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From low-budget films in Mexico to blockbusters in Hollywood and from adaptations like Great Expectations (1998), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), and Children of Men (2006) to the audacity and delicacy of modern classics such as Y tu mamá también (2001), the Academy Award-winning Gravity (2013) and Roma (2018), Alfonso Cuarón has embodied the true spirit of a chameleonic contemporary artist able to master any assignment.
Though known for the dynamic long-takes that characterize the most memorable sequences in his films, Cuarón is also an exceptionally assured director of actors. He excels in eliciting iconic and often career-best performances from stars, ranging from those in Mexico, like Diego Luna or Gael García Bernal, to those abroad, such as Julianne Moore, George Clooney, Michael Caine, Clive Owen, and Sandra Bullock. All the while, he gives space to emerging talents, as he did most memorably with Yalitza Aparicio, a first-time actor whose performance in Roma earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival: “Alfonso Cuarón is a visionary author of agile and liberated imaginaries. Combining an experimental spirit with the sweep of great popular writers, he has managed to capture the imagination and hearts of millions of viewers, passing on the same wonder that he himself experienced as a child and teenager basking in the glow of classic Mexican cinema. From coming-of-age novels to science fiction, from melodrama to grand sagas like Harry Potter, Alfonso Cuarón has reinvented himself as an artist with each new film, always in the service of the pleasure of cinema, and has thus created a truly multifaceted body of work.”
The Tribute Program
During its 77th edition (7-17 August) the Locarno Film Festival is honored to pay tribute to Alfonso Cuarón with the Lifetime Achievement Award, accompanied by the screening of Alain Tanner’s Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l'an 2000 (Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000, 1976), personally selected by Cuarón. Before the screening of Tanner’s film, Cuarón will discuss its significance both for his own work and film history in general. The conversation will be moderated by Frédéric Maire, director of Cinémathèque suisse, and is organized in collaboration with Les Films du Camélia.
The 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award will be given on the evening of Sunday, August 11 in Piazza Grande. That same day, at the Forum @Spazio Cinema, Cuarón will participate in a public conversation with the Festival audience, moderated by Manlio Gomarasca.
Alfonso Cuarón is a five-time Academy Award-winner who has written and directed acclaimed films including Roma, Gravity, Children of Men, and Y tu mamá también. Cuarón’s upcoming project is Disclaimer for Apple TV+, a series starring Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline, set to launch on October 11th. In 2022, he produced Alice Rohrwacher’s Oscar-nominated short film Le pupille, making him the second person recognized in seven different Oscar categories. Cuarón's other credits include Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Great Expectations, A Little Princess, and his directorial debut, Sólo con tu pareja. Cuarón continues to collaborate with longtime partner Anonymous Content.
Don’t miss out on the chance to see a film in Locarno’s world famous outdoor cinema under the stars. You can purchase tickets for the evening screenings in the Piazza Grande, home to one of the world's largest screens, at our Ticket Shop. Buying the tickets in advance allows you to fully plan your evening in Locarno beforehand. You can even choose to attend the free second scheduled screening, or for an extra fee pick a specific seat on the Piazza Grande.
The 77th Locarno Film Festival will take place from 7 to 17 August 2024.
