Isabella Rossellini gets emotional as Locarno Film Festival honours her with Excellence Award

LOCARNO (Switzerland): Italian-American actress Isabella Rossellini was honoured with the Excellence Award at the opening night of the 79th Locarno Film Festival, where she paid an emotional tribute to her family’s cinematic legacy, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Receiving the honour at the Piazza Grande ahead of the festival’s opening film, ‘The Green Eyes (Les Yeux Verts)’, Rossellini expressed gratitude and reflected on the connection her family has shared with the prestigious festival over the decades. “This award fills me with pride,” Rossellini told the audience. “The Locarno Festival is one of the most prestigious in the world.”

The actress recalled that her father, legendary Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, received the festival’s Great Prize at its third edition in 1948 for ‘Germania Anno Zero’, along with a shared Best Scenario award, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She also remembered her brother, producer Renzo Rossellini, who received the Locarno Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

“So to be on par with my father and my brother fills me with great emotion,” Rossellini said, becoming visibly emotional as she concluded her speech. She later posed for a photograph with the crowd before leaving the stage to a standing ovation.

Isabella Rossellini riceve l’Excellence Award durante la serata inaugurale della 79esima edizione del Locarno Film Festival.

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Earlier in the evening, Locarno Film Festival president Maja Hoffmann declared the 79th edition of the festival open, describing Rossellini’s presence as “such a good omen for this edition.”

The opening night also featured the cast and filmmakers of ‘The Green Eyes’, directed by Fanny Liatard and Jeremy Trouilh. The refugee drama follows 11-year-old Chaya and her family living in France’s Landes region. When the family faces deportation, Chaya’s older brother, Nour, falls into a mysterious sleep, prompting her to do everything she can to wake him, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Speaking about the film, co-writer and co-director Fanny Liatard said the story was inspired in part by the devastating wildfires that struck the Landes region. “We wanted to try to put faces to stories that are sometimes a bit dehumanised, or just numbers,” Liatard said.

“This is a single story that we filmed last year in the Landes region, where there were some major forest fires not long ago, which you’ll see on screen. Many people had to evacuate their homes, losing everything overnight. It was very close to home for us, we were there in the Landes at the time. It made us realise that you can lose everything overnight,” she added, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Young actor Douae Butarbuch M’Zaouki, who stars as Chaya, thanked the filmmakers and fellow cast members for supporting her during filming. “Thank you all for coming,” she told the audience to loud applause.

Rossellini is also scheduled to participate in an “In Conversation” session on Thursday, where she will reflect on her career. She will additionally present her acclaimed web series ‘Green Porno’ (2008-2009), in which she humorously portrayed animal mating rituals, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 79th Locarno Film Festival will continue until August 15. (ANI)