James Gray lands Locarno Film Festival career honour
Festival is also set to screen three films from James Gray's acclaimed career
Filmmaker James Gray will receive the honorary Pardo alla Carriera (Career Achievement Award) at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, recognising his decades-long contribution to cinema.
Gray will accept the honour on Aug. 9 ahead of an open-air screening of his latest film, Paper Tiger, in the festival's iconic Piazza Grande. The festival will also showcase two of his acclaimed earlier films, We Own the Night (2007) and Two Lovers (2008).
Locarno celebrates Gray's acclaimed career
The award marks Gray's first appearance at the Swiss film festival. The director first gained international recognition in 1994 with Little Odessa, which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
He went on to direct films including The Yards, The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra and Armageddon Time, earning acclaim for stories exploring family, immigration and identity.
Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro praised Gray as "the last great novelist of American cinema," describing him as a filmmaker who has maintained a distinctive artistic voice while working across genres.
Paper Tiger continues festival run
Starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, Paper Tiger premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May and is set to open the 2026 New York Film Festival in September.
The crime drama follows two brothers whose pursuit of a better life draws them into the orbit of the Russian mafia, marking Gray's return to the New York setting that defined many of his early films.
Previous recipients of Locarno's Pardo alla Carriera include Shah Rukh Khan, Jackie Chan, Costa-Gavras, Jane Birkin and Claudia Cardinale. The 79th Locarno Film Festival will run from Aug. 5 to Aug. 15.
