Anime News Network reports that Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino will receive an Honorific Leopard award at this year's Locarno International Film Festival. To commemorate the event, Mobile Suit Gundam I, the first theatrical Mobile Suit Gundam film, will be screened for the first time in Europe after the award ceremony. Tomorrow, Tomino will participate in an on-stage conversation.

Tomino's appearance will mark the beginning of Locarno's Manga Night. In addition to Gundam, the festival will screen Yoshiharu Ashino's First Squad: The Moment Of Truth, Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira, and Kunio Kato's La Maison en Petits Cubes.

On Thursday, Studio Ghibli co-founder and director Isao Takahata was also awarded an Honorific Leopard award.

Tomino's award coincides with the thirtieth anniversary of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise.The original Gundam premiered on April 7, 1979 on Japan's Nagoya Broadcasting Network. The series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1979.

Yoshiyuki Tomino will attend the New York Anime Festival, which runs from September 25 to 27.

The Locarno International Film Festival is held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. The event, which takes place at the Piazza Grande, attracts thousands of attendees.