{"id":4233,"date":"2026-07-15T10:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T10:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4233"},"modified":"2026-07-15T10:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T10:05:51","slug":"fabrice-du-welz-to-head-locarno-international-competition-jury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4233","title":{"rendered":"Fabrice Du Welz to Head Locarno International Competition Jury"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tBelgian filmmaker Fabrice du Welz will preside over the jury for the international competition at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, part of a full slate of juries the festival has revealed across its sections.<\/p>\n

Read more Locarno Winner Nelson Yeo\u2019s \u2018The House on the Moon\u2019 Boards Parallax Films for Worldwide Sales (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tDu Welz has made nine features that have screened at major festivals; Locarno has shown two of them, \u201cAdoration\u201d on the Piazza Grande in 2019 and \u201cThe Passion According to B\u00e9atrice,\u201d out of competition in 2024. He is joined on the jury by Italian producer Marco Alessi, founder of Rome-based Dugong Films, whose credits include work with directors Stefano Savona, Yuri Ancarani and R\u00e4 di Martino and who produced Bertrand Mandico\u2019s \u201cRoma Elastica,\u201d playing out of competition in Locarno this year. Rounding out the panel are French actor Lolita Chammah, whose career includes collaborations with Claude Chabrol, Werner Schroeter, Claire Denis, Claire Simon and Beno\u00eet Jacquot; Chilean actor Paulina Garc\u00eda, who won the Silver Bear for \u201cGloria\u201d in 2013; and Olivier P\u00e8re, who previously served as artistic director at Locarno and as general delegate of the Cannes\u2019 Directors\u2019 Fortnight, and who now heads the cinema unit at Arte France Cin\u00e9ma as executive director, a post he has held since 2012.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Filmmakers of the Present Competition, the section dedicated to emerging directors, will be judged by Tunisian actor, director and producer Afef Ben Mahmoud, who also directs the Gab\u00e8s Cin\u00e9ma Fen festival; Czech producer and director Radovan S\u00edbrt, co-founder of production company Pink, whose credits include the Academy Award-winning \u201cMr. Nobody Against Putin\u201d (2025); and filmmaker Margherita Spampinato, whose breakthrough feature \u201cSweetheart\u201d (\u201cGioia Mia\u201d) followed its selection in the section last year with a David di Donatello win, plus the Kering Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award, presented at Cannes.<\/p>\n

\n\tThree filmmakers will judge the Leopards of Tomorrow section. Lebanese director, writer and actor Mounia Akl has had work presented at Cannes, Venice, Toronto and London. South African producer Steven Markovitz, a longtime force in regional independent cinema, counts \u201caKasha\u201d (2018), \u201cRafiki\u201d (2018), \u201cTug of War\u201d (2021) and \u201cOmen\u201d (2023) among his credits. Italian director Antonio Piazza, who co-directed \u201cSicilian Letters\u201d (\u201cIddu,\u201d 2024) with Fabio Grassadonia, rounds out the panel; that film premiered in competition in Venice.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe First Feature jury, which awards the Swatch First Feature Award for the festival\u2019s best debut, comprises Matthieu Darras, who runs the festival consultancy Tatino and brings programming experience from Cannes, Venice, San Sebasti\u00e1n and TorinoFilmLab; Sung Moon, a Jeonju International Film Festival programmer and former member of the Korean Film Council; and Swiss-Peruvian filmmaker Klaudia Reynicke, whose film \u201cQueens\u201d (\u201cReinas\u201d) took the Prix du Public UBS at Locarno77 on its way to becoming Switzerland\u2019s Oscar submission and a Swiss Film Awards winner.<\/p>\n

Read more U.K. Government Proposes Social Media Curfew for Older Teens Alongside Under-16 Ban<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe Pardo for Change jury, which recognizes films engaging with environmental, ethical, social and cultural issues, includes freelance war reporter and author Gianluca Grossi; Somali-Austrian filmmaker Mo Harawe, whose debut feature \u201cThe Village Next to Paradise\u201d bowed in Cannes\u2019 Un Certain Regard sidebar in 2024; and Seta Thakur, who leads communications and social innovation work at the Wyss Academy for Nature.<\/p>\n

\n\tA separate jury will oversee the Locarno Kids Screenings, deciding the winner of the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare in the festival\u2019s new competitive strand for feature films made for young viewers. This year, for the first time, 13 jurors between ages 11 and 15 will screen seven titles in the section before selecting a winner, meeting daily throughout the festival for a training program led by industry professionals.<\/p>\n

\n\tLocarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro said: \u201cSelecting those whose eyes will be watching the films in the competitive sections is a task that always brings out desires and emotions. The diversity of talent meets the diversity of perspectives. Ultimately, however, what matters most is a willingness to be surprised, to be amazed, and to embrace the unexpected. In this sense, we are proud that the films of the 79th edition can begin their journey out into the world accompanied by those talented creative figures who have agreed to share the adventure of the Locarno Film Festival with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more MPA, APSA Reopen Film Fund for Asia Pacific Screenwriters \u2013 Global Bulletin<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe 79th Locarno Film Festival runs Aug. 5-15.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Belgian filmmaker Fabrice Du Welz will head the jury for Locarno’s 79th edition international competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3435,3436,1508,3437],"class_list":["post-4233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-fabrice-du-welz","tag-giona-a-nazzaro","tag-locarno-film-festival","tag-mounia-akl"],"yoast_head":"\nFabrice Du Welz to Head Locarno International Competition Jury - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4233\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fabrice Du Welz to Head Locarno International Competition Jury - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Belgian filmmaker Fabrice Du Welz will head the jury for Locarno's 79th edition international competition.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4233\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-15T10:05:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4233#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4233\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"Fabrice Du Welz to Head Locarno International Competition Jury\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-15T10:05:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4233\"},\"wordCount\":736,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=4233#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/d6ddef28c16e2a2549e02ec6dc15c5fc.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Fabrice du Welz,\",\"Giona A. 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