Excellence Award Moët & Chandon

The Festival del film Locarno will present the Excellence Award Moët & Chandon 2011 to the French actress Isabelle Huppert

Every year the Festival del film Locarno’s Excellence Award goes to one or more outstanding actors on the international scene. Previous recipients of this award: Oleg Menchikov, Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Michel Piccoli, Carmen Maura, Toni Servillo and - in 2010 - Chiara Mastroianni. Moët & Chandon supports the Excellence Award since the 2009.


Isabelle Huppert
The award ceremony will take place on Sunday August 7 on the Piazza Grande. On the same day the Festival audience will have an opportunity to attend a conversation with the actress moderated by Jean-Marc Lalanne and Olivier Père.

In conjunction with this award Locarno will screen The Lacemaker by Claude Goretta, Loulou by Maurice Pialat, Merci pour le Chocolat by Claude Chabrol, The Piano Teacher by Michael Haneke, White Material by Claire Denis and Villa Amalia by Benoît Jacquot.

Olivier Père, Artistic director of the Festival del film Locarno: «Undoubtedly one of the best actresses of our times, Isabelle Huppert has created a powerful body of work, choosing complex and unforgettable roles and directors who rank among the most distinctive in modern cinema. Her range as an actress seems infinite, and shows her mastery of the craft, passion, instinct and intelligence, hard work and an ability to take risks. It is an enormous honour to welcome Isabelle Huppert to the Festival del film Locarno, where she featured in Igor Minaiev’s The Flood, and to present her with the Excellence Award Moët & Chandon. »

Press Release

The 64th edition of the Festival del film Locarno takes place 3 - 13 August 2011.