U.S. film first at Locarno festival

Press, 23 August 1984, Page 18

U.S. film first at Locarno festival

NZPA-Reuter Geneva The American movie “Stranger Than Paradise,” directed by Jim Jarmusch, has won first prize at the Locarno Film Festival, in Switzerland. Jarmusch’s film, a black comedy depicting the personal plight of a Hungarian living in exile, shot in black and white, won the Camera d’Or at the Cannes festival. Second prize went to the French film “Le Roi de la Chine” (“The King of Second-Hand Dealing”), by Fabrice Cazeneuve. The French made-for-television film, “Les Chiens de Jerusalem,” won first prize in the TV-movies section of the festival. The film, directed by Fa-

bio Carpi, was singled out for the Golden Leopard’s Eye award for its originality of concept, wit and clarity, and for its courage to treat a philosophical subject in a style acceptable to a mass audience. Jean Rochefort, who costarred with Bernard Fresson in the film co-produced with Swiss television, was named best actor by the jury. ‘‘Something About Amelia,” an American teleplay written by William Hanley and directed by Randa Haines, won second prize and the Silver Leopard’s Eye. The powerful drama, one of four made-for-TV movies in competition from the United States, was chosen by a panel of five judges for its compassionate and sensitive treatment of the delicate subject of incest and the impact it had on a seemingly average American family. A Brazilian production, “Orfaos da Terra,” directed by Paulo Alfonso Grisolli for TV Globo, received the Bronze Leopard’s Eye starring Tania Alves. It was honoured for its economy of style and sharp carefully etched portrait of a woman desperately fighting poverty. The jury selected Anna Massey as best actress for her subtle and introspective portrait of the artist, Gwen John, in the English-made film, “Journey into the Shadows,” written by Elaine Morgan.