Isabella Rossellini honoured at Locarno Film Festival

Isabella Rossellini has been feted by the Locarno Film Festival with an Honorary Leopard (Pardo) at its opening night ceremony.

The Conclave star follows in the footsteps of her legendary late director father Roberto Rossellini and her producer half-brother Renzo Rossellini as she accepted the prize in Switzerland.

"The prize I am receiving tonight is the excellence prize, which is something I haven't heard very often, so I am very proud," she gushed.

"And above all moved because my father received this prize for his film Germany, Year Zero in 1948," Rossellini told an 8000-strong crowd on Locarno's Piazza Grande.

She also noted her brother Renzo Rossellini had received a Lifetime Achievement Award in Locarno in 1923.

"Being on a par with my father and big brother fills me with emotion," she shared.

Rossellini is the daughter of director Roberto and Casablanca star Ingrid Bergman. She has two children, Elettra Wiedemann and Roberto Rossellini, named for his famous grandfather.

The Blue Velvet star is set to participate in an onstage conversation devoted to her career on Thursday. The festival is also showcasing a series of shorts directed by Rossellini and inspired by her fascination with the natural world, including 2008's Green Porno and 2010's Seduce Me.

The 79th Locarno Film Festival runs from 5 to 15 August.