The 79th Locarno Film Festival has revealed its International Competition jury, naming Belgian filmmaker Fabrice du Welz as president. He will be joined on the five-person panel by Italian producer Marco Alessi, French actress and filmmaker Lolita Chammah, Chilean actress Paulina García, and Olivier Père, former artistic director of Locarno and current executive director of ARTE France Cinéma.
Du Welz built his reputation through genre films with a distinctly European register. His credits include Calvaire, Adoration, and The Passion According to Béatrice. Naming him jury president continues Locarno's pattern of elevating directors whose work straddles art cinema and genre.
Chammah, known for Copacabana and Barrage, brings a particular lineage to the panel. Her mother, Isabelle Huppert, screens a new film, Ni Vue, Ni Connue, in the festival's Piazza Grande section. That film is out of competition. García, who won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival for Sebastián Lelio's Gloria, adds another internationally decorated presence to the jury.
The panel will award the Golden Leopard from among 17 films in the International Competition. The lineup features new work from South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo (Nun Dul Dage Eomne), Canadian director Denis Côté (Violence du Corps de l'Autre), and Singapore-based director Nelson Yeo (The House on the Moon). The 79th edition runs August 5 through 15 in Locarno, Switzerland.
According to artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, "The diversity of talent meets the diversity of perspectives. Ultimately, what matters most is a willingness to be surprised, to be amazed, and to embrace the unexpected."