56th Locarno Film Festival
| Opening film | The Band Wagon directed by Vincente Minnelli |
|---|---|
| Location | Locarno, Switzerland |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Awards | Golden Leopard: Khamosh Pani directed by Sabiha Sumar |
| Artistic director | Irene Bignardi |
| No. of films | 27 World Premieres |
| Festival date | Opening: 6 August 2003 Closing: 16 August 2003 |
| Website | LFF |
The 56th Locarno Film Festival was held from 6 to 16 August 2003 in Locarno, Switzerland. There were 27 world premieres and films from 17 countries were screened. The festival opened with a screening on the Piazza Grande of the restored print of Vincente Minnelli's The Band Wagon (1953). The Piazza Grande is the 7,000 seat open-air theater assembled in the town square each year. This year it had a 85 by 46 feet screen making it was the largest outdoor screen in Europe. The Leopard of Honor was awarded to Ken Loach for his cinematic career.
The Golden Leopard, the festival's top prize, was awarded Khamosh Pani directed by Sabiha Sumar. The film won 90,000 Swiss Francs (US$66,513) to be split between producers and the director. Both second prize Silver Leopards were awarded 30,000 Swiss Francs (US$22,171).