The Locarno Film Festival will have a good time Virginie Efira, the Belgian-born, France-based actress who was not too long ago in Cannes with lead roles in two competitors movies: Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden” and Asghar Farhadi’s “Parallel Tales.”
Efira might be feted by the Swiss fest, which is Europe’s preeminent occasion devoted to indie cinema, with its Leopard Membership Award. She is going to obtain the prize on Aug. 7 when “All of a Sudden,” for which Efira gained performing honors in Cannes — and for which she discovered to behave partly in Japanese — will display within the lakeside city’s 6,500-seat out of doors Piazza Grande venue.
In an announcement, the fest famous that Efira’s profession trajectory has been marked by “memorable turns” in works by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven and by “Anatomy of a Fall” filmmaker Justine Triet.
“In Verhoeven’s ‘Elle’ (2016), and especially in ‘Benedetta’ (2021), Efira demonstrated a willingness to inhabit provocative, demanding characters whose thorny complexities resist easy categorization,” the assertion mentioned. “Her extraordinary performances in Triet’s ‘Victoria’ (2016) and ‘Sibyl’ (2019) likewise confirmed that gift and, along with a handful of other remarkable films of that period, secured her status as one of the rising stars of modern European cinema.”
Commented Locarno creative director Giona A. Nazzaro: “Virginie Efira brings a unique sensibility to her roles as a performer. Bold yet thoughtful, instinctive yet ironic, she offers contemporary cinema a fresh perspective that continually reinvents itself. From working with Verhoeven to Hamaguchi and beyond, she has consistently explored her artistic potential, revealing a talent that evolves with freedom and vitality. Efira captures the beauty of what it means to be an actress in today’s cinema.”
Earlier recipients of Locarno’s Leopard Membership Award embody Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Andy Garcia, Stefania Sandrelli, Adrien Brody, Meg Ryan, Hilary Swank, Kasia Smutniak and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
The 79th version of Locarno will run Aug. 5-15.
