The Chinese film WINTER VACATION (Han Jia) has won the top prize, the Pardo d’oro/Golden Leopard for its director Li Hongqi at the Locarno Film Festival, which ended its 63rd edition on August 15. The award includes a 90,000 CHF cash prize. The film also won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize, shared with fellow Chinese production KAMARAY by Xu Xin, which received a special mention.

WINTER’S VACATION centers on four idle, aimless adolescents who gather at the home of one of their group, hoping to enjoy their last day of holiday. Not much happens, as the character laze around and discuss love, school and politics, creating an interesting portrait of the young go-getters who are revolutionizing the values and societal norms of the booming Chinese state.

European and Canadian films were among the other top winners at the awards ceremony held on Saturday evening, August 14.  MORGEN, a French/Romanian/Hungarian co-production by director Marian Crisan received a Special Jury Prize. French Canadian director Denis Côté was named Best Director for his film CURLING.

In other prizes, Quebec actor Emmanuel Bilodeau received the Best Actor award for his role in CURLING, with Serbian actress Jasna Duricic winning Best Actress honors for the Serbian/German/Swedish co-production WHITE WHITE WORLD (Beli Beli Svet) by director Oleg Novkovic. FOREIGN PARTS, a French/US co-production by co-directors Verena Paravel and JP Sniadecki won the Best First Feature prize for FOREIGN PARTS, with Argentine director Kitao Sakurai winning a special mention for the film AARDVARK. Look for these films to be prominent on the Fall film festival calendar.

2010 LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS Golden Leopard: International Competition “An Jia” (Winter Vacation) by LI Hongqi, China; Special Jury Prize “Morgen” by Marian Crisan, France/Romania/Hungary;  Best Director Denis Côté for “Curling,” Canada; Leopard for Best Actress Jasna Duricic in “Beli Beli Svet” (White White World) by Oleg Novkovic, Serbia/Germany/Sweden;  Leopard for Best Actor Emmanuel Bilodeau in “Curling” by Denis Côté, Canada; Golden Leopard: Filmmakers of the Present Competition “Paraboles” by Emmanuelle Demoris, France;  Special CINÉ CINÉMA Jury Prize “Foreign Parts” by Verena Paravel and JP Sniadecki, USA/France; Leopard for the Best First Feature “Foreign Parts” by Verena Paravel and JP Sniadecki, USA/France; Prix du Public UBS “The Human Resources Manager” by Eran Riklis, Israel/Germany/France; Variety Piazza Grande Award “Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale” by Jalmari Helander, Finnland/Norway/France/Sweden; FIPRESCI Prize 

“Han Jia” (Winter Vacation) by LI Hongqi, China.

Sandy Mandelberger, Awards Watch Editor