Newcomer Saulė Bliuvaitė's edgy examination of young female friendship and body image takes top honors from both the International Competition and First Feature juries at the Swiss festival.
Lithuanian cinema, not typically that well represented on the international film festival circuit, was the big story of this year’s Locarno Film Festival awards ceremony, with two films from the Baltic nation taking a number of top prizes between them.
“Toxic,” an auspicious debut from writer-director Saulė Bliuvaitė, won not only the Golden Leopard for Best Film in the fest’s premier International Competition — from a jury chaired by Austrian auteur Jessica Hausner — but also, in an unusual double, the top prize in the separately juried First Feature Competition. Bliuvaitė’s compatriot Laurynas Bareiša, meanwhile, won Best Director in the International Competition for his sophomore feature “Drowning Dry,” while the same film’s ensemble also collectively took one of the jury’s gender-neutral acting prizes.
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A hard-hitting study of alliances and rivalries between teenage girls enrolled at a modeling school in small-town Lithuania, “Toxic” stood out in the Competition for the youthfulness and rigor of its gaze — as it tackled matters of financial and sexual exploitation, as well as damaging body image. Variety‘s positive review described the film as “sobering but not without glimmers of tenderness and humor as female friendship takes root in a hopeless place,” adding that its “alternation between chilly composure and kinetic movement roughly corresponds with the protagonist’s wavering sense of self.”
Before presenting the prize to Bareiša, Hausner praised the film for its “artistic visual style, its very powerful actresses and actors, and its really original and unusual story structure, leading to an understanding of the hardship and beauty of being different — one can even say, of being a freak.” Accepting the award, the young filmmaker cited her “humble beginnings,” continuing, “I want to use this platform to acknowledge this privilege that we have now, that we can celebrate cinema and make films … in a lot of parts of the world, people don’t have this privilege to feel safe, they have to fight just to exist.”
In addition to the Golden Leopard and the First Feature Award — where it beat fellow International Competition entry “Green Line,” by French director Sylvie Ballyot, into second place — “Toxic” also won the Ecumenical Jury Prize.
“Drowning Dry,” a structurally complex, narratively splintered portrait of two sisters whose families are riven by tragedy, marked a confident step forward for Lithuanian cinematographer turned director Bareiša, whose debut “Pilgrims” triumphed in Venice’s Horizons competition in 2021. Evidently the jury — which also included actors Tim Blake Nelson and Luca Marinelli, producer Diana Elbaum and recently Cannes-laureled filmmaker Payal Kapadia — had trouble settling on a single candidate for the performance prize: Not only did they present it jointly to “Drowning Dry’s” four fine leads Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela and Paulius Markevičius, but the quartet further shared the award with South Korean star Kim Minhee for her droll, delicate turn as a withdrawn art teacher in prolific director Hong Sangsoo’s latest comedy “By the Stream.”
The Special Jury Prize — effectively the runner-up to the Golden Leopard — went to Iraq-born, Austrian-based director Kurdwin Ayub for her second feature “Moon,” an enigmatic thriller following a martial artist hired to train three Jordanian sisters under veiled circumstances. Ayub, whose debut “Sonne” won her the Best First Feature award at the 2022 Berlinale, thanked her producer, veteran Austrian auteur Ulrich Seidl, before gesturing to the feline-shaped trophy: “My cats will love this award!” Among the independent jury awards, Ayub also took the Europe Cinemas Label prize, as well as a special mention from the Ecumenical jury.
Special mentions from the jury went to Spanish director Mar Coll for her haunting psychodrama “Salve Maria,” and to Chinese docmaker Wang Bing for his near four-hour “Youth (Hard Times),” the second part in his epic nonfiction trilogy depicting the lives and struggles of textile workers in Huzhou City. (The third, “Youth (Homecoming),” will premiere in competition at Venice next month.)
In the festival’s secondary Filmmakers of the Present competition, Georgian director Tato Kotetishvili won the top prize for his debut feature “Holy Electricity,” a vibrantly quirky tale of two Tbilisi youths attempting to con pious locals with ersatz neon crucifixes, while filmmakers Maha Haj (for “Upshot”), Mickey Lai (for “Washhh”) and Samuel Patthey (for “Sans Voix”) each triumphed in separate strands of the festival’s sizable Pardi di Domani shorts competition. The festival’s audience award, the UBS Prix du Public, will be separately presented tonight at Locarno’s central outdoor venue the Piazza Grande, prior to the screening of the closing film, actor-director Laetitia Dosch’s offbeat, Cannes-premiered legal farce “Dog on Trial.”
