Alfonso Cuaron to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Locarno Festival
The Locarno Film Festival is set to honor the illustrious career of multiple Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker, Alfonso Cuaron, with a lifetime achievement award. The Swiss festival, renowned for its commitment to global indie cinema, lauded Cuaron as a "chameleonic contemporary artist." His filmography includes low-budget films like his 1991 debut Love in the Time of Hysteria and Y tu mama tambien, as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Cuaron's Oscar wins and contributions to cinema
Cuaron is a five-time Academy Award winner, with three of his Oscars coming from Netflix's Roma (2018), a tribute to the Mexico of his childhood. His other two Oscars were awarded for his direction and editing of Warner Bros.'s Gravity (2013), which he co-wrote with his son Jonas. Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro described Cuaron as a "visionary author of agile and liberated imaginaries," who has successfully captivated millions of viewers worldwide.
More about the festival's tribute to Cuaron
The award will be presented to Cuaron on August 11 at Locarno's open-air Piazza Grande. As part of the festival's tribute, Swiss veteran Alain Tanner's 1976 arthouse hit Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000, personally selected by Cuaron, will be screened. The film is a contemplation on time and history where eight characters shaped by political events of 1968 face the future with a utopian spirit.
Cuaron's upcoming project and festival conversations
Before the screening, Cuaron will engage in a discussion about the film with Frederic Maire, head of the Cinematheque suisse. He will also participate in a separate conversation about his body of work with Italian critic and Locarno fest collaborator Manlio Gomarasca. The audience will have an opportunity to interact with Cuaron during a panel conversation at Forum @Spazio Cinema. His next project is the series Disclaimer for Apple TV+, set to launch on October 11.
