Ghanaian filmmaker Amartei Armar and actor Idrissu Tontie Jr. have won two awards at the 79th Locarno Film Festival for Ego Reach We All (Our Time Will Come).
Armar’s debut feature won the Pardo for Change, which comes with a CHF 20,000 prize and recognises films that address environmental, ethical or cultural issues with social significance. The Ghana-France-Saudi production competed in the Concorso Cineasti del Presente, where it had its world premiere.
Tontie Jr., who plays Owusu in the film, also received the Pardo for Best Performance for his role. Locarno named him alongside Manal Issa (L’estive) as the winners of the acting prize.
Ego Reach We All (Our Time Will Come), formerly known as Vagabonds, follows two orphans, Owusu and Adobea, as they travel through the Ghanaian countryside in search of the last legitimate parent who could help them. The 105-minute film is written and directed by Armar and is performed in Twi, Ga and Pidgin.
Previous works from Armar include Tsutsue, I Like It Here, which screened at Clermont-Ferrand and BlackStar.
In other Locarno 2026 news, in the Open Doors programme, Nigeria’s I Live in VI, directed by Ugochukwu Azuya and produced Olubunmi Ogunsola won the Tabakalera-San Sebastian Film festival residency award while Ghana’s Aseye Fiagbe won an Open Doors Grant for her documentary project about Osibisa keyboard prodigy Kiki Gyan, Too Much Music.
The 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival took place from August 5-15, 2026.
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