Ellen Burstyn, known for her work in The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist, and Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, will receive the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 83rd Venice International Airport. The film festival announced on Tuesday.
The festival’s artistic director Alberto Barbera described Burstyn as “an actress of rare intensity and truth,” adding that she “brings depth and complexity to unforgettable female characters who embody the contradictions and transformations of modern womanhood.”
Barbera continued, “Burstyn, who was revealed in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show, a twilight look at a small American town, and who was catapulted to global stardom by the success of William Friedkin’s The Exorcist, won the Best Actress Oscar for Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, about a woman reclaiming her identity and her life.” Freedom. ”
“She has worked with some of the most important filmmakers of our time,” he said, including Alain Resnais on Providence, Paul Schrader on Hardcore, Bob Rafelson on Marvin Gardens, Paul Mazursky on Alex in Wonderland and Harry and Tonto, Darren Aronofsky on Requiem for a Dream and Christopher Nolan on Interstellar.
“Burstyn has used vulnerability and meticulous discipline as tools for an approach to acting that is grounded in emotional truth, care, and generosity for her characters. Her artistry, which highlights pain and everyday resilience with dignity, irony, and courage, remains an absolute model of acting authenticity and civic engagement in the craft of acting.”
Burstyn said in a statement: “Amazing! Not only did I get to travel to one of my favorite cities in the entire world, but I also got to come home with the Golden Lion in my arms! Received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Venice Film Festival! I’m so honored, so happy, and so grateful! It’s so amazing!”
The Golden Lion Award will be presented to Burstyn at the screening of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s short film “Fresh Impact.” The film, dedicated to Marilyn Monroe to commemorate her 100th birthday, showcases Burstyn’s “extraordinary talent as a performer,” the festival said.
The cast also includes Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sepideh Moafi. Johnson plays Monroe at the height of her fame, while Burstyn plays a version of Monroe that the world never got to see. The title “Fresh Impact” was taken from a phrase once used to describe Monroe’s aura, and she looked so real and radiant on camera that viewers felt like they could touch her through the screen.
Burstyn will next be seen alongside Taika Waititi in Cornel Mundruzo’s Place to Be.
The 83rd Venice Film Festival will be held from September 2nd to 12th.
