Emma Thompson will receive the Leopard Club Award at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, where her latest flick, The Dead Of Winter, will debut.
From director Brian Kirk, the film follows a widowed fisherwoman (Thompson) trapped in a Minnesotan blizzard who interrupts the kidnapping of a teenager only to realize that she is the young victim’s only hope. It is Kirk’s follow-up to 2019’s 21 Bridges.
Also starring are Laurel Marsden, Judy Greer, Gaia Wise, Lloyd Hutchinson, and Brían F. O’Byrne. Screenplay is by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb. Vertical has taken North American rights on the flick.
Thomas will attend Locarno in person to introduce The Dead Of Winter and pick up her Leopard Club award.
Previous Locarno Leopard Club winners include Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Andy García, Stefania Sandrelli, Adrien Brody, Meg Ryan, Hilary Swank, Kasia Smutniak, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Irène Jacob.
Some of Thompson’s most notable parts include Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day (1993), Sense and Sensibility (1996), Angels in America (2003), the Harry Potter series (2003-2011), Love Actually (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Years and Years (2019), Cruella (2021), Matilda the Musical (2022), and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022).
Discussing her honor, Locarno head Giona A. Nazzaro said Thompson “embodies the best of a tradition of performers who continue to be able to infuse each role with the deepest knowledge about the actor’s work.”
Nazzaro added: “Working with writers as exceptional as she herself is, fearlessly tackling ever-changing registers and characters, moving from Shakespeare to James Ivory, from the magic of Harry Potter to the transformations of Nanny McPhee, she has continued to surprise audiences over a career that has earned her numerous awards, including two Oscars, two Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, a Golden Lion, and an Emmy. Honoring the talent of a performer as brilliant and multifaceted as Emma Thompson with the Leopard Club Award is due recognition of an artist who has moved us, made us think, entertained us, and, most importantly, never ceased to surprise us.”
Locarno runs from 6-16 August.
