The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will honor Ellen Burstyn with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement, La Biennale di Venezia announced. The ceremony takes place in September alongside the world premiere of Flesh Impact, a new short written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Flesh Impact is dedicated to Marilyn Monroe on the centenary of her birth. Dakota Johnson plays Monroe at the height of her fame. Burstyn plays a version of Monroe the world never got to see. Peter Sarsgaard and Sepideh Moafi also appear.
Burstyn’s career spans more than six decades across film, stage, and television. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore in 1975, the same year she took home a Tony, earning a distinction few actors have achieved across both disciplines. She has received five Oscar nominations in total, two Emmy Awards, and six Emmy nominations. Key film roles include The Last Picture Show (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Requiem for a Dream (2000), and Interstellar (2014). She co-presides over the Actors Studio alongside Al Pacino and Alec Baldwin.
“I get to return home carrying a Golden Lion in my arms,” Burstyn said in a statement. “I feel so honored, so happy, so filled with gratitude.” Venice Artistic Director Alberto Barbera noted that Burstyn has brought “depth and complexity to unforgettable female characters” throughout her career. Gyllenhaal, who also serves as this year’s Jury President for the main competition, adds Flesh Impact to a directing body of work that includes The Lost Daughter. The 83rd Venice International Film Festival runs September 2 to 12.
