Overview

• The 78th Locarno Film Festival runs August 6–16 in Locarno, Switzerland, with Payne set to accept the Honorary Leopard Award on August 15.
• He will showcase The Descendants (2011) and Nebraska (2013) followed by a public discussion with festival audiences.
• Artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro praised Payne as an erudite auteur whose work bridges classical and modern cinematic sensibilities.
• Payne’s filmography—from Election to The Holdovers—has earned three Academy Awards, three BAFTAs and eight Golden Globes.
• Organizers highlighted that his films exemplify the pleasures of mid-budget filmmaking for grown-ups and defend a besieged art form.