Belgian filmmaker Fabrice du Welz will preside over the jury for the international competition at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, part of a full slate of juries the festival has revealed across its sections.

Du Welz has made nine features that have screened at major festivals; Locarno has shown two of them, “Adoration” on the Piazza Grande in 2019 and “The Passion According to BĂ©atrice,” out of competition in 2024. He is joined on the jury by Italian producer Marco Alessi, founder of Rome-based Dugong Films, whose credits include work with directors Stefano Savona, Yuri Ancarani and RĂ€ di Martino and who produced Bertrand Mandico’s “Roma Elastica,” playing out of competition in Locarno this year. Rounding out the panel are French actor Lolita Chammah, whose career includes collaborations with Claude Chabrol, Werner Schroeter, Claire Denis, Claire Simon and BenoĂźt Jacquot; Chilean actor Paulina GarcĂ­a, who won the Silver Bear for “Gloria” in 2013; and Olivier PĂšre, who previously served as artistic director at Locarno and as general delegate of the Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, and who now heads the cinema unit at Arte France CinĂ©ma as executive director, a post he has held since 2012.

The Filmmakers of the Present Competition, the section dedicated to emerging directors, will be judged by Tunisian actor, director and producer Afef Ben Mahmoud, who also directs the GabĂšs CinĂ©ma Fen festival; Czech producer and director Radovan SĂ­brt, co-founder of production company Pink, whose credits include the Academy Award-winning “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” (2025); and filmmaker Margherita Spampinato, whose breakthrough feature “Sweetheart” (“Gioia Mia”) followed its selection in the section last year with a David di Donatello win, plus the Kering Women In Motion Emerging Talent Award, presented at Cannes.

Three filmmakers will judge the Leopards of Tomorrow section. Lebanese director, writer and actor Mounia Akl has had work presented at Cannes, Venice, Toronto and London. South African producer Steven Markovitz, a longtime force in regional independent cinema, counts “aKasha” (2018), “Rafiki” (2018), “Tug of War” (2021) and “Omen” (2023) among his credits. Italian director Antonio Piazza, who co-directed “Sicilian Letters” (“Iddu,” 2024) with Fabio Grassadonia, rounds out the panel; that film premiered in competition in Venice.

The First Feature jury, which awards the Swatch First Feature Award for the festival’s best debut, comprises Matthieu Darras, who runs the festival consultancy Tatino and brings programming experience from Cannes, Venice, San Sebastián and TorinoFilmLab; Sung Moon, a Jeonju International Film Festival programmer and former member of the Korean Film Council; and Swiss-Peruvian filmmaker Klaudia Reynicke, whose film “Queens” (“Reinas”) took the Prix du Public UBS at Locarno77 on its way to becoming Switzerland’s Oscar submission and a Swiss Film Awards winner.

The Pardo for Change jury, which recognizes films engaging with environmental, ethical, social and cultural issues, includes freelance war reporter and author Gianluca Grossi; Somali-Austrian filmmaker Mo Harawe, whose debut feature “The Village Next to Paradise” bowed in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar in 2024; and Seta Thakur, who leads communications and social innovation work at the Wyss Academy for Nature.

A separate jury will oversee the Locarno Kids Screenings, deciding the winner of the Locarno Kids Award la Mobiliare in the festival’s new competitive strand for feature films made for young viewers. This year, for the first time, 13 jurors between ages 11 and 15 will screen seven titles in the section before selecting a winner, meeting daily throughout the festival for a training program led by industry professionals.

Locarno artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro said: “Selecting those whose eyes will be watching the films in the competitive sections is a task that always brings out desires and emotions. The diversity of talent meets the diversity of perspectives. Ultimately, however, what matters most is a willingness to be surprised, to be amazed, and to embrace the unexpected. In this sense, we are proud that the films of the 79th edition can begin their journey out into the world accompanied by those talented creative figures who have agreed to share the adventure of the Locarno Film Festival with us.”