There were no clear favorites for the Golden Leopard at this 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, which also did not feature already recognized names, except for the recurring Hong Sang-soo. The jury, presided over by Belgian Fabrice Du Welz, honored two films: the Romanian You don’t belong here by Florin Șerban, Golden Leopard winner, and the Brazilian The Riverbank (A margem do rio) by Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho, Special Jury Prize, both of which address the worrying global increase in hate speech and violence against those considered different. It also excluded films that were more stimulating in terms of their stylistic risks, artistic concerns, or expository sobriety. This is the case of Lejos de los árboles, by Meritxell Colell, which, however, has thrilled critics: it has won, outside the official awards, the FIPRESCI prize awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics, and the Golden Boccalino for best film, presented by Swiss independent critics.

After rediscovering family roots in Con el viento (2018) and stirring the flames of passion in Dúo (2022), Meritxell Colell (Barcelona, 1983) explores the wounds of exile and the pain of loss in Lejos de los árboles, the film she premieres this Thursday in the competition of the prestigious Locarno Festival. Through the journey of a Mexican sound artist and her Peruvian guide, Colell mixes temporality and genre in an almost fractal narrative about absence; undoubtedly, her most well-rounded, ambitious, and complex film.