Golshifteh Farahani to receive Locarno's Excellence Award

New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) Iranian-French star Golshifteh Farahani will be honoured with the Excellence Award Davide Campari at the 2025 Locarno Film Festival.

The 42-year-old actor, known for her roles in "Shirin", "About Elly", "The Patience Stone", "Paterson", "Girls of the Sun" and "Extraction", will be presented with the honour on the opening evening of the film gala's 78th edition on August 6, the festival organisers said in a statement.

At the festival, Farahani will also present her most recent film "Alpha", directed by Julia Ducournau, and will take part in a public conversation with the festival audience. "Alpha" had its premiere in the competition section of the Cannes Film Festival in May.

“Golshifteh Farahani is a key figure in contemporary cinema. Charismatic and multifaceted, she has been able to immerse herself in very different contexts and roles, guided by her extraordinary talent and generosity as an artist.

"Over the years, she has managed to alternate between arthouse films and blockbusters, infusing each film with a new aspect of her personality. Honouring Golshifteh Farahani means celebrating an extraordinary artist who has left a deep mark on the eyes and hearts of every film lover," said Giona A Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival.

The Excellence Award has been supported since 2021 by the Festival’s Signature Partner Campari.

Previous recipients of the award includes Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Michel Piccoli, Anjelica Huston, Carmen Maura, Isabelle Huppert, Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Rampling, Edward Norton, Bill Pullman, Ethan Hawke, Song Kang-Ho, Laetitia Casta, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Riz Ahmed, Melanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet. PTI SMR RB RB