Overview
- Locarno Film Festival, which runs August 5–15, announced Tuesday it will give Darren Aronofsky its Honorary Pardo d’Onore on August 14 at the Piazza Grande.
- The tribute features open-air screenings of The Fountain and Mother! and an onstage public conversation with the director.
- Artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro called him an audacious auteur and highlighted themes he returns to, including faith, motherhood, and clashes with authoritarian father figures.
- Past recipients such as Jean-Luc Godard, Werner Herzog, Agnès Varda, and Jane Campion place the honor in a lineage of influential filmmakers.
- Reports also point to Aronofsky’s current output, including the Austin Butler–led Caught Stealing and the animated series On This Day… 1776 that used AI tools in production.