Emma Thompson accepts Locarno’s Leopard Club Award, delivers most of her speech in Italian, praises storytelling and daughter Gaia Wise. and premiere!!.
Emma Thompson surprised and delighted audiences at the Locarno Film Festival when she accepted the Leopard Club Award by delivering almost her entire speech in Italian.
The two-time Oscar winner — who recently made headlines for revealing a strange encounter with Donald Trump while filming Primary Colors — charmed the packed Piazza Grande with heartfelt remarks about cinema, creativity and family.
“I’ve written something for you,” Thompson told the crowd, then switched back to English near the end: “I’m a little bit overwhelmed. You understand.” She used the moment to celebrate the art of storytelling and to shine a light on the next generation of filmmakers.
Thompson and her daughter, Gaia Wise, were in Switzerland for the premiere of Brian Kirk’s Dead of Winter, in which Wise plays a younger version of Thompson’s character — a grieving widow caught in a brutal Minnesota winter and a violent kidnapping plot.
Thompson turned a proud mother’s eye to the audience, saying, “We made this film together and it’s a wonderful moment for us. She’s miraculous. I adore you, darling.”
The actress reflected on cinema’s ability to bring light into dark times. “I know the world is a bit dark right now. And for this reason, the light brought by stories and by the imaginary is more important than ever,” she said, praising the festival’s long history of championing bold cinema.
Thompson, who won Academy Awards for her screenplay for Sense and Sensibility and her lead role in Howards End, reassured fans she isn’t stepping away from creative work anytime soon. “Your gift represents a sign of faith in me, and I will do my best to continue to create,” she added.
Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro told Variety that Thompson’s fluent, humorous Italian delighted the crowd and made the evening “incredibly funny and moving.”
The outdoor ceremony drew 7,258 attendees, with roughly 750 people watching from a nearby cinema after Piazza Grande reached capacity — a rare sign of the star’s enduring pull.
Thompson also paid tribute to her longtime love of Italy; she holds honorary citizenship of Venice and has often called the city “the most beautiful in the world.”
Fans: what did you think of her Italian-language speech — charming or theatrical? Share your thoughts below.
