Locarno International Film Festival is held every year in the Swiss city of Locarno, in the canton of Ticino. The festival was founded in 1946 and always takes place in August. A distinctive feature of the festival is the open-air screen in the Piazza Grande with seating for 8,000 viewers. The main prize awarded by the festival is the Golden Leopard for the best film. Other awards are the Silver Leopard (second place) and the Bronze Leopard (for best actor and best actress). Since 2004, the prizes also include the Locarno Excellence Award, a prestigious award that goes to one or more internationally acclaimed actors and actresses for their talent and film career. Previous winners include Oleg Menchikov, Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe(in 2006) and Spanish actress Carmen Mauratogether with French actor Michel Piccoli(in 2007).
For 2014, thanks to the support of the PICE programme of Acción Cultura Española (AC/E), Locarno International Film Festival (6–16 August) is featuring Spanish director Lois Patiño and critic Gonzalo de Pedro, who are part of the jury and teach a master class.
For 2014, thanks to the support of the PICE programme of Acción Cultura Española (AC/E), Locarno International Film Festival (6–16 August) is featuring Spanish director Lois Patiño and critic Gonzalo de Pedro, who are part of the jury and teach a master class.