Pardo for Best Direction

Pardo for Best Direction
2026 recipient: Hong Sang-soo
Awarded forBest director
CountrySwitzerland
Presented byLocarno International Film Festival
First award1946
Currently held byHong Sang-soo for Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (2026)

The Pardo for Best Direction award is given annually at the Locarno Film Festival to the best director in the Main Competition (Concorso Internazionale).

Among its winners are: René Clair, John Ford, Roberto Rossellini, Hong Sang-soo, Pedro Costa, Andrzej Żuławski, and Abel Ferrara.

History

René Clair was the award first winner for And Then There Were None (1946), at the festival's 1st edition. Clair is also the first filmmaker to won the prize twice. At the 3rd edition, John Ford and Roberto Rossellini shared the prize, for Fort Apache and Germany, Year Zero, respectively.

After a 46-year-long hiatus, the award was reintroduced at the 59th edition, where Laurent Achard won for The Last of the Crazy People (2006). Canadian filmmaker Denis Côté won twice for All That She Wants (2008) and Curling (2010). Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski won for his last feature film Cosmos (2015).

Chilean filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor was the first woman to win the prize, for her drama film Too Late to Die Young (2018). While Iraqi filmmaker Abbas Fahdel won for Tales of the Wounded Land (2025), marking the first documentary to win the prize.

South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo is the most recent two-time winner, following his win for Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (2026).

Winners

René Clair won twice for And Then There Were None (1946) and Man About Town (1947)
John Ford won for Fort Apache (1948)
Roberto Rossellini won for Germany, Year Zero (1948)
Hong Sang-soo won twice for Our Sunhi (2013) and Nowhere to Lay My Eyes (2026)
Pedro Costa won for Horse Money (2014)
Andrzej Żuławski won for Cosmos (2015)
Abbas Fahdel won for Tales of the Wounded Land (2025)

1940s

Year English Title Original Title Director(s)
1946 And Then There Were NoneRené Clair
1947 Man About TownLe Silence est d'or
1948 Fort Apache (1st prize)John Ford
Germany, Year Zero (2nd prize)Germania anno zeroRoberto Rossellini
1949 - 1959: No Award Given

1960s

Year English Title Original Title Director(s)
1960 Foma Gordeev Фома ГордеевMark Donskoy
1961- 2005: No Award Given

2000s

Year English Title Original Title Director(s)
2006 The Last of the Crazy People Le Dernier des fousLaurent Achard
2007 Capitaine AchabPhilippe Ramos
2008 All That She WantsElle veut le chaosDenis Côté
2009 Tambourine, DrumБубен, барабанAleksei Mizgiryov

2010s

Year English Title Original Title Director(s)
2010 CurlingDenis Côté
2011 Best IntentionsDin dragoste cu cele mai bune intentiiAdrian Sitaru
2012 When Night Falls我还有话要说Ying Liang
2013 Our Sunhi우리 선희Hong Sang-soo
2014 Horse MoneyCavalo DinheiroPedro Costa
2015 CosmosAndrzej Żuławski
2016 The OrnithologistO OrnitólogoJoão Pedro Rodrigues
2017 9 Fingers  [fr]9 DoigtsF. J. Ossang
2018 Too Late to Die YoungTarde para morir jovenDominga Sotomayor
2019 Isadora's ChildrenLes Enfants d'IsadoraDamien Manivel

2020s

Year English Title Original Title Director(s)
2021 Zeros and OnesAbel Ferrara
2022 I Have Electric DreamsTengo sueños eléctricosValentina Maurel
2023 StepneMaryna Vroda
2024 Drowning DrySesesLaurynas Bareiša
2025 Tales of the Wounded Land Abbas Fahdel
2026 Nowhere to Lay My Eyes 눈둘데가 없네 Hong Sang-soo

References

  1. ↑ "The Festival - Palmarès". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  2. ↑ Weissberg, Jay (14 August 2011). "Locarno Leopard is 'Back To Stay'". Variety. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  3. ↑ "Locarno Film Festival honours Jean-Claude Brisseau". BBC News. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "The Festival - Palmarès". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  5. ↑ Debruge, Peter (16 August 2014). "Locarno Favorite Lav Diaz's 'From What Is Before' Wins Top Prize". Variety. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Meredith (15 August 2016). "Cosmos (2015): Best Director Locarno 2015". Filmuphoria. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "Palmarès 2016". Locarno. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Ariston (12 August 2017). "Locarno Festival: Chinese Documentary 'Mrs. Fang' Wins Golden Leopard". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  9. ↑ Ercolani, Adriano (12 August 2018). "Leopard for Best Direction: Dominga Sotomayor". Locarno Festival. Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  10. ↑ Weissberg, Jay (17 August 2019). "Pedro Costa's 'Vitalina Varela' Triumphs at Locarno Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  11. ↑ Kiang, Jessica (14 August 2021). "Golden Leopard Winner 'Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash' Heads Impressive Slate Of Locarno Award". Variety. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  12. ↑ Lodge, Guy (13 August 2022). "Provocative Brazilian Film 'Rule 34' Wins the Top Prize at Locarno Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "The Pardo d'oro at Locarno76 goes to Mantagheye bohrani (Critical…". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  14. ↑ Lodge, Guy (17 August 2024). "Lithuanian Teen Drama 'Toxic' Wins Big at Locarno Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  15. ↑ Balaga, Marta (16 August 2025). "Sho Miyake's 'Two Seasons, Two Strangers' Wins at Locarno". Variety. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
  16. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (15 August 2026). "Locarno Film Festival Winners: Florin Șerban, Monica Bellucci". Deadline. Retrieved 15 August 2026.