02/02/2010

The Leopard of Honour at the 63rd Locarno Film Festival (August 4-14) will be awarded to Swiss director Alain Tanner, whose first films include Charles, Dead or Alive (Golden Leopard in 1969) and The Salamander (1971).

Now aged 80 and still living in his home town of Geneva, Tanner has around 20 features and numerous documentaries to his name, including his latest film, Paul Is Leaving (2004). His filmography also includes Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976), which was Switzerland’s greatest international hit (2m admissions during its first year on release) and continues to pull audiences.

Further titles by Tanner are Light Years Away (1981, Grand Jury Prize at Cannes), In the White City (1983), A Flame In My Heart (1987) and Fourbi (1996). At Locarno, the director will give a Masterclass.

Locarno festival president Marco Solari also announced that the event, now headed by Olivier Père, would be more “glamorous”, with important names from the history of cinema in attendance.

The line-up put together by Martina Malacrida, the new head of the Open Doors section, focuses on films from central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan).