It’s becoming a habit for Canadian filmmaker Denis Côté, travelling home from the Locarno Film Festival with trophies in hand.

Curling, his latest film, a thriller to open in Quebec theatrically on October 29, grabbed the Silver Leopard for best director, along with $30,000, at the just-concluded Locarno competition.

And the lead actor for Curling,  , picked up the best actor award.

Côté has won five awards in five years at Locarno, including for the films Les États Nordiques (2005), Nos vies privées (2007) and Elle veut le chaos (2008). The Locarno jury also gave special mention in the Golden Leopard competition to Ivory Tower, a Canada-France co-production by filmmaker Adam Traynor.

Sheila de La Varende, director of national and international business development at Telefilm Canada, paid tribute to the Canuck success in Locarno.

“The international success of Canadian productions is a real springboard, attracting audiences both abroad and nationally. Recognition at a prestigious festival such as Locarno translates into invaluable visibility and recognition for our creators,” she said.