Payal Kapadia, Tim Blake Nelson, Luca Marinelli, Diana Elbaum Join Locarno Film Festival Jury

Cannes Grand Prix winner Payal Kapadia (“All We Imagine as Light”); U.S. actor Tim Blake Nelson; Italian actor Luca Marinelli; and Belgian producer Diana Elbaum have been recruited for jury duty by the Locarno Film Festival.

They will join the main jury of the prominent Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema which, as previously announced, will be headed by Austrian auteur Jessica Hausner.

In other Locarno juries announcements, the jury panel for the Filmmakers of the Present section for emerging directors in their first or second feature, will comprise Nigerian filmmaker C.J. “Fiery” Obasi (“Juju Stories”); French-Palestinian-Algerian filmmaker and actor Lina Soualem (“Bye Bye Tiberias”); and former Cahiers du cinéma editor, academic and artistic director of the Cannes’ Critics’ Week Charles Tesson. 

The Leopards of Tomorrow shorts film jury panel consists of: Italian multi-hyphenate Licia Eminenti; Malagasy curator and filmmaker Laza Razanajatovo; and French producer Juliette Schrameck (“Eat the Night,” “Cold War”). 

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The winner of the fest’s Swatch First Feature Award will be decided by Moroccan producer-director Khalil Benkirane; rising Finnish star Alma Pöysti “Fallen Leaves”; and Swiss-Italian make-up designer Esmé Sciaroni.

The fest’s Pardo Verde Jury, dedicated to climate crisis films, will be made up of Swiss-Rwandan artist, writer, and director Kantarama Gahigiri; French programmer and film critic Cédric Succivalli; and Swiss sustainability adviser, journalist and arts manager Daniel Wiener.

“It is a tremendous privilege to welcome these talented artists and programmers to Locarno and to entrust them with the films our selection committees handpicked from the thousands that were presented to us,” said Giona A. Nazzaro, Locarno’s artistic director. “It is through their creative gazes that this year’s official selection will be introduced to the world.”

The 77th edition of Locarno will run Aug. 7-17.