Letterboxd is heading to Switzerland—introducing the inaugural Letterboxd Piazza Grande Award at this year’s Locarno Film Festival. 

One of the biggest and most beautiful outdoor theaters in the world, Locarno Film Festival’s Piazza Grande is a town square most of the year, but transforms into an open-air moviegoing space every summer for 8,000 cinephiles under the stars.

This year, Letterboxd is taking over the Piazza Grande Award, celebrating cinema in one of Europe’s most beloved festivals on the world’s largest outdoor screen. 

Voted for by a jury of young cinephile critics and Letterboxd crew members, the award winner will be crowned from a highly anticipated lineup of films for its artistic qualities and potential for theatrical release.

The winning title will receive extensive editorial coverage on Letterboxd and the Locarno Film Festival’s channels—which may well include a round of Four Favorites—helping to build global awareness of a new film showing at the Festival. 

Matthew Buchanan, Co-Founder of Letterboxd, says of the award: “One of our guiding principles is to find ways to bring our audience of film lovers closer to the filmmakers operating at the forefront of the medium. We are thrilled to be working with the Locarno Film Festival in its 77th incarnation, to provide coverage, community reactions and filmmaker support in the most beautiful of outdoor settings.” 

Locarno’s Artistic Director Giona A. Nazzaro adds:  “Over the past decade, Letterboxd has become one of the essential sites for film fans to share the films they love. We are proud to be the first international festival to join with Letterboxd in giving an award to films in the official selection, in this case those shown at the real heart of our Festival: under the stars on the Piazza Grande.” 

The ceremony for the Letterboxd Piazza Grande Award will be held in the Piazza Grande on the evening of Saturday, August 17. Follow Locarn on Letterboxd here.