Emma Thompson will receive the Leopard Club Award at the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival this summer.
The British star will be honored on Friday, Aug. 8, during Locarno78, which will also be world premiering Thompson’s thriller The Dead of Winter by Brian Kirk on the Swiss town’s picturesque Piazza Grande square that same evening.
“A woman, traveling alone through snowbound northern Minnesota, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenage girl,” played by Laurel Marsden, reads a synopsis of the movie, produced by Stampede Ventures and augenschein. “Hours from the nearest town and with no phone service, she realizes that she is the young girl’s only hope.”
Written by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb, the film also stars Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca, Thompson’s daughter Gaia Wise, Lloyd Hutchinson, and Brían F. O’Byrne. Thompson is also an executive producer on it.
“Academy, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Emmy Award-winning Emma Thompson is one of the U.K.’s most recognizable and beloved actors, with a career in acting, writing, and producing that spans both television and film – from independent features to major blockbusters,” Locarno highlighted. “She is the only person in the history of the Academy Awards to have won for both acting and screenwriting. Thompson’s willingness to take risks with her roles has meant that she has remained a vital force on stage and screen for four decades, a testament to the depth of affection multiple generations of fans hold for her.”
Festival organizers listed such notable Thompson roles as Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1996), Angels in America (2003), the Harry Potter series (2003-2011), Love Actually (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Years and Years (2019), Cruella (2021), Matilda the Musical (2022), and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022).
“Emma Thompson embodies the best of a tradition of performers who continue to be able to infuse each role with the deepest knowledge about the actor’s work,” said Locarno festival artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro. “Working with writers as exceptional as she herself is, fearlessly tackling ever-changing registers and characters, moving from Shakespeare to James Ivory, from the magic of Harry Potter to the transformations of Nanny McPhee, she has continued to surprise audiences over a career that has earned her numerous awards, including two Oscars, two Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, a Golden Lion, and an Emmy. Honoring the talent of a performer as brilliant and multifaceted as Emma Thompson with the Leopard Club Award is due recognition of an artist who has moved us, made us think, entertained us and, most importantly, never ceased to surprise us.”
The Leopard Club, the supporting association of the Locarno Film Festival, presents the Leopard Club Award each year to “an individual whose work in the film industry has left its mark on the collective imagination.” Among the previous recipients of the award are the likes of Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Andy García, Stefania Sandrelli, Adrien Brody, Meg Ryan, Hilary Swank, Kasia Smutniak, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Irène Jacob.
The 78th edition of the Locarno festival will take place Aug. 6-16. Jackie Chan will receive lifetime honor at the fest.
