James Gray Says Cinema Should Hold Onto “Dream Quality” as He Prepares “Paper Tiger” for Locarno Piazza Grande Premiere

James Gray returned to the international festival circuit this weekend to preview his latest work, Paper Tiger, ahead of its Swiss premiere at the Locarno Film Festival. The director also is scheduled to receive an honorary award at Locarno as part of the festival’s programming, with Gray speaking to reporters ahead of the film’s screening on Sunday evening.

At the press stop, Gray discussed what he called cinema’s ability to maintain a “dream quality,” arguing that the medium should not be reduced to something purely technical or procedural. He used the phrase “paper tiger” in describing the way cinema can be treated as though it is less substantial than it really is, according to Deadline’s report.

Gray’s remarks extended to the filmmaking process and his approach with performers. He told the press about the challenge of shaping acting inside his method, saying, “I’m not a good director of actors,” while discussing how he works with a cast on scenes and character work as a collaborative task rather than one that he views as strictly controlling.

The Locarno outing places Paper Tiger in the spotlight on the festival’s best-known public venue, the Piazza Grande, a landmark screening site associated with large audiences and mainstream visibility during the week. Gray’s honorary appearance is positioned as a companion to that public-facing premiere, highlighting his role in the festival world as his new film moves into its next stage of exhibition.

Deadline’s report frames the event as both a creative conversation and a practical milestone for the film, marking the lead-in to a Swiss premiere before the title settles further into festival and distribution conversations. With Gray speaking directly to the press ahead of the screening, the festival is offering audiences and industry observers an on-the-record window into the director’s stated creative goals.

Gray’s comments about dreamlike quality and about the limits of his directing approach to actors were delivered in the immediate context of Paper Tiger’s Locarno stop, where press interviews typically influence early critical framing and buyer or partner attention. The combination of an honorary honor and a major Piazza Grande screening also underscores the festival’s choice to pair recognition of an established filmmaker with a high-visibility launch for a new work.

The Sunday evening screening at Locarno is expected to be the key public moment for Paper Tiger’s festival run at this stage, with Gray’s press remarks forming part of the event’s documentation around the film’s themes and working method as it reaches audiences in Switzerland.