American filmmaker Alexander Payne (Election,, About Schmidt,, Aside,, The selected) joins Lucy LiuEmma Thompson and Jackie Chan as winners during the 78th edition of this year of the Locarno Film Festival. Payne will receive the Honorary Leopard from the Swiss Fest, the Pardo d’Orore, presented by Manor, on Friday August 15.
He will also present his films Descendants (2011) and Nebraska (2013), as well as participate in a public discussion with the public and festival fans.
“The distinctive voice behind a list of funny modern classics, the director-director Alexander Payne has obtained his place on the short list of filmmakers whose work defines American cinema in the 21st century,” said Locarno. “His films have collectively won three Oscars, three Baftas and eight Golden Globes in various categories, including for their memorable performances, and illustrate the pleasures of cinema in mid -bu for adults – a besieged art form that needs defense.”
Born in Nebraska in 1961, Payne studied cinema at UCLA, where her student work drew Hollywood’s attention. In 1996, he wrote and directed the comedy Citizen Ruth (1996), with Laura Dern, who was created in Sundance. “From there, Payne continued to make a remarkable series of seven feature films, each distinguished by their elegant construction, their biting humor and its extraordinary tragicomic performances of the amazing range of revered actors,” said Locarno.
Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, praised Payne as “a scholarly author with an knowledge of encyclopedic moviegoers” and an “author of a unique filmography in which he has always approached the complexities of the human condition with a smile”.
He continued: “Gifted with a foolproof sense for the soft-amer facets of the human comedy, he is a filmmaker with very classic and modern sensitivities. Know-how of Hollywood cinema, its poetry and its unique character. »»
Le Pardo d’Oore has been handed over since 2017. The previous beneficiaries include Manoel de Oliveira, Bernardo Bertolucci, Ken Loach, Jean-Luc Godard, Abbas Kiarostami, Terry Gilliam, Alexander Sokurov, William Friedkin, Alain Tanner, Jia Zhang, Leos Carax Marco Bellocchio, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Jean-Marie Straub, Todd Haynes, Bruno Dumont, John Waters, John Landis, Kelly Reichardt, Harmony Korine and Jane Campion.
The 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will take place from August 6 to 16.
