The feature film Blue Heron, created as a Canadian-Hungarian co-production, has been awarded Best First Feature at the 78th Locarno Film Festival, the National Film Institute of Hungary announced on Sunday. The awards were presented Saturday evening at the prestigious Swiss festival.
Directed and written by Sophy Romvari, granddaughter of renowned Hungarian production designer József Romvári, Blue Heron marks her first full-length film. Hungarian audiences will be able to see it next year through Mozinet distribution.
The story follows an eight-year-old child and their family, who move to Vancouver Island in the late 1990s. Their new beginning is quickly overshadowed by unsettling and increasingly dangerous events tied to the eldest sibling. The film draws on Romvari’s background as the child of first-generation immigrants, blending personal storytelling with inventive use of time, occasional documentary-style techniques, and a deeply intimate voice. Hungarian actors Iringó Réti and Ádám Tompa star as the parents.
The project’s lead producer is Ryan Bobkin, previously associate producer on Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, shot partly in Hungary. Hungarian co-producer Gábor Osváth (Boddah) is known for Balaton Method, the holiday hit Nagykarácsony, and acclaimed animated shorts including Amok, which won the top prize in Annecy, and 27, which earned the Palme d’Or in Cannes.
Blue Heron was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Telefilm Canada’s New Dawn programme, and Hungary’s National Film Institute. While the shoot took place in Canada, all post-production was carried out in Hungary with contributions from sound designer Péter Benjámin Lukács, colourist Máté Ternyik, and VFX supervisor Dániel Berger.
This year’s Locarno Film Festival, held between 6–16 August, screened 224 films from around the globe. Alongside Berlin, Cannes, and Venice, Locarno is considered one of the world’s 14 A-list international film festivals, accredited by FIAPF.
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