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© Rahi Rezvani
Renowned for her captivating performances and fearless artistic choices, Golshifteh Farahani has established herself as one of the most influential voices in contemporary cinema. Born in Tehran in 1983, Golshifteh Farahani’s passion for acting emerged at an early age, leading to her breakthrough role in Dariush Mehrjui’s The Pear Tree (1998), which won her the Best Actress award at the Fajr International Film Festival.
Since then, she has appeared in a remarkable array of films, both in Iran – Abbas Kiarostami’s Shirin (2008) and Asghar Farhadi’s About Elly (2009) being two major examples – and internationally, from an acclaimed auteur work like Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson (2016) to Ridley Scott’s spy thriller Body of Lies (2008), along Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe and the epos Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) with Christian Bale and Sigourney Weaver and action packed Extraction (2020), with Chris Hemsworth and its sequel (2023). She starred also in the wildly successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in the episode Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). In France she has established herself as one the major stars working with directors such as Christophe Honoré, Alain Chabat, Arnaud Desplechin, Louis Garrel, and Mia Hansen-Løve. In 2017, she came to Locarno to present the Rajasthan-set international co-production The Song of Scorpions (2017) on the Piazza Grande. All Golshifteh Farahani’s performances are distinguished by their emotional depth, her instinctive intelligence, and her ferocious commitment to the core of her characters, making her a beloved figure among audiences and filmmakers alike.
Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival, remarked: “Golshifteh Farahani is a key figure in contemporary cinema. Charismatic and multifaceted, she has been able to immerse herself in very different contexts and roles, guided by her extraordinary talent and generosity as an artist. Over the years, she has managed to alternate between arthouse films and blockbusters, infusing each film with a new aspect of her personality. Honoring Golshifteh Farahani means celebrating an extraordinary artist who has left a deep mark on the eyes and hearts of every film lover.”
The Excellence Award, supported since 2021 by the Festival’s Signature Partner Campari, lists among its laureates in recent years a line-up of outstanding film personalities, with names of the caliber of Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Michel Piccoli, Anjelica Huston, Carmen Maura, Isabelle Huppert, Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Rampling, Giancarlo Giannini, Edward Norton, Bill Pullman, Mathieu Kassovitz, Ethan Hawke, Song Kang-Ho, Laetitia Casta, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Riz Ahmed, and, in 2024, Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet.
The award is dedicated to Davide Campari, one of the first to understand the power and duty of cinema to challenge the limits of creativity. As son of Gaspare Campari, inventor of the iconic red aperitif, he founded Davide Campari & C. in 1904 and transformed the family legacy into a global brand. The visionary entrepreneur promoted art, culture and creativity and ignited the passion of artists and filmmakers all over the world. To this day, Campari remains deeply connected to the world of cinema, continuing to celebrate bold storytelling and artistic excellence. The Excellence Award Davide Campari is a tribute to this enduring legacy.
The 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival will take place from 6–16 August 2025.