Uruguayan films "Spring Story" and "El Surubí" earn top honors at Locarno First Look

During the Sunday evening ceremony of Locarno’s 2026 First Look focus on Uruguay, two Uruguayan titles walked away with the festival’s most prominent prizes. "Spring Story," a cross-ocean love narrative directed by Gabriela Guillermo and Irina Raffo and co-produced with Animista Cine, won the Bright Side of the Moon prize for its complete colour grading. "El Surubí," Lorenzo Tocco’s feature-length comedy debut, earned the La Mayor Cine Award, a Music Library & SFX/Acorde award for music supervision services valued at €45,000, and the Jannuzzi Smith Award for poster design worth €10,000.

The film, set in the rural town of El Surubí, portrays a community clinging to hope after the closure of a local plant. Producer Pancho Magnou Arnabal highlighted the ensemble’s humor and sensitivity. The awards underscore the diversity of Uruguay’s output, ranging from crime thrillers to children’s adventures and documentary features.