Darren Aronofsky to Be Honored by Locarno Film Festival

Home Film Festivals May 5, 2026 1:58am PT Darren Aronofsky to Be Honored by Locarno Film Festival By Nick Vivarelli Plus Icon Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent @NickVivarelli Latest As War Rages, Iranian Cinema Takes on Fresh Urgency: ‘We Have to Process What We’ve Been Through’ 4 days ago Abel Ferrara, Raika Hazanavicius, Giovanni De Maria Set for Angelica Gallo’s Gritty Feature Debut ‘The Night Burns’ (EXCLUSIVE) 5 days ago Triple Oscar-Winning Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro to Be Honored by Italy’s David Awards 6 days ago See All Getty The Locarno Film Festival will celebrate Darren Aronofsky with its Honorary Leopard Award. The prominent Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema will celebrate the American auteur on Aug. 14 during a ceremony on its 8,000-seat Piazza Grande. Aronofsky will also present his films “The Fountain” (2006) and “Mother!” (2017) and take part in an onstage public conversation. “With era-defining films like “Pi”(1998), “Requiem for a Dream” (2000), the Venice film festival award-winner “The Wrestler” (2008), “Black Swan” (2010), “Noah” (2014), and “The Whale” (2022) – for which Brendan Fraser was deservedly awarded Best Actor at the Academy Awards – Darren Aronofsky has carved out a space in contemporary cinema that defies tidy categorisation,” the fest said in a statement. “By turns provocative, spiritual, and formally daring, his films have for more than a quarter century probed the outer limits of faith, desire, and obsession,” it added. Popular on Variety Aronofsky’s most recent feature film is the black comedy “Caught Stealing” starring Austin Butler. He also produced “On This Day… 1776,” an animated series that premiered earlier this year which re-creates moments from America’s founding year and used artificial intelligence to travel back in time 250 years ago, but used real-life human actors to provide the voices. Locarno’s artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro lavished further praise on Aronofsky calling him “an auteur who has made the sheer force of creativity, invention, and audacity his trademark.” “As a filmmaker, he has succeeded in creating an unmistakable body of work, so much so that the adjective ‘Aronofskian’ is now used to characterise a deeply personal and unconventional style that nonetheless moves freely between different genres and approaches,” he added. Nazzaro continued: “In his specific case anchored in those themes and obsessions that he has tirelessly explored: faith, motherhood, the conflicts with authoritarian father figures, and the challenges inherent in the creation of societies.” Previous recipients of the Locarno award include Bernardo Bertolucci, Ken Loach, Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Herzog, Kelly Reichardt, John Waters, Marco Bellocchio, Agnès Varda, Harmony Korine, Jane Campion, and Alexander Payne. The 79th edition of Locarno will run Aug. 5-15. Read More About: Darren Aronofsky, Locarno Film Festival Jump to Comments More from Variety WHCA Urged to ‘Demonstrate Opposition’ to Trump at Annual Dinner Donald Trump Slams ‘Nut Jobs’ Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, Alex Jones for Opposing Iran War: ‘They’re Stupid People’ Donald Trump Says Jimmy Kimmel Better Get Fired ‘Soon’ by ABC After Melania Widow Joke: ‘People Are Angry’ Bill Maher Grills Gavin Newsom Over Suing Fox News: ‘You Are Imitating’ Trump Jon Stewart Slams Donald Trump for Saying He Thought His Jesus Photo Was ‘Me as a Doctor’: ‘Do You Even Care About Lying to Us Anymore?’ CBS News’ Bari Weiss, Norah O’Donnell Among Attendees at David Ellison’s Dinner Party ‘Honoring’ Donald Trump and the First Amendment Loading comments...