivojević, Serbia/USA

Pardi di Domani

Concorso Corti d’Autore

Pardino d’Oro Swiss Life for the Best Auteur Short Film
UPSHOT by Maha Haj, Palestine/Italy/France

Special Mention
GWE-IN ESI JEONGCHE (THE MASKED MONSTER) by Syeyoung Park, South Korea

Locarno Film Festival Short Film Candidate – European Film Awards
LA FILLE QUI EXPLOSE by Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, France

Concorso Internazionale

Pardino d’Oro SRG SSR for the Best International Short Film
WASHHH by Mickey Lai, Malaysia/Ireland

Pardino d’Argento SRG SSR for the International Competition
GIMN CHUME (HYMN OF THE PLAGUE) by Ataka51, Germany/Russia

Pardi di Domani Best Direction Award – BONALUMI Engineering
QUE TE VAYA BONITO, RICO by Joel Alfonso Vargas,United Kingdom/USA

Medien Patent Verwaltung AG Award
THE FORM by Melika Pazouki, Iran

Special Mention
FREAK by Claire Barnett, USA

Concorso Nazionale

Pardino d’Oro Swiss Life for the Best Swiss Short Film
SANS VOIX by Samuel Patthey, Switzerland

Pardino d’Argento Swiss Life for the National Competition
BETTER NOT KILL THE GROOVE by Jonathan Leggett, Switzerland

Best Swiss Newcomer Award
to Gabriel Grosclaude for LUX CARNE, Switzerland

Special Mention
PROGRESS MINING by Gabriel Böhmer, United Kingdom/Switzerland

First Feature

Swatch First Feature Award
AKIPLĖŠA (TOXIC) by Saulė Bliuvaitė, Lithuania

MUBI Award – Debut Feature
GREEN LINE by Sylvie Ballyot, France/Lebanon/Qatar

Pardo Verde
supported by the Ente Regionale per lo Sviluppo del Locarnese e Vallemaggia

Pardo Verde
AGORA by Ala Eddine Slim, Tunisia/France/Saudi Arabia/Qatar

Special Mentions
DER FLECK by Willy Hans, Germany/Switzerland
REVOLVING ROUNDS by Johann Lurf and Christina Jauernik, Austria