In his statement on the awards, Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro described them as emblematic of the festival’s reputation for nurturing and crowning new talent: “Creativity and hope for a better tomorrow were the elements that ran through all the sections. Cinema is a driving force and Locarno is a flagship for it. We are truly proud of this edition and grateful for the tremendous team effort behind its success. The victory of newcomer Saulė Bliuvaitė confirms the Locarno Film Festival’s ability to identify the most innovative talents in the business.”
Nazzaro further pointed out the multiple wins for female filmmakers at today’s ceremony, including Bliuvaitė, Mond, Ballyot and Swiss-Cape Verdean director Denise Fernandes, who took the Best Emerging Director award in the Filmmakers of the Present section for her debut “Hanami.” “Locarno77 has affirmed even more strongly the centrality of women’s voices in contemporary cinema,” he concluded.
Complete list of winners below:
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
Golden Leopard for Best Film: “Toxic,” Saulė BliuvaitėSpecial Jury Prize: “Moon,” Kurdwin AyubBest Director: Laurynas Bareiša, “Drowning Dry” Best Performance: (ex aequo) Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela and Paulius Markevičius, “Drowning Dry”; Kim Minhee, “By the Stream”Special Mentions: “Youth (Hard Times),” Wang Bing; “Salve Maria,” Mar Coll
CINEASTI DEL PRESENTE (FILMMAKERS OF THE PRESENT) COMPETITIONBest Film: “Holy Electricity,” Tato KotetishviliBest Emerging Director: Denise Fernandes, “Hanami”Special Jury Prize: “Listen to the Voices,” Maxime Jean-BaptisteBest Performance: (ex aequo) Callie Hernandez, “Invention”; Anna Mészöly, “Lesson Learned”Special Mentions: “Lesson Learned,” Bálint Szimler; “When the Phone Rang,” Iva Radivojević
FIRST FEATURE COMPETITIONSwatch First Feature Award: “Toxic,” Saulė BliuvaitėMUBI Award for Debut Feature: “Green Line,” Sylvie BallyotrSpecial Mentions: “Hanami,” Denise Fernandes; “Listen to the Voices,” Maxime Jean-Baptiste
PARDI DI DOMANI SHORT FILM COMPETITIONAuteur Short CompetitionBest Auteur Short Film: “Upshot,” Maha HajSpecial Mention: “The Masked Monster,” Syeyoung ParkLocarno Film Festival Short Film Candidate – European Film Awards: “The Exploding Girl,” Caroline Poggi and Jonathan VinelInternational CompetitionBest International Short Film: “Washhh,” Mickey LaiPardino d’Argento: “Hymn of the Plague,” Ataka51Best Director: “Que te Vaya Bonito, Rico,” Joel Alfonso VargasMedien Patent Verwaltung AG Award: “The Form,” Melika PazoukiSpecial Mention: “Freak,” Claire BarnettNational CompetitionBest Swiss Short Film: “Sans Voix,” Samuel Patthey Pardino d’Argento: “Better Not Kill the Groove,” Jonathan LeggettBest Swiss Newcomer Award: Gabriel Grosclaude, “Lux Carne”Special Mention: “Progress Mining,” Gabriel Böhmer
PARDO VERDE COMPETITIONPardo Verde: “Agora,” Ala Eddine SlimSpecial Mentions: “Der Fleck,” Willy Hans; “Revolving Rounds,” Johann Lurf and Christina Jauernik
INDEPENDENT JURY AWARDS
Ecumenical Jury Award: “Toxic,” Saulė BliuvaitėSpecial Mention: “Moon,” Kurdwin AyubFIPRESCI Prize: “Youth (Hard Times),” Wang BingEuropa Cinemas Label: “Moon,” Kurdwin Ayub
JUNIOR JURY AWARDSInternational CompetitionFirst Prize: “Green Line,” Sylvie BallyotSecond Prize: “Toxic,” Saulė BliuvaitėThird Prize: “Salve Maria,” Mar CollEnvironment is Quality of Life Prize: “Youth (Hard Times),” Wang BingCineasti del Presente CompetitionFirst Prize: “Holy Electricity,” Tato KotetishviliSpecial Mention: “Olivia & Las Nubes,” Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
Short Film CompetitionInternational Competition Award: “Razeh-Del,” Maryam TafakorySpecial Mention: “Punter,” Jason Adam MaselleNational Competition Award: “Sans Voix,” Samuel PattheySpecial Mention: “Lux Carne,” Gabriel GrosclaudeAuteur Short Award: “Upshot,” Maha HajEnvironment is Quality of Life Prize: “Three Leaves,” Eléonore Coyette and Sephora Monteau
CRITICS’ WEEK AWARDSGrand Prix: “Wir Erben,” Simon BaumannMarco Zucchi Award (for most aesthetically and formally innovative documentary): “La Déposition,” Claudia Marschal
Residency Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur @ Villa Sträuli: Maryam Tafakory
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