Virginie Efira to Receive Leopard Club Award at the 2026 Locarno Film Festival

The Locarno Film Festival has announced that Belgian-born actress Virginie Efira will receive the Leopard Club Award during the festival’s 79th edition. The award ceremony will take place on Friday, August 7, 2026, in the iconic Piazza Grande, one of the festival’s signature venues.

During her stay in Locarno, Efira will also present All of a Sudden (Soudain, 2026), the latest feature by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The performance earned her the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival, adding another major milestone to a career that has established her as one of Europe’s most compelling screen performers.

A Career Defined by Bold Choices

Over the past decade, Virginie Efira has built an impressive body of work that balances audience favourites with collaborations alongside some of contemporary cinema’s most distinctive auteurs. In 2023, she received the César Award for Best Actress for her performance in Alice Winocour‘s Paris Memories (Revoir Paris, 2022).

All of a Sudden marks Ryusuke Hamaguchi‘s first French-language feature and his first film primarily set outside Japan. Preparing for the role required Efira to perform partly in Japanese, highlighting her commitment to one of the most demanding performances of her career.

She also appeared in Asghar Farhadi‘s Parallel Tales (Histoires parallèles, 2026), another Cannes Competition title, alongside Isabelle Huppert and Vincent Cassel.

Collaborations with Europe’s Leading Filmmakers

Efira’s artistic journey includes acclaimed collaborations with Paul Verhoeven, who directed her in Elle (2016) and Benedetta (2021), performances that showcase her ability to embody provocative, emotionally complex characters.

Her work with Justine Triet further cemented her reputation. Starring in Victoria (2016) and Sibyl (2019), Efira demonstrated remarkable versatility, helping establish herself as one of the defining actresses of modern European cinema.

Giona A. Nazzaro on Virginie Efira

Locarno Artistic Director Giona A. Nazzaro praised Efira’s contribution to contemporary cinema.

“Virginie Efira brings a unique sensibility to her roles as a performer. Bold yet thoughtful, instinctive yet ironic, she offers contemporary cinema a fresh perspective that continually reinvents itself. Working with filmmakers including Verhoeven and Hamaguchi, she has consistently explored her artistic potential, revealing a talent that evolves with freedom and vitality. Efira captures the beauty of what it means to be an actress in today’s cinema,” Nazzaro said.

The Leopard Club Award

Presented annually by the Leopard Club, the official supporting association of the Locarno Film Festival, the Leopard Club Award honours personalities whose work has made a lasting impact on the international film industry and the collective imagination.

Previous recipients include Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Andy García, Stefania Sandrelli, Adrien Brody, Meg Ryan, Hilary Swank, Kasia Smutniak, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Irène Jacob, and Emma Thompson.

The 79th Locarno Film Festival will run from August 5 to August 15, 2026.