Two Seasons, Two Strangers by Sho Miyake (All the Long Nights, Small, Slow But Steady) is the winner of the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival’s international competition, which was honored with the Pardo d’Oro, or Golden Leopard, in the Swiss town on Saturday. The Japanese drama, based on the manga Mr. Ben and His Igloo, A View of the Seaside by Yoshiharu Tsuge, follows Lee, a scriptwriter who is processing what is happening in her life.
“We finally have Japan in the competition again,” Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro had told THR about the film marking Japan’s return to the competition lineup.
White Snail by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter (Space Dogs), a romantic drama about a Belarusian model dreaming of a career in China who finds herself drawn to a mysterious loner who works the night shift at a morgue, won another top honor, receiving the special jury prize at Locarno.
Meanwhile, Abbas Fahdel was honored with the best director award for Tales of the Wounded Land.
The best performance awards in the competition went to Manuela Martelli and Ana Marija Veselčić for their roles in God Will Not Help by Hana Jušić, as well as to Marya Imbro and Mikhail Senkov for their work in White Snail.
And a special mention in the international competition lineup went to Dry Leaf by Alexandre Koberidze.
The international jury of Locarno78 was led by Cambodian auteur Rithy Panh and also included Mexican director, writer, and producer Carlos Reygadas (Heli, The Untamed), Nickel Boys co-writer and producer Joslyn Barnes, Swiss actress Ursina Lardi (The White Ribbon, Veni Vidi Vici) and Dutch actress Renée Soutendijk (Sweet Dreams).
Two Seasons, Two Strangers is Locarno’s forth Japanese winner of the top prize after Masahiro Kobayashi’s The Rebirth (Ai no yokan) in 2007, Akio Jissoji’s This Transient Life (Mujō), one of four films to share the prize in 1970, and Teinosuke Kinugasa’s Gate of Hell (Jigokumon) in 1954.
Among other Locarno 2025 honors, the Golden Leopard in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente program, which puts the spotlight on first and second features, was awarded to Tóc, Giấy Và Nước… (Hair, Paper, Water…) by Nicolas Graux and Trương Minh Quý.
In the same section, Cecilia Kang won the best emerging director honor for Hijo Mayor, while the best performance Leopards were given out to Aurora Quattrocchi for Gioia Mia (Sweetheart) by Margherita Spampinato, as well as Levan Gelbakhiani for his role in Don’t Let the Sun by Jacqueline Zünd.
This year’s debut feature honor, known as the Swatch First Feature Award, was bestowed upon Blue Heron by Sophy Romvari.
Nazzaro lauded “a successful edition beyond our wildest expectations that celebrates the enduring and gentle power of cinema and its manifolded ways of bringing communities together to share the wonderful gifts of peace.” He concluded: “A festival is like building a better tomorrow. One film at the time.”
The fest’s closing night will take place in the picturesque Swiss town’s Piazza Grande on Saturday, with Kiss of the Spider Woman by Bill Condon as the closing film.
Locarno 2025 featured honors for the likes of Jackie Chan, who received a huge ovation, Iranian star Golshifteh Farahani, who received her honor from Zar Amir, Emma Thompson, and costume designer Milena Canonero.
Here are the full winners of the 78th Locarno Film Festival.
Concorso Internazionale (International Competition)
Pardo d’Oro – Grand Prize of the Festival and City of LocarnoTabi to Hibi (Two Seasons, Two Strangers) by Sho Miyake, Japan
Special Jury Prize – Cities of Ascona and LosoneWhite Snail by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter, Austria/Germany
Pardo for Best Direction – City and Region of LocarnoAbbas Fahdel for Tales of the Wounded Land, Lebanon
Pardo for Best PerformanceManuela Martelli and Ana Marija Veselčić for Bog Neće Pomoći (God Will Not Help) by Hana Jušić, Croatia/Italy/Romania/Greece/France/SloveniaandMarya Imbro and Mikhail Senkov for White Snail by Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter, Austria/Germany
Special MentionDry Leaf by Alexandre Koberidze, Germany/Georgia
