Willem Dafoe will receive Sarajevo’s honorary heart to the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival “in recognition of his exceptional contribution to the art of film”.
He joined Stellan Skarsgård and Ray Winstone, who will also receive the honor at the festival this year.
“Having made more than 150 films in his career, Willem Dafoe is respected internationally for bringing the versatility, audacity and desire of some of the most emblematic films of our time,” said the organizers of Sarajevo. “His artistic curiosity to explore the human condition leads him to projects from around the world, big and small Hollywood films as well as independent cinema.”
At the Sarajevo Festival, the star will also hold a masterclass where he will share “his experience and his reflections on art today” with young talents, cinema professionals and the festival public.
“Willem Dafoe returns to the Sarajevo Film Festival after 25 years, and it’s a great honor and a pleasure for us to present the honorary heart of Sarajevo,” said Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival. “His work is something to which each actor aspires.
The organizers of Sarajevo mentioned on Monday some of the protruding facts of the star’s career. “In 1979, Dafoe was given a role in Michael Cimin Gate du ParadisFrom which he was dismissed, “they noted.” Since then, he has collaborated with directors who represent a virtual modern cinema encyclopedia: Wes Anderson, Patricia Arquette, Kathryn Bigelow, Kenneth Branagh, Tim Burton, Scott Cooper, Anton Corbijnn, Saverio Costanzo, David Cronenberg, Abel Ferra Walter Walter Walter Walter Walter Walter Walter Walter Hill, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Hayao Miyazaki, Phillip Noyce, Sam Raimi, Dee Rees, Jason Reitman, Robert Rodriguez, Isaiah Saxon, Julian Schnabel, Paul Scrader, Martin Scorsese, Zack Snyder, Guillero Del Toro, Lar Von Triber, James Wan, Zhang Yimou and many others. »»
Dafoe was recognized with four Oscar nominations and received two independent Spirit prizes, the Venice Festival Volpi Cup and a Berlinale Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement.
The 31st Sarajevo Film Festival will take place from August 15 to 22.
