At the opening ceremony of the 2011 Festival de Cannes renowned Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci will be awarded the Honorary Palme d’Or, it was announced today. The recognition is “attributed to an important filmmaker whose work is authoritative but never got a Palme d’Or.” Recent winners have included Woody Allen and Clint Eastwood.
Bertolucci has been an active and internationally regarded filmmaker since his 1962 debut “La commare secca.” His body of work includes “The Conformist” (1970), “Last Tango in Paris” (1972), “1900” (1976), “The Last Emperor” (1987), “The Sheltering Sky” (1990), “Stealing Beauty” (1996), and “The Dreamers” (2002).
“The quality of his work, which appears today in all its uniqueness and the extent of which we receive every day intact, the strength of his commitment to cinema and the ties that bind make this for Cannes the first legitimate recipient.” said Cannes President Gilles Jacob and General Delegate Thierry Fremaux in statement.
The Honorary Palme d’Or will be awarded on Wednesday, May 11th, at the Opening Ceremony of the 64th edition of the Festival, in the presence of the jury chaired by Robert De Niro, who was one of the actors in Bertolucci’s “1900” (Novecento).
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