Sigourney Weaver to be feted with honorary Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival

LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winning actor Sigourney Weaver will be feted with the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.

“To be gifted this award is a privilege I share with all the filmmakers and collaborators I have worked with throughout the years. I proudly accept this award in celebration of all who have helped bring these films to life,” Weaver said.

Venice’s director Alberto Barbera, whose mandate was just renewed, said: “An actress of the calibre of Sigourney Weaver has few rivals.

"Strengthened by her significant theatrical training, she won over the great film-going public with ‘Alien,’ directed by Ridley Scott, soon becoming an emblematic figure of the 1980s.”

“During the course of that decade, she forged the image of a heroine unprecedented in the action film genre, able to victoriously rival the male models who, up to that point, had dominated epic and adventure movies,” Barbera said.

“Not satisfied with having blazed the trail for powerful female actors, the actress ceaselessly continued her search for a personal identity.”

The artistic director also shared Weaver’s collaboration with filmmakers including names such as James Cameron, Roman Polanski, Paul Schrader, Peter Weir, Michael Apted, Ivan Reitman, Mike Nichols and Ang Lee, reports variety.com.

“The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement is just recognition for a star who has built bridges between the most sophisticated art-house cinema and movies that engage with the public in a frank and original way, all the while remaining true to herself,” Barbera said.

Over the years, Weaver has featured in Season 4 of the International Emmy-winning French series “Call My Agent!”.

She has roles in Philippe Falardeau’s “My Salinger Year,” which opened in Berlin 2020; Phyllis Nagy’s drama film “Call Jane,” Wallace Wolodarsky’s “The Good House;” James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of the Water;” Paul Schrader’s “Master Gardener.”

She was also in the mini-series “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.”

Talking about her upcoming slate of work, Weaver will be seen starring in the black comedy “Dust Bunny” alongside Mads Mikkelsen and “The Gorge” with Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy.