AceShowbiz - The Darren Aronofsky will be celebrated at the 79th Locarno Film Festival with the prestigious Honorary Leopard award, known as the Pardo d’Onore, organizers announced on Tuesday. The award ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 14, in the iconic Piazza Grande of the Swiss city hosting the festival.

The festival praised Aronofsky as a “visionary” filmmaker, recognizing his unique contributions to contemporary cinema. In addition to receiving the honorary award, he will present two of his notable films, The Fountain (2006) and Mother! (2017), during the event.

highlighted Aronofsky’s diverse and boundary-pushing filmography, which includes era-defining works like ? (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), the Venice Film Festival award-winning The Wrestler (2008), Black Swan (2010), Noah (2014), and The Whale (2022). The latter earned Brendan Fraser the Academy Award for Best Actor. The festival emphasized that Aronofsky has created a distinct cinematic space over more than 25 years, blending provocative, spiritual, and formally daring elements in his work.

According to the festival, his films consistently explore profound themes such as faith, desire, and obsession, pushing the boundaries of storytelling and artistic expression.

Giona A. Nazzaro, Locarno’s artistic director, described Aronofsky as an auteur whose trademark lies in creativity, invention, and audacity. He stated that Aronofsky has never conformed to industry or public expectations but instead forged a highly personal and unconventional style. The adjective “Aronofskian” is now used to describe his unique approach, which spans multiple genres and focuses on recurring themes like faith, motherhood, struggles with authoritarian father figures, and societal creation challenges.

Nazzaro added that Aronofsky embodies the essence of cinema as a risky and constantly challenging art form. Honoring him at Locarno and welcoming him to the Piazza Grande reflects a tribute to the beauty, challenges, and necessity of creativity.

The Pardo d’Onore, awarded since 2017 with the support of the Locarno event partner Manor, has been bestowed on some of cinema’s most influential figures. Previous recipients include Bernardo Bertolucci, Ken Loach, Jean-Luc Godard, Abbas Kiarostami, Terry Gilliam, Alexander Sokurov, William Friedkin, Jia Zhang-ke, Leos Carax, Werner Herzog, Agnès Varda, Marco Bellocchio, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Todd Haynes, John Waters, John Landis, Kelly Reichardt, Harmony Korine, Jane Campion, and most recently, Alexander Payne.

The 79th Locarno Film Festival will run from Aug. 5 to 15, continuing its tradition of celebrating groundbreaking filmmakers and innovative cinema from around the world.