US filmmaker Wes Anderson is to receive the Glory to the Filmmaker award at the 80th Venice International Film Festival (August 30 – September 9).
The award is dedicated to a personality who has made a particularly original contribution to the contemporary film industry.
It will be presented to Anderson on September 1 before the premiere of The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar, his new 40-minute film based on Roald Dahl’s short story of the same name, which will screen out-of-competition. It is set for release on Netflix on October 13.
Anderson has directed 11 features to date, from Bottle Rocket in 1996 to recent release Asteroid City. He previously adapted Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox as an animated feature. Asteroid City premiered in Competition at Cannes in May, with Anderson having previously competed for the Palme d’Or with 2021’s The French Dispatch and 2012’s Moonrise Kingdom.
While he has never premiered a film at Venice, he has debuted four in Competition at Berlin including The Grand Budapest Hotel, which won the grand jury prize Silver Bear in 2014, and Isle Of Dogs, which won the best director Silver Bear in 2018.
Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera said: “Wes Anderson is one of the few directors whose unique and unmistakable style can be recognized with just one frame… From the memorable and poignant soundtracks to the extravagant costumes that reflect the characters’ psyche, each detail and the composition of every single shot is painstakingly conceived and masterfully carried out.”
Previous recipients of the Glory to the Filmmaker Award include Walter Hill, Ridley Scott, Abel Ferrara, Costa-Gavras and Zhang Yimou.
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