Concorso Cineasti del Presente (for first and second features)
Pardo d’Oro – Concorso Cineasti del PresenteTóc, Giấy Và Nước… (Hair, Paper, Water…) by Nicolas Graux and Trương MinhQuý, Belgium/France/Vietnam
Best Emerging Director Award – City and Region of LocarnoCecilia Kang for Hijo Mayor, Argentina/France
Special Jury Prize CINÉ+Gioia Mia (Sweetheart) by Margherita Spampinato
Pardo for Best PerformanceAurora Quattrocchi for Gioia Mia (Sweetheart) by Margherita Spampinato,ItalyandLevan Gelbakhiani for Don’t Let the Sun by Jacqueline Zünd, Switzerland/Italy
Pardi di Domani (showcasing short and medium-length films focused on experimentation and innovative forms)
Concorso Corti d’AutorePardino d’Oro WePresent by WeTransfer for the Best Auteur Short FilmA Very Straight Neck by Neo Sora, Japan/China
Pardino d’Oro Arts3 Foundation for the Best International Short FilmHyena by Altay Ulan Yang, USA
Pardino d’Argento Arts3 Foundation for the International CompetitionStill Playing by Mohamed Mesbah, France
Pardi di Domani Best Direction Award – BONALUMI EngineeringPrimera Enseñanza (Primary Education) by Aria Sánchez and Marina Meira, Cuba/Spain/Brazil
Medien Patent Verwaltung AG AwardForce Times Displacement by Angel Wu, Taiwan
Concorso NazionalePardino d’Oro SRG SSR for the Best Swiss Short FilmO Rio De Janeiro Continua Lindo (Rio Remains Beautiful) by Felipe Casanova, Belgium/Brazil/Switzerland
Pardino d’Argento SRG SSR for the National CompetitionTusen Toner by Francesco Poloni, Switzerland
Best Swiss Newcomer AwardL’avant-Poste 21 by Camille Surdez, Switzerland
Locarno Film Festival Short Film Candidate – European Film AwardsO Rio De Janeiro Continua Lindo (Rio Remains Beautiful) by Felipe Casanova, Belgium/Brazil/Switzerland
First FeatureSwatch First Feature AwardBlue Heron by Sophy Romvari, Canada/Hungary
Pardo Verde (the Green Leopard for films from directors with a vision “linked to a new conception of humanity on planet Earth”) supported by the Ente Regionale per lo Sviluppo del Locarnese e VallemaggiaPardo Verde
Mare’s Nest by Ben Rivers, United Kingdom/France/Canada
Special MentionsTóc, Giấy Và Nước… (Hair, Paper, Water…) by Nicolas Graux and Trương MinhQuý, Belgium/France/VietnamandUne Fenêtre Plein Sud (A South Facing Window) by Lkhagvadulam PurevOchir, France/Mongolia
INDEPENDENT JURIES AND AWARDS
Ecumenical PrizeSolomamma by Janicke Askevold, Norway/Latvia/Lithuania/Denmark/Finland
Special MentionLe Lac by Fabrice Aragno, Switzerland
FIPRESCI PrizeWith Hasan in Gaza by Kamal Aljafari, Palestine/Germany/France/Qatar
Junior Jury AwardsFirst Prize Le Lac by Fabrice Aragno, SwitzerlandSecond Prize Dracula by Radu Jude, Romania/Austria/Luxembourg/BrazilThird Prize Mektoub, My Love: Canto Due by Abdellatif Kechiche, France“The environment is quality of life” Prize offered by the Ticino Department of Internal Affairs:Tabi to Hibi (Two Seasons, Two Strangers) by Sho Miyake, JapanSpecial MentionLe Bambine (Mosquitoes) by Valentina Bertani and Nicole Bertani, Italy
The second Junior Jury assigned a prize to the best film shown in the section Concorso Cineasti del Presente:Un Balcon à Limoges (A Balcony in Limoges) by Jérôme Reybaud, FranceSpecial MentionsBlue Heron by Sophy Romvari, Canada/HungaryandFolichonneries (Follies) by Eric K. Boulianne, Canada
Pardi di DomaniConcorso InternazionaleBlind, Ins Auge (Blind, Into the Eye) by Atefeh Kheirabadi and MehradSepahnia, Germany/Iran
Concorso NazionaleNoirs Matins (Black Mornings) by David Gonseth, Switzerland
Concorso Corti d’AutoreUne Fenêtre Plein Sud (A South Facing Window) by Lkhagvadulam PurevOchir, France/Mongolia
Special Mention – for the Concorso InternazionaleUna Vez En Un Cuerpo (Once in a Body) by María Cristina Pérez González, Colombia/USA
Open Doors Screenings“The environment is quality of life” PrizeL’Envoyée De Dieu by Amina Abdoulaye Mamani, Niger/Burkina Faso/Rwanda
Semaine de la Critique (Critics/Week)Grand Prix Semaine de la Critique – Prix SRG SSRÚtóipe Cheilteach (Celtic Utopia) by Dennis Harvey and Lars Lovén,Sweden/Ireland
Marco Zucchi AwardNella Colonia Penale (In the Penal Colony) by Gaetano Crivaro, Silvia Perra, Ferruccio Goia, and Alberto Diana, Italy
