James Gray to receive Lifetime Career Award at 2026 Locarno Film Festival
Washington, July 20
James Gray will be honoured with the prestigious Pardo alla Carriera at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, adding another milestone to the acclaimed American filmmaker's career.
As per Variety, Gray will receive the honour on August 9, during this year's edition of the Swiss festival, where his latest feature, 'Paper Tiger,' will also be showcased.
The filmmaker will present 'Paper Tiger' at Locarno's iconic Piazza Grande outdoor venue.
The film, which launched in May from Cannes, is set in 1986 and follows two brothers, Irwin, played by Miles Teller, and Gary Pearl, portrayed by Adam Driver.
The story centres on Irwin's involvement with the Russian mob after a get-rich-quick scheme to clean up the Gowanus Canal goes wrong, leaving his former police officer brother Gary as his only hope of escape. Following its Locarno screening, 'Paper Tiger' is scheduled to have its North American premiere as the opening night film of the 64th New York Film Festival on September 25.
As part of the tribute, Locarno will also screen two of Gray's acclaimed films, 'We Own the Night' (2007) and 'Two Lovers' (2008), celebrating a career that has spanned more than three decades.
Announcing the honour, the festival praised Gray's distinctive filmmaking journey. "Since winning the Silver Lion at Venice for 'Little Odessa' (1994) at age 25, James Gray has forged a singular career rooted, with piercing realism, in his upbringing in New York's Russian-Jewish community," the festival said in a statement.
It credited films including The Yards, We Own the Night, Two Lovers and The Immigrant with establishing Gray "as one of American cinema's most artistically distinctive voices."
The statement also highlighted the evolution of Gray's work over the past decade, noting that his films expanded beyond crime and family dramas into themes including colonial exploration, space travel and racial prejudice through projects such as 'The Lost City of Z', Ad Astra and Armageddon Time.
Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro described Gray as "the last great novelist of American cinema."
He added, "James Gray is the last great novelist of American cinema. His films form a rich body of work that echoes the Jewish diaspora, film noir and Russian as well as North American literature," as quoted by Variety.
Nazzaro further called Gray "a filmmaker with a humanist sensibility and profound cinephile knowledge" who "has experimented with genres such as science fiction and adventure while retaining his own artistic identity and voice."
Previous recipients of the Locarno Pardo alla Carriera Award include Francesco Rosi, Bruno Ganz, Claudia Cardinale, Johnnie To, Harry Belafonte, Jane Birkin, Costa-Gavras, Tsai Ming-liang, Shah Rukh Khan and Jackie Chan.
The 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will take place from August 5 to 15.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Honestly, I'd never heard of James Gray before this article. But his filmography looks interesting, especially 'We Own the Night' and 'Two Lovers'. It's good to see international film festivals honoring directors who tell stories from their own communities. The Jewish diaspora angle adds a unique flavor to American cinema.
A well-deserved honor! Gray's ability to blend family sagas with crime and sci-fi is remarkable. I particularly admire how he expanded from New York stories to explore space and colonial history. This feels like a career that truly grew organically. The Locarno festival has good taste. 🎬
I wish our Indian film festivals also celebrated great storytellers like this more often. Gray's journey from Silver Lion at age 25 to this lifetime award is inspiring. But I feel his movies like 'Armageddon Time' didn't get the audience they deserved in India—too niche perhaps. Still, kudos! 🙌
So nice to see a filmmaker honored for authentic storytelling rooted in his personal background. Gray's focus on family, diaspora, and moral dilemmas feels universal. Can't wait to see 'Paper Tiger'—the plot with Teller and Driver sounds intense! Also love that Locarno is showcasing his older films alongside.
James Gray is indeed a brilliant filmmaker, but I'm curious—why give a 'lifetime award' when he's only 55? Seems premature. Shouldn't these be reserved for older legends? That said, his work on 'The Immigrant' was stunning. The Russian-Jewish immigrant story resonated even with me
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