Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet receive the Excellence Award Davide Campari at the 77ᵗʰ Locarno Film Festival

Baar / Locarno | 09. AUG 2024 – This August, Locarno transforms once again into a global film stage where, amidst of great personalities from the world of cinema, the Locarno Film Festival takes place for the 77^th time. Campari, the popular red aperitif from Milan, is an official partner of the renowned Festival for the fifth year in a row.

With the Excellence Award Davide Campari, the Locarno Film Festival and Campari recognize filmmakers who have shaped and influenced contemporary cinema through their exceptional achievements. This year, the prize was awarded to Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet.

The famous Pardo was awarded to them during the opening night of the Festival, on August 7, on the stage of the spectacular Piazza Grande. The two actors “cheered” with their award to the applause of five thousand people.

In a long and varied career spanning more than 100 films, Guillaume Canet has alternated between directing and screenwriting, working on pieces ranging from popular comedies to works by authors such as Andrzej Żuławski, Cédric Kahn and Jerry Schatzberg. His own films have been well received at various international festivals. He won the César Award for Best Director for the 2007 thriller “Ne le dis à personne”.

Mélanie Laurent began her career in French cinema in 2006, when she starred in a series of highly acclaimed French dramas and was awarded the César for Most Promising Actress. She achieved international fame at the age of 26 in Quentin Tarantino's revisionist war film “Inglourious Basterds” for the role of Shoshanna Dreyfuss. In parallel, Mélanie Laurent has become both one of the true stars of French cinema as well as a significant director in her own right.

Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival, highlights the role of the two winners for the world of cinema: “Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet have forged a personal and recognizable acting path over the years. Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet had already met professionally and now we can see them in Le Déluge, our opening film directed by Gianluca Jodice, in the roles of Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI. Two absolutely great performances that we want to honor with our Excellence Award Davide Campari to pay tribute to both of them”.

Campari accompanies visitors throughout the Festival

Visitors will be able to enjoy an outstanding Italian aperitivo at the Davide Campari Lounge for the entire duration of the Festival. During the first week of the Festival, the iconic cocktails will be exclusively prepared by the bartenders of Camparino in Galleria. This historic Milanese bar, located in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, is an icon of the bar world and a symbol of the aperitif par excellence. It was opened in 1915 by Davide Campari and its presence in Locarno shows both the strong connection to Milan, the birthplace of Campari, and the brand’s bond to the artistic and cultural context of the 20^th century. The team led by Tommaso Cecca, Head of Mixology at Camparino in Galleria, will serve guests a selection of Campari’s most legendary cocktails.

The Davide Campari Lounge will also be the venue for various other Festival events, such as roundtables, interviews, panel discussions and after-show parties. In true grand cinema style, Campari also presents the 3-liter Cinema Limited Edition bottle as a special highlight and eye-catcher for visitors.

On the Awards ceremony night, the Castello Visconteo of Locarno was tinged with red for the first time, in occasion of the legendary Opening Party hosted by Campari. More than 600 guests were able to enjoy exclusive Campari cocktails between the ancient walls of this prestigious setting. These included a drink specially created for the event by Tommaso Cecca for the 77^th edition of the Festival. The “Campari Red Carpet Cocktail”, Locarno Edition, a harmonious and refined combination of Campari with Appleton Estate blend, raspberry & mint light syrup, lime juice, finished with champagne Lallier Grand Rosé, is rounded off with a spruce essence and garnished with the unique cinematic orange peel. The spruce notes are reminiscent of dry aperitif with tropical essence, while Campari, with its bitter taste and unique red color, creates a link to the red carpet. On the glass, a leopard pattern made of cocoa powder that leads back to the renowned swiss chocolate. A Campari RARE bar, located on a loggia overlooking the internal courtyard of the Castello, allowed the guests to enjoy elevated cocktails with a amgnificient view. As the highlight of the evening, a dance performance accompanied by immersive lights amazed the guests.

Campari and the movie world

Davide Campari's vision of establishing and continuously promoting art and culture at the heart of the Campari brand lives on to this day. In 1984, for example, Campari collaborated with Federico Fellini, the maestro of film, on a unique advertisement entitled “Oh, che bel paesaggio!”, in which reality meets fantasy in an artistic way. The success story has continued in recent times with a series of short films starring acting and directing legends such as Paolo Sorrentino, Clive Owen, Zoe Saldana, Ana de Armas and many others. Today, Campari's long-standing commitment to film and cinema can be experienced in the form of partnerships with the world's most famous film festivals, such as Cannes, Venice and Locarno. In this way, Campari supports both young, up-and-coming talents and well-known filmmakers in their creativity and passion for film.