Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet, two stars of French cinema, will be the joint recipients of the Excellence Award Davide Campari at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival.
Guillaume Canet has acted, directed and written over 100 films throughout his career, spanning from comedies to works by filmmakers like Andrzej ?u?awski, Cédric Kahn, and Jerry Schatzberg. His own films have received acclaim at various international festivals. He has received the César for Best Director for his well-regarded thriller “Ne le dis à personne” (Tell No One) in 2007. In the recent film “Astérix et Obélix: l’Empire du Milieu” (2023), in addition to directing, he also portrayed Astérix. He also played the lead role in Stéphane Brisé’s romantic drama “Horssaison” (2023), which premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Mélanie Laurent began her career in French cinema in 2006, appearing in a series of French dramas such as “Je vais bien, ne t’en fais pas” (2006) directed by Philippe Lioret, a role for which she won the César for Most Promising Actress. A few years later, at the age of 26, she was cast by Quentin Tarantino as Shoshanna Dreyfuss in his revisionist war film “Inglourious Basterds” (2009), which marked her entry into American mainstream cinema and led to memorable appearances in films like “Now You See Me” (Louis Leterrier, 2013) and “6 Underground” (Michael Bay, 2019). Laurent also ventured into directing with the documentary “Demain” (2015), which won the César for Best Documentary, and the heist film “Voleuses” (Wingwomen), distributed by Netflix.
Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director: “Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet have forged personal and identifiable acting paths for themselves over the years. Working in the service of a French and European tradition of an auteur cinema that often intersects with the reasons of a cultured popular cinema, the two performers have shown extraordinary sensitivity in the composition of their roles thus giving rise to artistic, personal trajectories that are appreciated by audiences. Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet had already met professionally and now, Le Déluge, our opening film directed by Gianluca Jodice, allows us to find them in the guise of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI. Two absolutely superb performances that we wanted to celebrate, thus honoring both of their paths, with our Excellence Award Davide”
The 2024 Excellence Award Davide Campari will be given on the evening of Wednesday, August 7 at Piazza Grande. On Thursday, August 8 at 10:30 am at the Forum @Spazio Cinema, Laurent and Canet will both participate in a public conversation with the Festival audience.
The Locarno Film festival takes place August 7 – 17
