Lithuanian Teen Drama ‘Toxic’ Wins Big at Locarno Film Festival

variety.com:

Guy Lodge Film Critic Lithuanian cinema, not typically that well represented on the international film festival circuit, was the big story of this year’s Locarno Film Festival awards ceremony, with two films from the Baltic nation taking a number of top prizes between them. “Toxic,” an auspicious debut from writer-director Saulė Bareiša, won not only the Golden Leopard for Best Film in the fest’s premier International Competition — from a jury chaired by Austrian auteur Jessica Hausner — but also, in an unusual double, the top prize in the separately juried First Feature Competition.

Bareiša’s compatriot Laurynas Bareiša, meanwhile, won Best Director in the International Competition for his sophomore feature “Drowning Dry,” while the same film’s ensemble also collectively took one of the jury’s gender-neutral acting prizes.

Full story to come, with a complete list of winners below: INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION Golden Leopard for Best Film: “Toxic,” Saulė BliuvaitėSpecial Jury Prize: “Moon,” Kurdwin AyubBest Director: Laurynas Bareiša, “Drowning Dry” Best Performance: (ex aequo) Gelminė Glemžaitė, Agnė Kaktaitė, Giedrius Kiela and Paulius Markevičius, “Drowning Dry”; Kim Minhee, “By the Stream”Special Mentions: “Youth (Hard Times),” Wang Bing; “Salve Maria,” Mar Coll CINEASTI DEL PRESENTE (FILMMAKERS OF THE PRESENT) COMPETITIONBest Film: “Holy Electricity,” Tato KotetishviliBest Emerging Director: Denise Fernandes, “Hanami”Special Jury Prize: “Listen to the Voices,” Maxime Jean-BaptisteBest Performance: (ex aequo) Callie Hernandez, “Invention”; Anna Mészöly, “Lesson Learned”Special Mentions: “Lesson Learned,” Bálint Szimler; “When the Phone Rang,” Iva Radivojević FIRST FEATURE COMPETITIONSwatch First Feature Award: “Toxic,”.