The Locarno Film Festival announced that filmmaker James Gray will be honored with the Pardo alla Carriera award during the festival’s 79th edition, running Aug. 5-15. Gray will accept the recognition on Aug. 9 and present his latest project, “Paper Tiger,” at the festival’s outdoor Piazza Grande venue.
“Paper Tiger,” which premiered at Cannes in May, is set in 1986 and centers on two brothers—Irwin, played by Miles Teller, and Gary, portrayed by Adam Driver. The narrative involves Irwin’s involvement with organized crime following a scheme related to the Gowanus Canal, with his brother, a former police officer, positioned as his potential savior. The film is scheduled to open the 64th New York Film Festival on Sept. 25 as its opening night selection.
The Locarno festival will also program two additional Gray films as part of the career retrospective: “We Own the Night” and “Two Lovers.” In official remarks, organizers highlighted Gray’s distinctive artistic voice, noting his recurring examination of criminal enterprises and family dynamics, often drawing from the Brighton Beach neighborhood of his youth and informed by classical American and European cinema. His body of work encompasses character studies like “The Yards,” “The Immigrant,” and “Armageddon Time” alongside genre explorations including “The Lost City of Z,” “Ad Astra,” and his most recent work.
Artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro characterized Gray as “the last great novelist of American cinema,” emphasizing his humanist perspective and deep cinephilic knowledge. Previous recipients of the Pardo alla Carriera Award include Costa-Gavras, Tsai Ming-liang, Jackie Chan, and other celebrated international figures.