Leopard of Honour - Swisscom

At the 63rd edition of the Festival del film Locarno, the Pardo d’onore Swisscom (Leopard of Honour) will have two recipients this year: Chinese filmmaker JIA Zhang-ke and Swiss Alain Tanner.

Every year the Locarno Festival’s Leopard of Honour celebrates one or more major contemporary filmmakers. Previous recipients include Manoel de Oliveira, Ken Loach, Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Wim Wenders, Aleksandr Sokurov, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Amos Gitai and, in 2009, William Friedkin. A main sponsor of the Festival del film Locarno since 1998, Swisscom supports the Leopard of Honour for the second consecutive year.


JIA Zhang-ke

A leading figure in the “sixth generation” of Chinese filmmakers, JIA Zhang-ke was born in 1970 in Fenyang and later graduated from the Beijing Film Academy. He shot his first three feature films in his native province, outside of the official structures: Pickpocket (1997), Platform  (2000) and Unknown Pleasures (2002) were not allowed a theatrical release in China, but were selected for the festivals of Berlin, Venice and Cannes, respectively. In 2004, JIA Zhang-ke received permission from the Chinese authorities to film his documentary The World, and thus emerged from the underground. Winning a Golden Lion at Venice for Still Life (2006), JIA Zhang-ke has made nine feature-length films to date, including three documentaries. He is also a producer, his most recent production being Plastic City (2008), directed by his long-term cameraman, YU Lik-wai.

The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, August 5 at 9.30 p.m. on the Piazza Grande. For the occasion the Festival will screen one of the director’s masterpieces, Platform (2000), as well as his latest documentary film, I Wish I Knew (2010), shown in the section “Un certain regard” at the Cannes Festival this year. In addition, a masterclass with JIA Zhang-ke, open to all, will be held on Friday, August 6 at the Forum.

Press Release


Alain Tanner

Born in 1929 in Geneva, Alain Tanner made his first cinema feature film in 1969: Charles, Dead or Alive immediately picked up the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Festival. Two years later, The Salamander (1971) racked up 200,000 ticket sales in Paris. Alain Tanner thus established himself as a leading light of the ‘New Swiss Cinema’, infused with a sense of youth and freedom that spread beyond its national borders. Besides his numerous documentaries for television and the cinema, Alain Tanner has made 19 fiction features, screened at major international festivals, including Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976), In the White City (1983), Les Années lumière (1981, Jury Grand Prix at Cannes), Une flamme dans mon cœur (1987), Fourbi (1996), up until Paul s’en va (2004), which marked his farewell to the cinema.

Following Jean-Luc Godard (1995) and Daniel Schmid (1999), Alain Tanner is the third Swiss director to receive a Pardo d’onore. The award ceremony will take place on August 10, at 9.30 p.m. on the Piazza Grande. Four films by Alain Tanner will be screened during the Festival: Dans la ville blanche (In the White City, 1983); Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l'an 2000 (Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000, 1976); Les années lumière (Light Years Away, 1981) and Paul s'en va (2004).
A public conversation with Alain Tanner is scheduled on August 11, at 10.30 a.m. at the Forum.

Press Release