James Gray honored with career award at Locarno Film Festival

American director James Gray has been honored with the ‘Pardo alla Carriera’ (Career Leopard) at the 79th Locarno Film Festival. During the event, Gray presented his latest feature, ‘Paper Tiger’, at the Piazza Grande open-air cinema.

In discussions regarding his career, Gray reflected on the unpredictable nature of filmmaking, noting that directors often have less control over their success than industry mythology suggests. He credited early career breakthroughs, such as his debut film ‘Little Odessa’, to chance and the support of festival juries rather than calculated strategy.