DIRECTOR Yeo Siew-hua took home the coveted top prize at the 71st edition of Locarno Festival, winning the Golden Leopard for his film “A Land Imagined.”

The film follows a lonely construction worker from China, Wang, who goes missing in Singapore after forming a virtual friendship with a mysterious online gamer. Lok, a police investigator, uncovers much more than he bargained for in order to find him.

Among other awards in the main competition, Yolande Zauberman won the special jury prize for “M,” Dominga Sotomayor won best director for “Tarde Para Morir Joven,” and Richard Billingham won a special mention for “Ray & Liz.” Andra Guti won best actress for Radu Muntean’s “Alice T.,” and Ki Joo-bong won best actor for Hong Sangsoo’s “Hotel by the River.”

In the Filmmakers of the Present competition, Sara Fattahi won best film for “Chaos” and the special jury prize went to Nicole Vogele for “Closing Time.”

In Signs of Life, the best film award went to Lin Zi for “The Fragile House.” The prize for best first feature went to Eva Trobisch for “Alles Ist Gut.”

Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” won the Prix du Public.

“Held in extremely high temperatures, Locarno71 was a rich and diversified edition, just as it is in the tradition of a festival which is not afraid to approach extremes and to combine a smile with reflection,” said Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian of his sixth and final festival before heading to take over the Berlinale.

Nearly 300 films were shown over the course of the festival, with 18 shown in the giant outdoor cinema the Piazza Grande in front of 8,000 spectators, and 15 in total in the international competition. The festival concludes Saturday with a screening in the Piazza Grande of closing film “I Feel Good” by Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern. The 72nd Locarno Festival will take place Aug. 7 to 17, 2019.

(SD-Agencies)