James Gray: Career Tribute
Locarno Film Festival to Honor James Gray with Career Award, Featuring 'Paper Tiger' Premiere
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Key Points
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Paper Tiger is set in 1986 and follows two brothers, Irwin and Gary Pearl; Irwin becomes entangled with the Russian mob after a get-rich-quick scheme to clean up the Gowanus Canal, and his former cop brother, Gary, is the one who can pull him out of trouble.
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Locarno’s tribute to Gray is part of the festival’s 79th edition, and the Pardo alla Carriera is presented by Ascona-Locarno Tourism.
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Beyond the titles highlighted in Locarno’s program, Gray’s broader filmography includes The Lost City of Z (2016), Ad Astra (2019), and Armageddon Time (2022), illustrating a wide-ranging career.
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Gray’s career began with early critical recognition at Venice, where he won the Silver Lion for Little Odessa at age 25, a milestone highlighted in Locarno’s materials.
American director James Gray will receive the Pardo alla Carriera — Locarno Film Festival's top career honor — on August 9 at the 79th edition of the festival. Screen Daily reports that Gray will also present his new film, Paper Tiger, at the iconic open-air Piazza Grande screening that same evening.
The award, presented by Ascona-Locarno Tourism, marks Gray's first-ever visit to Locarno. Festival director Giona Nazzaro called Gray "the last great novelist of American cinema," a nod to a career that stretches from gritty New York crime dramas to stories set in the Amazon and outer space.
How Gray Built His Career From Brighton Beach to Cannes
Gray's journey began in the Russian-Jewish community of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. That upbringing shaped almost everything he made. At just 25, he won the Silver Lion at Venice for his debut feature Little Odessa — one of the youngest filmmakers ever to earn that prize, Head Topics notes.
His next films — The Yards, We Own the Night, and Two Lovers — kept returning to New York's working-class neighborhoods. Locarno's program notes describe his style as "immersive realism" informed by both American and European auteur traditions. Over time, he pushed further out: The Lost City of Z (2016) explored colonialism in the Amazon, Ad Astra (2019) tackled space travel, and Armageddon Time (2022) examined racial prejudice in 1980s Queens.
Paper Tiger Follows Two Brothers and the Russian Mob
Gray's latest film, Paper Tiger, is set in 1986 Brooklyn. It centers on two brothers, Irwin and Gary Pearl. Irwin gets pulled into a scheme to clean up the toxic Gowanus Canal — and ends up tangled with the Russian mob. His brother Gary, a former cop, is the only one who can save him.
The film stars Miles Teller and Adam Driver. It premiered at Cannes before landing at Locarno. Yahoo News reports that Paper Tiger will also serve as the opening film of the 64th New York Film Festival, giving it a marquee North American debut after its European run.
Locarno Screens Two Classic Gray Films Alongside the Tribute
The festival won't just show Paper Tiger. Locarno will also screen We Own the Night and Two Lovers as part of the tribute program. Both films are set in New York and are considered central to Gray's reputation as a crime and family drama filmmaker.
The three-film lineup gives audiences a clear arc: from Gray's raw early work to his newest feature. Screen Daily notes the tribute is designed to highlight the consistency and depth of his vision across more than 30 years in cinema.
Why Locarno Sees Gray as a Singular American Voice
Locarno's tribute frames Gray as a filmmaker who never chased trends. His films draw from personal memory — his family, his neighborhood, his immigrant heritage — while engaging with big American themes like ambition, loyalty, and race. The festival calls this blend rare in mainstream U.S. cinema.
The Pardo alla Carriera is one of the most prestigious honors in world cinema. Past recipients include major figures from global film history. For Gray, the August 9 ceremony at Locarno will cap a summer that has already seen Paper Tiger debut at Cannes and land a prime slot at the New York Film Festival — a fitting moment for a director Yahoo News calls long overdue for this kind of recognition.
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