Isabella Rossellini was honoured with the Honorary Leopard (Pardo) at the opening night of the 79th Locarno Film Festival on Wednesday, following in the footsteps of her late filmmaker father Roberto Rossellini and producer half-brother Renzo Rossellini, who were previously recognised by the Swiss festival.
Accepting the award before an audience of around 8,000 people in Locarno's Piazza Grande, Rossellini reflected on the significance of the recognition for her family, as per .
"The prize I am receiving tonight is the excellence prize, which is something I haven't heard very often, so I am very proud and above all moved because my father received this prize (the Pardo) for his film Germany, Year Zero in 1948," Rossellini said.
She also recalled that her half-brother Renzo Rossellini had received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the festival.
"Being on a par with my father and big brother fills me with emotion," she said.
Rossellini, known for films including and , is scheduled to take part in an onstage conversation about her career on Thursday.
The festival is also presenting a selection of her short films inspired by the natural world, including (2008), which explores the sexual behaviour of insects and invertebrates, and (2010), focusing on seduction strategies in the animal kingdom.
The award ceremony was followed by the world premiere of , directed by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, which opened this year's festival.
The film centres on a young Iraqi refugee whose older brother develops resignation syndrome, a condition first identified among refugee children in Sweden in the 1990s and believed to be linked to severe childhood trauma and insecurity.
The 79th Locarno Film Festival runs from August 5 to 15.