🐆 Romanian Drama You Don’t Belong Here Wins the Golden Leopard

The film, which explores the complex relationship between a father and his teenage son against the backdrop of a small-town murder investigation, marks the director’s return to feature filmmaking after an eight-year hiatus.

The Jury Award for Best Direction went to South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo for Nowhere to Turn (Nun Dul Dega Eomne). Kim Min-hee, who starred in the film, took home the performance award, while the second acting Leopard was awarded to Monica Bellucci for her work in the Italian picture Ketticè. In the parallel Cineasti del Presente (Filmmakers of the Present) section, the top prize went to Alessandra Sanguinetti’s drama The Illusion of an Endless Summer (La Ilusión De Un Verano Sin Fin), which also earned the special award for Best First Feature.

Alongside the official film screenings, the festival’s industry hub posted record-breaking results. The number of accredited professionals at Locarno Pro topped two thousand for the first time in history, reaching 2,140 participants from nearly 100 countries—a 10% increase compared to last year.

The Prix du Public UBS audience award went to Petra Volpe’s prison drama Frank & Louis. As per tradition, the festival concluded at the Piazza Grande with a screening of Marc Fitoussi’s comedy Nobody Knows, starring Isabelle Huppert and Diane Kruger.