The Locarno Film Festival has announced that internationally acclaimed actress Golshifteh Farahani will receive the Excellence Award Davide Campari during the opening night of the 78th edition on August 6, 2025, in Piazza Grande. Farahani will also present her latest film, "Alpha," directed by Julia Ducournau, which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, and participate in a public conversation with the festival audience.
Born in Tehran in 1983, Farahani has established herself as a prominent figure in contemporary cinema. She gained early recognition with her role in Dariush Mehrjui's "The Pear Tree" (1998), which earned her the Best Actress award at the Fajr International Film Festival. Her diverse filmography includes notable works such as Abbas Kiarostami's "Shirin" (2008), Asghar Farhadi's "About Elly" (2009), Jim Jarmusch's "Paterson" (2016), Ridley Scott's "Body of Lies" (2008), and the action film "Extraction" (2020). In 2017, she presented the international co-production "The Song of Scorpions" at Locarno's Piazza Grande.
Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival, praised Farahani's contributions to cinema, stating, "Golshifteh Farahani is a key figure in contemporary cinema. Charismatic and multifaceted, she has been able to immerse herself in very different contexts and roles, guided by her extraordinary talent and generosity as an artist. Over the years, she has managed to alternate between arthouse films and blockbusters, infusing each film with a new aspect of her personality. Honoring Golshifteh Farahani means celebrating an extraordinary artist who has left a deep mark on the eyes and hearts of every film lover."
The Excellence Award, supported since 2021 by the festival's Signature Partner Campari, has previously honored distinguished personalities such as Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Michel Piccoli, Anjelica Huston, Carmen Maura, Isabelle Huppert, Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Rampling, Giancarlo Giannini, Edward Norton, Bill Pullman, Mathieu Kassovitz, Ethan Hawke, Song Kang-Ho, Laetitia Casta, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Riz Ahmed, and, in 2024, Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet.
The 78th Locarno Film Festival will take place from August 6 to 16, 2025, in Locarno, Switzerland.